Bip in a Book [Hardcover]

Marcel Marceau (Author), Bruce Goldstone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2001

Marcel Marceau's genius for the art of silence has astonished and delighted audiences of all ages for more than 50 years. Now, Bip in a Book captures the celebrated mime's boundless talent in a playful and charming adventure - and we really mean captures. Bip is Marceau's beloved alter ego, a hapless clown with unlimited curiosity and compassion. Since his debut in 1947, Bip has bravely explored every imaginable location, from a skating rink to a lion cage. But he has never been trapped inside the pages of a book...until now. Bip's struggle against invisible walls is the subject of "The Cage," perhaps the best-known mime drama of all time. In Bip in a Book, this richly evocative drama is reinterpreted for a new generation. Once again Marceau's famous innocent is trapped, but this time he is confined not by an imaginary cage, but by a page. Dressed in his signature striped pullover and battered opera hat, Bip is happily oblivious to his plight until he walks smack into the right edge of the page. As the reader turns the pages, Bip's imaginative exploration of this unexpected situation is told through 32 vivid photographs, each underscoring Marceau's outstanding gift of expression. Anyone who loves the theater will cherish these playful photographs of a modern master at work, but even readers who have never seen Bip will be drawn to the creativity and suspense of this one-of-a-kind story.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This ingenious square volume makes brilliant use of both the great mime's talents and the idea of the book as a physical object. Fans of Marceau will recognize one of his most famous pieces, "The Cage," taken to a new level here. The opening spreads feature a seemingly fathomless glossy black background on the left as, opposite, the inventive mime plays out his drama, photographed against a crisp white background. As Marceau approaches readers, he comes up against an invisible wall, which he indicates with hands outspread; in the next photos, he moves toward the right-hand edge of the page, eventually coming to a dead-end there as well. But here's where he expands on his work in "The Cage": he next begins to "climb" the edge of the page until he hits the "ceiling," or top edge of the page. Rothfeld's photos brilliantly create a cinematic effect: Marceau first loses his hat to gravity, then loses his own tenuous hold, falling (over several spreads) to the bottom of the page. This whole sequence leads to a cleverly imagined interplay with the mysterious blackness that has hitherto remained confined to the left of each spread. Marceau begins to get sucked into the darkness, saves himself, but loses his hat into the black vastness. Much playfulness prevails as Marceau finds a way to retrieve his chapeau. For the uninitiated, this thoughtfully conceived volume is an ideal introduction to the art of mime at its finest; for Marceau's followers, it is a must. All ages.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Marcel Marceau is universally acclaimed as the world's greatest mime. He was trained in Paris in the mid-1940s by legendary teacher Etienne Decroux, who recognized that Marceau was a "born mime." Training and performing developed Marceau's natural abilities until he gained acclaim as a master of pantomime in his own right. His enduring wordless dramas include "The Cage," "Walking Against the Wind," "Youth, Maturity, Old Age, and Death," and satires of everything from matadors to sculptors. In 1949 he formed the only pantomime company in the world, and in 1955 he made his U.S. debut. Since then the artist has performed in every major U.S. city and around the world, and has gained an even larger international following through his many television and movie appearances. Among his many honors are an Emmy Award and France's coveted Legion of Honor. Bruce Goldstone is the author of The Beastly Feast (Holt), and Ten Friends (Holt). He lives happily trapped inside an invisible cage known as New York City. Steven Rothfeld is the photographer of Entrez (Artisan), French Dreams (Workman), Irish Dreams (Chronicle), and Italian Dreams (Collins). He has also illustrated the works of prominent figures in the food and travel world, including Frances Mayes, Patricia Wells, and Wolfgang Puck. He lives in St. Helena, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Stewart, Tabori and Chang; First edition. edition (September 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584791306
• ISBN-13: 978-1584791300
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,617,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kids Love This Book!, October 22, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Bip in a Book (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book -- ingeniously conceived and flawlessly executed. I was surprised to find that my 9 year old daughter enjoyed the book as much as her younger sister. It's fun for young readers to figure out the story, and to imagine how the very tricky photography was done. Marcel Marceau continues to be an inspiring figure, graceful beyond his years. This book showcases his talent in a new, compelling, and personal way. It creates a fascinating world -- both inside and outside the box.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The sad farewell for the master of the art of silence !, September 25, 2007

By 

Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bip in a Book (Hardcover)

With the recent death of Marcel Marceau, the world once more lost an important component of its artistic body. For him, the end came but for us,the world became much more narrowly noisy.

Marceau conferred the silence a similar and even major importance respect the word, due the imagination in every one of us was an invisible bridge that allowed him to convey us to a new universe where the vanished of the magic lantern and those times in which the silent cinema spelled to our grandparents.

I had the chance to watch him four times in Caracas, and I still remember a clever utterance in occasion of a brief interview, in which he said these wise words:" The most touching moments of our existence, leave us without words. It's very difficult for a mime to lie, because for lying, the words are necessary."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully Written Work Without Words, December 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Bip in a Book (Hardcover)

It was really nifty how Marceau eventually breaks out of the book. The ending will have both you and your kid thinking about books in a new way. This is a classy production, with loving attention paid to layout, pacing, photography, and posture throughout. It's strange to talk about the wonderful writing in a book with absolutely no words, but it's true nonetheless! The story is captivating. The basic story line is easy enough to understand for young children (our 2.5 year-old loves it), but some of the more subtle interpretations will keep adults mulling over the book for a long time. And given how often your little will want to read the book, it's a good thing that it holds an adult's attention.