Little "Donald" is rather a creepy boy himself, but he's downright appealing next to his mother, who spends the entire book picking a splinter out of poor Donald's leg with a needle and tweezers, and then seeing to the aftermath of his wound with alcohol and a very large pillow. She will remind you of the part Katharine Hepburn played in LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT.
Hooray for Donald, Gorey, Abrams and Neumeyer!