Customer Reviews

The Forgetting Room

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Like the Griffin and Sabine trilogy by the same author, "The Forgetting Room" is a pleasure to the senses. Nick Bantock fills the pages with lavish art, often in inventive forms such as collage, letters, and fold-out inserts.

On top of the fascinating, appealing artwork, though, Bantock includes an interesting story line. As in the Griffin and Sabine stories, the plot line of "The Forgetting Room" has a haunting dark side. Bantock explores the nature of the artist and the intensity of the relationships that artists tend to form.

Bantock also sets up a kind of game for the narrator, and the reader, to play. The game itself is ultimately more compelling than the answer. Armon, the main character, eventually discovers that he must confront the personal demons, or duende, of his own past and the past of his grandfather, before he can fully recognize his own identity as an artist. Unravelling the mystery behind the past is an intriguing process, made enjoyable by the beauty of Bantock's artwork.

After learning that Nick Bantock had written more books after Griffen and Sabine, I was eager to try them all . "The Forgetting Room' sounded like a good bet. But the very small print, the less than top quality production, and the story itself, in my opinion, make it third rate. I will carefully consider the reviews before trying another.

The Forgetting Room has an entertaining story and beautiful artwork, all in Bantock's neo-surrealistic style. I can't complain about the ideas presented in this novel, but Bantock does not explore them in depth. Of course it doesn't spoon-feed, but some readers will question if it brings the food close enough. If you're a Bantock fan, or you don't mind completing Bantock's ideas, this book is good. Otherwise, I recommend you read Bantock's "Griffin and Sabine" or Crimmins's "The Republic of Dreams," both of which go deeper into their subjects.

A beautifully designed book...not as much so as the Griffin and Sabine trilogy, but beautiful nonetheless. But this book has too many things that, to me, don't really have anything to do with the story. The concertina pages of questions for example. Even after he discovered the answers to them....what do they have to do with anything? I can't see where they fit into the storyline, except to add a bit of mystery to it. There is also the page with the instructions for the Forgetting Room. None of which were used or mentioned in the story. I know the book is meant to be surrealistic and mysterious, and it is most definately that, but it did leave me a bit confused and wondering about things. Like what was the point of the beautiful scar faced woman, Ceres. She adds nothing of worth really to the story. And why is the letter "A" the pass letter? Pass letter for what? Well, maybe this is what Bantock planned to do from the beginning, and that is to confuse the heck out of his readers. Well he succeeded with me. But I will read other books of his as it does give my brain a workout.

While I've greatly enjoyed Nick Bantok's books, and this is no exception, I may be terribly dense, but I didn't find much meaning or solution to the puzzle. The illustrations are beautiful, and the story well designed, but I wonder if there is another level I have missed... A little help?

At his best, Bantock's work carries a visual and narrative sense of the unseen, of mysterious forces guiding the visible characters. Those stories feature evocative artwork, in complex and layered imagery, often in ways that invite (or demand) direct involvement of the reader.

Unfortunately, as in this case, the narrative mystery sometimes just turns to murk. Likewise, some of the artwork, including one image that seems central to the plot, becomes so dense and dark that it becomes nearly illegible. Given so many visual elements with most in such fragmentary condition, I found a paradox of too much and not enough information for its meaning to come clear. Not all of the book's art suffered that fate, though, and I wish that more of the book had been in the art and less in the text.

I'll keep coming back to Bantock's work, because I liked his earlier work so much. I found this disappointing, however.

-- wiredweird

I love the disclaimer about García Lorca's quotes, in which Nick Bantock blames any inaccuracies on his characters' faulty memories!

This story takes place in Ronda, a beautiful city in Malaga, Spain. The descriptions of the city are great, and the famous bridge ("El Tajo del Coño") is central to the story. I wish that the original painting that Armon makes of it had not been so obscured by the other elements of the collage. There were a few more things that bothered me. Paolo and Francesca are Italian names, not Spanish. "Casa", not "cassa", is Spanish for "house". The appearance of Ceres is rather superfluous, and i do not know that she provides much to the story, other than to reiterate that Rafael was a special kind of man, and we already knew that. The ghostly images and hallucinations that Armon experiences in the final chapters are also a bit over the top.

Armon goes into a meditative mode once he arrives in Ronda. Reading between the lines, it is suggested that he was ripe for the epiphany he experiences towards the end. However, the transformation he suffers, the happiness and thirst for life that envelop him so rapidly, are far-fetched. You cannot shed your skin like if you were a snake at molting time. The very essence of you remains always with you, and Armon's melancholy is Armon himself.

The best part of the book, to me, is the analysis that Armon makes of his family relationships. The introspection that he experiences in the solitude of the studio is described in an exquisite way. I wonder how much autobiographical stuff is in Armon.

This novel is to me much more satisfying that the Griffin and Sabine Trilogy, despite discrepancies, artifice and Italian vocabulary. Armon's conversations with himself make this book worth it. One of the editorial reviews calls it a 'fairy tale', and that's right on the money.

I love Nick Bantock's work, and have for a few years now. I consider his works an inspiration for my own and I enjoyed this book as a means to discover how Bantock as an artist creates his pieces. As a story however, I felt it lacked the passion it set out to portray and seemed hurredly written.

All Bantock collectors will buy this book, and most will treasure it, not for the forgetful story, but for the artwork and an insight into the artist himself.

If you are looking for a great story however, I'm sad to say you should look elsewhere.

Don't worry, I'll still be first in line to buy the next one.

This book is like a breath of fresh air!!! It has a magic in a very heart felt story and its intriguing surrealistic symbolism. Aesthetically it is quite outstanding and made even more so in the intimate format of the book. I am now very eager to visit the small Spanish town of Ronda! I am sorry that it has taken me so long to discover the books of Nick Bantock, which I might add I am now collecting. As an artist I particularly identify with the author's work and have purchased additional copies of "The Forgetting Room" to share with others. The perfect word to discribe this book is that it is a treasure in its total sum of aesthetic worth and the revelation of the story!

I read this a few years ago, when I was holed up in bed with the flu. It was the most magical, perfect escape. I really hope Nick will one day write some more.