Reread March 24, 2013. Loved this. Perfect nighttime read. Will be posting a new review soon. ----Original review -- read in 2010. Rating 3/5. A few years ago I picked up Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Coorespondence because my sister-in-law had gotten it for her birthday. I was so intrigued by the layout of the book that I had to give it a try.I am so torn with this book. As I was reading it, my husband turned to me and said, "That's a book you're reading?" as I was pulling out letters from their envelopes. Written in a very non-traditional way, the book consists of letters of correspondence between Griffin, who was an artist in London, and Sabine who follows his work down in South America quite literally, as she seems to be in his head as he creates his art.It is a very unique concept and the pictures are either delicate and lovely, or deep and mysterious, but the layout of the book is enough to win over any art lover. It is different enough to earn a spot on your coffee table for guests to flip through.But ...Right as I was getting into the book, it ends! Apparently there are three books in this series, but I bought the book not knowing it was a series. I would have liked to have some kind of resolution, but Bantock leaves the reader hanging.The price of the book is outstanding - a whole $20 for a very short book, with not a whole lot of plot, but mainly artwork. I really didn't find that it was worth the money for only a handful of postcards and a few letters. I've paid less for actual stories that kept me busy for longer than 20 minutes (the time you need to read this "novel").In the end, I suggest if you want to read this book, purchase the trilogy. I wasn't that interested to buy the next 2, but may end up doing so in the future.
In today's age, we rarely write letters anymore. Emails, texts, tweets and status lines seem to be the way we communicate these days. And while one part of me is fascinated by how technology is bringing people together, the other part can't help but notice the loss of intimacy in the way we communicate. In some ways we are farther apart than we've ever been.I met my wife at the dawn of the Internet; neither of us had email addresses at the time. Just a few more years later, and our relationship's history could have been reduced to a computer Recycle Bin and IM chats long gone and never recorded. Instead, we have hundreds of love letters in two shoeboxes detailing the history of our budding love. Griffin & Sabine (which is sort of a children's book for adults) celebrates this romantic gesture of writing letters. Over the course of a couple dozen postcards and letters (that you actually get to pull out and unfold!), readers are instantly drawn into a world of intimacy and budding self-honesty. Nick Bantock creates an imaginary world where Sabine of the South Pacific can literally "see" the artistic renderings of a London man she's never met. Their correspondence is not only "extraordinary." It is magic.Beware!--There is a major cliffhanger, and you will hunger for more. I'm surprised this book was split into volumes, and I'm not sure just how many volumes there are. But I can't wait to read the sequel to find out what happens next--and fall in love a little more.
Do You like book Griffin And Sabine (2015)?
I've read this and all the other books for this series. It's a unique read. Have you ever accidentally received someone else's mail and wondered what it might contain? Or come across a diary and been tempted to read what secrets it held?This book is a voyeuristic view of a relationship between two people - or is it? Opening the book you realize soon enough that you have stumbled upon someone's mail - and you can't help but read it. Each consecutive page brings more and more interest, as well as questions. Some letters are on post cards, others have envelopes that you have to open and pull the letter out, unfold it and you contribute to the story by being the recipient...It's sort of like an adult pop-up book. Each page a new letter or post card and the relationship grows.Each book in the series brings you closer to the hopes that these two people meet - and you wonder what might transpire...It makes you want to go out and check your mailbox.Enjoyed it...
—Jae Robinson
One of the cuter and more interesting picture books I've read lately, Griffin and Sabine imagines reading some one else's letters as exactly that. There are post cards that are photographed on both sides, but the letters are actually in envelopes that the reader has to pull out of envelopes and unfold. This kind of interactive text, thought I can see all the ways it could become a horrible gimmick, is done exactly right in this short book. Griffin is a visual artist, Sabine the woman from a small, mysterious island nation that, while having never met him, sees flashes of his art and life. They start corresponding over this odd, supernatural connection and we find out Sabine designs stamps as well. Their mail art appears going both ways, and it's the kind of pen pal relationship that is quirky without being trite. There's also a creepy element too, since Sabine happens to know a lot of random portions of Griffin's life and they have definitely never met. The only thing that I didn't care for was the pacing. The ending breaks off quickly and the desire to find out what happens next clouds the overall mood created by the previous parts of the book. I'm not sure if it's a cost in publishing thing or what, but I would have preferred to have the entire series in one book. On the other hand, it's not like it's hard to find these books and I'll have to get the next couple as soon as possible.
—Margaret
A little fictional bon bon for the discerning palate. Just 46 pages long. A small package of strange and delightful images, and a storyline with a mystery.This was recommended to me by a friend who sends me flying letters - and the book is full of illustrated envelopes and postcards. I can see why she liked it on another level too - her art and the art in the book have the same lovely sense of playfulness. Bantock's work is inspiring, weird, charming......and sometimes a bit gruesome. I am not alone in admiring it - it was on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years.
—Caroline
