I absolutely love Nick Bantock’s books. His artwork alone makes for a visual masterpiece and nicely enhances the story. I am unfortunately missing the first two books in the Griffin and Sabine saga, but their lack in my collection thankfully doesn’t detract overmuch from the reading of the rest of the series. I just lament I don’t have the artwork of those books to enjoy as well.
These books are unique in that the story is told through a series of postcards and letters. Each page is a beautiful piece of art, similar to the picture above as both sides of the postcards are depicted. Envelopes, front and back are also works of art, with flaps you can lift in order to remove the letter, often handwritten, sometimes typed, as are the postcards. Reading these books is like being a voyeur with your hand in someone else’s mailbox. Through these postcards and letters, snippets of the lives and relationship of Griffin and Sabine, and later Matthew and Isabella are revealed.
The story is fantastical. Griffin and Sabine are lovers corresponding via snail mail. Both are artists, and their drawings grace their mail. They also have a metaphysical connection, where they can see each other’s work in visions. The villain, Frolatti attempts to destroy them, but they manage to escape and merge as one. Their story is then continued in the lives and relationship of Matthew and Isabella.
Fantastical, yes, but truly imaginative with characters who simply come to life amidst the background of Bantock’s simply beautiful artwork. What makes the books so enjoyable for me is first and foremost his art, followed closely by that delightfully voyeuristic peek into other people’s lives through their mail. Mail has always held a fascination for me. I’m old enough to remember sending and receiving handwritten letters through the post and what a delight it was to sit down with a letter and hear a cherished friend’s voice in your head as you read their words. Letters are incredibly intimate things, filled with our desires and dreams, our wants and wishes, our loves and heartaches. Long before the telephone was a staple in every home, letters were how we connected with distant friends and family. I think that’s why I love reading epistolary novels so much. Like diaries, letters are far more intimate than reading a regular story told from the perspective of an omniscient and removed narrator. Even first person accounts fail to fully satisfy, since they only give one perspective. I’m never fully satisfied unless I know what everyone’s thinking and feeling – I’m nosy that way – and letters give the most intimate look into one’s soul, at least in my opinion.
If you come across a Nick Bantock book, take a moment and dive in, experience his pictures, read his words, you’ll be glad you did.
Till next time, happy reading!
L
“I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.”
~ Oscar Wilde
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