No one does history-meets-the-fantastic like Morrow. The Asylum of Dr. Caligari is a great example Impressionism versus expressionism, psychology in the asylum of dreams, the weaponization of art, big laughs and big ideas, a wild imagination, and smooth, subtle writing.
Jeffrey Ford, author of A Natural History of Hell
It is the summer of 1914. As the world teeters on the brink of the Great War, a callow American painter, Francis Wyndham, arrives at a renowned European insane asylum, where he begins offering art therapy under the auspices of Alessandro Caligari sinister psychiatrist, maniacal artist, alleged sorcerer. And determined to turn the impending cataclysm to his financial advantage, Dr. Caligari will for a price allow governments to parade their troops past his masterpiece: a painting so mesmerizing it can incite entire regiments to rush headlong into battle.
The Asylum of Dr. Caligari is a timely tale that is by turns funny and erotic, tender and bayonet-sharp but ultimately emerges as a love letter to that mysterious, indispensable thing called art.
Industry Reviews
Praise for The Asylum of Dr. Caligari
Barnes & Noble: The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of June 2017
Amazon Best Books of the Month: Editor's Picks
io9 Summer Reading List
Best Summer Books, Campus Circle
Feature, Barnes & Noble.com Week's New Sci Fi Books
"This provocative novella is well worth a look."
-Asimov's SF
"This is a satire for the ages, a skillful blending of the history of World War One, and the fantastical realm of alchemy and magic . . . The wry, tongue-in-cheek amusement of Morrow's writing reminds me of reading Jonathan Swift's 'A Modest Proposal.'"
-The San Francisco Review of Books
"It really reminds me of Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest Hotel . . . sumptuous and philosophical, thought-provoking as well as just good fun."
-Art District Radio
"Entrancing prose enhances the unusual plot of Morrow's successful melding of history and fantasy."
-Publishers Weekly
"Satirical, thought-provoking, and stimulating."
-New York Journal of Books
"James Morrow explores ideas with visionary audacity and a satirical (yet nonetheless disturbing) bent perhaps unequaled since Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld series-as if directed by Andrei Tarkovsky."
-See the Elephant
"It's a rich and wonderful mash-up of political satire, psychological fairytale and German Expressionist horror story . . . There's a gorgeous edge to Morrow's writing, a sense of fun and irreverence that never detracts from the dark jeopardy at the heart of the story. 10/10 stars."
-Starburst
"[Morrow] is a crafty wordsmith who likes to hone in on poseurs and pretensions . . . Readers who are fond of wry esoteric musings will not be disappointed."
-Diabolique
"As is always the case with Morrow, he keeps the ride interesting and at times painfully funny."
-Locus
"I was reminded time and again of some horror greats including Dracula and Frankenstein."
-The Booklover's Boudoir
"This is an erudite, fun book that can be enjoyed on many levels; it succeeds as a satire of geopolitics and warmongering elites, as a comic fantasy, and as a pastiche of the 1920 film that appears on so many fans' 'best of' lists."
-Foreword
"The Asylum of Dr. Caligari is a fast, funny book . . . Brilliantly walking the line, its zippy energy camouflages a surprisingly powerful resonance. It's yet another seriocomic triumph from one of the genre's best satirists."
-Christopher East
"Unrestrained by modern sensibilities of restraint, Morrow creates some beautiful prose . . . Well written, inventive, and a great throwback to classics of the genre."
-Popverse
"The Asylum of Dr. Caligari is an inventive homage to and extrapolation of concepts in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. At less than 200 pages, it's also a pithy commentary on the power of art and the folly and hysteria of war."
-Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"The Asylum of Dr Caligari is exquisite, inventive madness of epic proportions, laced with wicked humour."
-Strange Alliances
"The Asylum of Dr. Caligari is laugh out loud funny, even as it tosses about ideas surrounding perhaps our most serious and vile aspects of existence: war and indoctrination to war."
-Speculition
"The story makes points about the effect of art on humanity and its relevance to society, but it's also terrifying, with dark humor and a clever tone."
-RevolutionSF
"The Asylum of Dr. Caligari succeeds in being at once a brilliant rendering of an antique spooky passion play and a timeless lesson about megalomaniacs, art, science and love."
-Locus
"A perfect fit for people who are not just interested in fantasy, but also history, art, geography and linguistics."
-New Books Network
Praise for James Morrow
"James Morrow is a wildly imaginative and generous novelist who plays hilarious games with grand ideas."
-New York Times Book Review
"Watch out for James Morrow: He's magic."
-Washington Post Book World
"I am so besotted with James Morrow's talent that I cannot find a word big enough to deify it."
-Harlan Ellison
"James Morrow is an original-stylistically ingenious, savagely funny, always unpredictable."
-Philadelphia Inquirer
"Writing a brand of masterfully understated comic prose all his own, Morrow is a genius."
-Booklist
"America's best satirist."
-James Gunn, editor of The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
"Morrow's satire is funny and sad, and increases our ability to see the little bits of truth in our own world."
-Denver Post
