[.ca] Topper (ISBN 0375753052)

High and Low Spirits:
The movie and TV versions of "Topper" have always emphasized the trick of ghosts appearing and disappearing... but the novel is really about Mr. Topper's love/hate relationship to middle-class conformity, and how he's drawn toward love and death. As with many of Smith's books, there's an undertow of sadness about how brief and unsatisfying life can be, and a true satirist's rage at hypocrisy and repression. Set in the same period as "The Great Gatsby," this is almost a companion piece -- another story about longing and belonging, fast driving and fast living, and dropouts living a very different life than those around them.

Topper's midlife crisis.:
Thorne Smith's fantasy of Cosmo Topper and ghostly George and Marion Kerby is more thought provoking than one might expect. Although rich with humor, the story has pensive undertones. The story is of Topper's rebellion against his dull life and marriage. After the wild and crazy Kerby's perish in a road accident, middle-aged Topper buys their repaired sporty automobile. He discovers their ghostly presence, and joins the playful spirits in a road trip that takes up much of the novel. His flirtation with the delectable Marion Kerby may have seemed racy 'way back when, but it is mild stuff today. George Kerby is absent for part of the story. While George is away, Topper and Marion play, mostly at Marion's instigation. The snickering references to drinking, ladies lingerie, and compromising positions offers amusement. One needs to understand the old term "step-ins." Typical of the TV and movie versions, Topper deals with a number of awkward situations when ghostly happenings occur before bewildered onlookers. This evokes chuckles, but there is more of yearning in the book than laugh-out-loud comedy. This book is a beguiling relic of the 1920s. It's worth a look. To enhance your appreciation of the book, avoid the pitfall of preconceived notions based on the films and TV versions. Multiple readings are recommended. ;-)

Madcap haunting:
I loved this book the first time I read it. This time it was less charming, though still fun. It all begins when Cosmo Topper, the epitome of Humdrum Life buys a car -- and discovers too late that it is haunted. Yes, haunted, and by outrageously adventuresome ghosts as well. Ghosts that drag poor Cosmo from one scrape to another and convert his Humdrum to Mayhem. Great Fun!

Great escapist fare from the jazz age:
Having never heard of the movie, my initial attraction to this book was actually the cover art. Though there really isn't a date given, I pictured it perhaps in the early 1920's, though the depiction of the automobile as some kind of strange novelty probably sets it in the early 1910's. Perhaps it's a reflection on myself, but I enjoy stories about ordinary people who are stuck in a rut or who have lived their lives having never followed their dreams and who are given one last chance to shine. The characters and antics are outrageous, yet likable in a strange way. And the story reads pretty quickly. While reading this book, I pictured elements of the 20's, 50's, and 80's. In fact, I think they should re-make a movie of this book and set it in a "timeless" setting. Overall, if you're not prejudiced against reading a book written in the 1920's, I'd recommend it.

A Humour Standard:
'Topper' is best known perhaps from the Cary Grant movie version. It's a good movie but I like the book even better. The characters delight, particularly in terms of Cosmo's retaining his decorum, in the warmth of Marion's dead-but-still-sexy presence. Anyone who enjoys humourous novels has to put this one on their reading list. Few recent humour novels are as funny as this classic from decades past, but there is one I know of, entitled 'Rastus Reilly', and I recommend that book as well.