Alexandria : In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine Unf [Hardcover]

Nick Bantock (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Raincoast Book Distribution; First edition (2002)
• ISBN-10: 1551925230
• ISBN-13: 978-1551925233
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 7.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,467,289 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars kind of a let down, October 28, 2002

By 

Sarah B. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alexandria: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Unfolds (Hardcover)

After reading The Gryphon last year, I was instantly frustrated that I was going to have to wait a year for the next installment. About two days into the agony, I realized that the true bummer was that this new story line seemed to be preplanned to leave off in order to pre-sell the next book. After reading Alexandria, I feel that my conclusion has more basis. Alexandria IS an amazingly beautiful book, and some of the letters are absolutely inspired, but it lacks the storytelling power of the original trilogy. Instead of the letters slowly revealing a relationship, they are starting to resemble gimmicky plot devices. The revelations seemed more trite and some of the more interesting occurances are glossed over in a single postcard. Part of the wonder of the first three books is that each could stand nearly alone. The end of each book did not instantly suggest a followup. Alexandria, like The Gryphon before it, kind of stops that narrative because there are no more pages in the binding. Grrr.

If you are considering this book as your introduction to Nick Bantock, please go elsewhere (Either start with Griffin and Sabine, or maybe even The Forgetting Room). Alexandria is kind of an odd duck for me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading and savoring each of the letters, but felt let down and even kind of patronized by the way the story line was delivered. The "flow" is just very different from the first half of the Griffin and Sabine saga. Not completely bad per se, just very different. So a four star kind of a let down rather than an outright rejection.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alexandria..., October 20, 2002

By 

Katie (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alexandria: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Unfolds (Hardcover)

The artwork in "Alexandria" is just as strange and beautiful as in the first four books in the series - maybe more so. I'm reminded of Griffin's dark travelogue in "Sabine's Notebook."

I love the original Griffin & Sabine trilogy but was initially disappointed with "The Gryphon," the fourth book in the series. Bantock's new time-and-space-crossed lovers, Matthew and Isabella, weren't as compelling to me as Griffin and Sabine. They seemed awkward and even a little trite. After reading "Alexandria" I appreciate "The Gryphon" a lot more: Matthew and Isabella deepen as characters as the plot moves forward.

I'd recommend this book to diehard Griffin & Sabine fans or anyone interested in graphic novels. Fans of Egyptology might be pleased...hard to say, since there could be gross inaccuracies in the book. I know nothing about ancient Egypt. I sure liked the book, though.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A bit less compelling than Griffin and Sabine, December 3, 2002

By 

BeachReader (Delaware) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Alexandria: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Unfolds (Hardcover)

I rushed out to buy "Alexandria" as I have done with all of Bantock's books since I was first gifted with "Griffin and Sabine" many years ago.

I love his work....his books are such a visual treat that even if I do not know what is going on, I enjoy them. I love handling them and looking for hidden clues in the drawings.

That said, I feel that I don't know Isabella and Matthew as well as I knew Griffin and Sabine. G and S were much less mysterious and I was able to make more sense of what was going on. I also felt that Bantock wrote each of his original trilogy without resorting to cliffhangers, a device which I find a bit off-putting, and which he used in "The Gryphon" and again in "Alexandria".

However, none of these complaints will stop me from buying anything Nick Bantock writes!