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juushikaTitle: Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence
Author and Illustrator: Nick Bantock
Published: San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1991
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 48
Total Page Count: 70,912
Text Number: 207
Read For: interest in the author after reading The Museum at Purgatory, checked out from the library
Short review: Lonely London card-designer receives a postcard from Pacific Islander Sabine—and Sabine claims to see Griffin's drawing as he makes them. So begins a strange correspondence between the two, illuminated by their illustrated postcards, as they explore their extraordinary connection. Griffin & Sabine is original, intriguing, and finely nuanced, but it is so short that the plot developments seem hasty. Still it is a magical journey, and I recommend it.
Griffin and Sabine is told entirely in postcards and letters, with illustrations as important as the text—all in all, a delightful and unusual format for a book. Sabine writes in organic brown-inked cursive and illuminates her letters with pen illustrations; Griffon's text is block print and typing, his art detailed and surreal. Text and art are balanced, each as important as the other as they expose the personality of their illustrators and authors. Considering the book's length, Bantock conveys quite a lot: Griffin and Sabine develop into realistic characters, and the magic of their improbable connection captures the imagination.
But no matter how much Bantock manages to convey in 40 pages, there's simply not enough room for the entire story. The plot come so suddenly that the reader feels as though he's missing the letter or three that would contain the transition from one stage to the next. Griffin exposes loneliness and doubt which are as nuanced as the rest of his personality, but their abrupt revelation makes them feel unrealistic. And then the story comes to a sudden stop, leaving the reader whiplashed and disappointed. Griffin & Sabine has a number of sequels, and I understand that these short volumes must have been easier to create given the combined effort of art and text—but it makes for unfulfilling consumption. I'd preferred that instead of sequels, this volume were long enough to allow the story to expand and come to a natural end. Still, I much enjoyed Griffin & Sabine—text, art, and unusual premise make for quite a compelling journey, however brief it is. I recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author and Illustrator: Nick Bantock
Published: San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1991
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 48
Total Page Count: 70,912
Text Number: 207
Read For: interest in the author after reading The Museum at Purgatory, checked out from the library
Short review: Lonely London card-designer receives a postcard from Pacific Islander Sabine—and Sabine claims to see Griffin's drawing as he makes them. So begins a strange correspondence between the two, illuminated by their illustrated postcards, as they explore their extraordinary connection. Griffin & Sabine is original, intriguing, and finely nuanced, but it is so short that the plot developments seem hasty. Still it is a magical journey, and I recommend it.
Griffin and Sabine is told entirely in postcards and letters, with illustrations as important as the text—all in all, a delightful and unusual format for a book. Sabine writes in organic brown-inked cursive and illuminates her letters with pen illustrations; Griffon's text is block print and typing, his art detailed and surreal. Text and art are balanced, each as important as the other as they expose the personality of their illustrators and authors. Considering the book's length, Bantock conveys quite a lot: Griffin and Sabine develop into realistic characters, and the magic of their improbable connection captures the imagination.
But no matter how much Bantock manages to convey in 40 pages, there's simply not enough room for the entire story. The plot come so suddenly that the reader feels as though he's missing the letter or three that would contain the transition from one stage to the next. Griffin exposes loneliness and doubt which are as nuanced as the rest of his personality, but their abrupt revelation makes them feel unrealistic. And then the story comes to a sudden stop, leaving the reader whiplashed and disappointed. Griffin & Sabine has a number of sequels, and I understand that these short volumes must have been easier to create given the combined effort of art and text—but it makes for unfulfilling consumption. I'd preferred that instead of sequels, this volume were long enough to allow the story to expand and come to a natural end. Still, I much enjoyed Griffin & Sabine—text, art, and unusual premise make for quite a compelling journey, however brief it is. I recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
