.com Review
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As 3 million readers can attest, Nick Bantock's
Griffin and Sabine trilogy (
/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811806960/%24%7B0%7D ) is the world's most
original epistolary novel. It contains (physically contains) the
correspondence of Londoner Griffin Moss and Sabine Strohem of the
Sicmon Islands in the South Pacific--colorful postcards and
letters in envelopes pasted into the book, which the reader must
open and read. In his gloriously illustrated autobiography The
Artful Dodger, Bantock explains the allure of opening letters:
it's "a sort of cross between Christmas and sex." And when the
letters illuminate somebody else's mysterious love affair, it's
all the more delicious.
Griffin and Sabine really are mysterious, and it's tricky to
piece together their story from the fanciful, surrealistic bits
the text, s, stamps, and pictures provide. That's why fans
will be ravenous to read Bantock's charmingly straightforward
memoir, which lets us in on all kinds of secrets about his
symbols and visual sources. Winged figures always signify
transition, he says, "whether on a monkey, an angel, or a devil."
Sabine's Sicmon Islands home derives from the English expression
" as a parrot," which connects with the parrot on the first
book's cover and expresses Griffin's ailing English soul--what he
needs is a , elusive Sabine to get his blood up. Both
characters are warring parts of Bantock's own psyche.
You don't need to know a thing about them to revel in this book.
It's spellbinding in its own right, partly for the artless
narrative, but mostly for the hundreds of pictures and the
fascinating intricacy of Bantock's creative process. Sabine done
in ghostly charcoal and gold dust is exquisite, no matter who she
might be. It's a bit spooky to learn that a 1970s French stamp
Bantock bought from his local shop to go with one of Sabine's
postcards turns out to have been classified as "Type Sabine" by
the French Philatelic Society. It was taken from a David painting
of the Sabine women, and was meant to symbolize "union"--the
central theme of Bantock's trilogy.
There is plenty besides his greatest hit to delight the eye
here. The book cover illustrations are arresting, particularly
for Peter Ackroyd's bio Chatterton (though his depiction of T.S.
Eliot's The Waste Land is drably silly). His pop-up books of
Jabberwocky and The Egyptian Jukebox (a series of drawers full of
museum-like objects that tell the tale of a mad millionaire's
travels) are brilliant. Bantock's gift for collage does honor to
his idol, Joseph Cornell, without being derivative. His wildly
improbable life story proves that e shares his enthusiasm for
flights of fancy. --Tim Appelo
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From Publishers Weekly
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Reading Bantock's latest lavishly illustrated novel,
the first in his new Morning Star trilogy and the continuation of
the saga of Griffin and Sabine, is like going on a delightful
treasure hunt. Here an exotic photograph tucked in an exquisitely
designed envelope, there a charming ticket receipt for a
mysterious packet of letters. The author's skill at revealing
plot through allowing readers the voyeuristic thrill of literally
opening and reading other people's mail, and his considerable
artistic talents are the source of the book's originality. Fans
of Bantock's popular Griffin & Sabine trilogy will be delighted
by that duo's reappearance here. Matthew Sedon, an Egypt-based
archeologist, receives a note one day from Sabine, a woman he
doesn't remember ever meeting, instructing him to pick up a
packet of letters in storage in Alexandria. These letters are the
love correspondence of Griffin and Sabine. When Matthew shares
them with his grad student girlfriend in Paris, Isabella de
Reims, she discovers that they refer to the bizarre visions she
sees in waking dreams. Newcomers may feel left out by references
to material from the previous books, and the epistolary form has
its drawbacks, glossing over key information and hinting at
tantalizing things to come. Though there's not much the author
can do with 56 pages, nearly half of them pure illustration, the
growing passion between Matthew and Isabella portends future
intrigue in this new trilogy.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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From Booklist ( /gp/feature.html/?docId=1000027801 )
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Bantock, the creator of Griffin & Sabine (1991) and
nine other unusual works of illustrated fiction, fashions an
elaborately pictorial fairy tale out of the story of his charmed
artist's life. In a narrative that exudes an unmistakable aura of
noblesse oblige, the most intriguing chapters recount Bantock's
amazing good luck as a young English dropout in the late 1960s.
In spite of evincing no talent whatsoever, he enrolled in art
school and soon magically discovered his gift for drawing. After
completing his studies, he acted once again on intuition and
impulse and waltzed into the offices of Penguin (having chosen
that particular publisher because its "logo seemed friendly") and
walked out with his first assignment, thus launching what became
a 28-year career in book cover illustration. Bantock presents an
impressive array of his diverse and striking work, including his
covers for Flann O'Brien's Third man and Carson McCullers'
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, then takes up the thread of his
tale, recounting in word and image his move to Canada and his
quest for more personal, challenging, and unpredictable outlets
for his unique vision and technical mastery. Bantock proudly
illuminates his creative process and also acknowledges his
diverse influences, which range from Rembrandt to Odilon Redon,
Joseph Cornell, old s, stamps, and Hindu art, and he takes his
fans through each stage of the conception and birth of his books.
Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Review
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BOOKLIST
Donna Seaman
Bantock, the creator of Griffin & Sabine (1991) and nine other
unusual works of illustrated fiction, fashions an elaborately
pictorial fairy tale our of the story of his charmed artist's
life...the most intriguing chapters recount Bantock's amazing
good luck as a young English dropout in the late 1960s. In spite
of evincing no talent whatsoever, he enrolled in art school and
soon magically discovered his gift for drawing. After completing
his studies, he acted once again on intuition and impulse and
waltzed into the offices of Penguin (having chosen that
particular publisher because its "logo seemed friendly") and
walked out with his first assignment, thus launching what became
a 28-year career in book cover illustration. Bantock presents an
impressive array of his diverse and striking work, including his
covers for Flann O'Brien's Third man and Carson McCullers'
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, then takes up the thread of his
tale, recounting on word and image his move to Canada and his
quest for more personal, challenging, and unpredictable outlets
for his unique vision and technical mastery. Bantock proudly
illuminates his creative process and also acknowledges his
diverse influences, which range from Rembrandt to Odilon Redon,
Joseph Cornell, old s stamps, and Hindu art, and he takes his
fans through each stage of the conception and birth of his books.
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About the Author
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Nick Bantock is the author of numerous illustrated
novels, including Griffin & Sabine, Sabine's , The Golden
Mean, The Gryphon, and Alexandria, which together spent 100 weeks
on the New York Times best-seller list. Born in England, he now
lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
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