Customer Reviews

The Griffin & Sabine Trilogy Boxed Set: Griffin & Sabine/Sabine's Notebook/The Golden Mean

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Let's get one thing out into the open right now: if you only like a plotted story with a clear beginning, a developed middle, and a firm, tidy ending, then you will probably be frustrated by "Griffin & Sabine." Those who value imaginative stories, open endings, and haunting artwork are encouraged to read further.

This lush, beautiful, eerie and somewhat baffling trilogy relates a series of letters and postcards between two artists living half a world apart. The story is told entirely through the letters themselves; however, there is a twist sure to delight the voyeur in all of us. All the correspondence is printed as if it were in its original form, so we see the postcards, and in order to read the letters, we must remove them from the envelopes pasted within the book. This gives the reader the slightly "naughty" thrill of going through another person's mail.

As for what actually happens between Griffin and Sabine or who they might really be, I will leave for the reader to ponder. Suffice it to say that Bantock's beautifully illustrated series will make a pleasantly diversion for those with an eye for the unusual.

The Griffin and Sabine trilogy in one of the most creative series of books I've read. The premise that two people encounter each other telephathically but have difficulty meeting face to face is an interesting one. It is made even more realistic and compelling by the format of the books. The story is told entirely through the correspondence between the protagonists which is displayed in real letters and postcards. It is an interesting experience to turn a page of the book, open Sabine's envelope, remove her letter to Griffin, and then read it. Finally, the most compelling aspect of the series is Bantoc's art work. His illustrations are extrordinary and very creative. The series is beautifully crafted from start to finish.

Some readers might be put off by an underlying sinister quality of the series, especially in the last book. Bantok also leaves us with many loose ends which some might find frustrating. Even if the plot or the concept of this series bothers you, it is worth checking out for the concept and creativity if nothing else. This series demonstrates that "multi-media" is not just a term that refers to computers and the Internet. Bantok's series rests on three different media: writing, physical components such as envelopes and letters, and art.

`Griffin & Sabine', `Sabine's Notebook', and `The Golden Mean' by illustrator, writer, and artist, Nick Bantock form a trilogy of unusual chapters in an interactive graphic novella, similar to the genre well-known to children from `pop-up' books. In fact, in Mr. Bantock's biographical sketch on the rear flyleaf, he is credited as the author of popup books.

The story, spread across the three volumes, neatly packaged in a very attractive slipcase with artwork from the cover of the first volume, is composed of a correspondence between a naturalist's artist and postage stamp illustrator, Sabine Strohem, and the owner of a one man postcard design studio, Griffin Moss.

As depicted in the flyleaf of the first volume, Ms. Strohem lives on a very small and, I believe, fictional chain of islands in the South Pacific, somewhere near the Solomon Islands. Mr. Moss lives in the middle of London. The basis of the ingeniously crafted correspondence between the two is based on the fact that both are talented and imaginative graphic artists who also happen to work in `the postal medium'. In fact, one might venture a subtitle of the series as `A Novella in Postage'.

The whole story is set off when Sabine begins, as a teenager, to have visions of illustrations in the act of their being created. Her visions see only the illustration and not the artist or even the artist's hand. After several years, she identifies the artist by spotting his work in a book of postcard illustrations. Over the course of a long correspondence on both postcards and two page letters, the two appear to fall in love. The first volume, `Griffin & Sabine' ends with the disappearance of Griffin on the event of Sabine's stating that she is coming to see him in London.

I recall seeing the single first volume in bookstores when it was first published and it is possible the author did not originally intend this to be a trilogy. While the end of the first volume is mysterious, it doesn't leave a lot of room for an obvious start of a second installment in a series. It leaves us with the possible conclusion that Sabine was totally a creation of Griffin's very depressed personality and that Griffin alone created the whole correspondence. This conclusion is supported by the last statement in the book that says that all pieces of both sides of the correspondence were found pinned to the ceiling of Griffin Moss' studio.

The second volume, `Sabine's Notebook' brings Sabine to Griffin's London apartment while Griffin has embarked upon an around the world journey which takes him to the Solomons, a short hop from Sabine's home, but circumstances keep him from visiting the small island chain itself, contributing to the idea that this location is fictional even within the context of the story. The second volume ends with the two principle characters missing one another by a hair again, as Griffin returns to London upon Sabine's returning to the islands, leaving no trace of her visit.

The third volume introduces the only other `speaking character' into the mix. This European journalist / scholar Victor Frolatti arrives on Sabine's island and begins making inquiries into the psychic ability demonstrated by Sabine. He quickly becomes an irritation and something of a distraction that also tends to upset the neat symmetry of the correspondence up to this time. The story also does not entirely resolve this character that seems to be introduced simply to create a reason for the joint disappearance of both Griffin and Sabine.

I will not relay the facts or my interpretation of the facts in this concluding volume, `The Golden Mean', as the facts are so vague that I can easily misinterpret what I am reading, and I would not want to risk spoiling your pleasure at reading it yourself.

To my mind, there are three components to this work. First, there is the story, about as long as a modest novella. I can read the whole thing in about 90 minutes. Not even as long as, for example, the famous novellas `Death in Venice' or `Heart of Darkness'. The literary quality of the writing is fair. It is certainly at a much higher level than your average comic graphic novel, but it is not quite on the same level as Thomas Mann or Joseph Conrad. If the text were to appear without the art, I doubt if the work would generate much comment in serious reviews.

Second, there is the graphic art. To a great extent, the circumstances of the principle characters are set up specifically to provide the framework for some very interesting art that walks that thin line between commercial illustration and fine art. The artwork is closest to the collage genre, transmuted onto the printed page by the influence of the pop-up book. I am less well equipped to evaluate graphic art than I am to evaluate the written word, but I believe the graphic art is superior to the writing.

Third, there is the synergy between the writing and the graphics which draws in the reader, especially with the device of the full page letters, artfully presented in envelopes within the book which one must open and read as if one were opening a genuine post. This third aspect of the book may be the best. While I am pleasantly surprised at the modest cost of each individual volume, I am almost sorry that the author and publisher could not have gone one more step and produced an edition with real stamps and real postcards in addition to the real envelopes. Using a variety of different paper textures would have enhanced the whole experience, but I am sure this would have also tripled the price of the books.

For the same price, I think three good DVDS of movies may be more value for the money, but if you really like graphic art, you don't want to miss these works.

The first time I saw this trilogy I thought " How great that will look on my bookshelf." Instead it opened a new concept in reading for me and my husband. He read the role of Griffin and I read the role of Sabine. It was so exciting that we couldn't wait to see what was going to happen to us or should I say G&S. The story was as intriguing as the way we went about reading it. Every night we would sit by the fireplace and open the letters in the book and read out loud, what a romantic gift for Valentines day or for no reason at all. The book is beautiful and Bantock is one of the most unique writers I have ever collected. This trilogy will open a whole new experience in reading for you and there are alot of surprises throughout. I wonder if you will figure it out before you get to the end. I promise you will become a Bantock fan for life. I have all his books, cards, address books etc and I love all of them. Buy your loved one a copy of this trilogy and read it like we did. After all it will give you some quality time together while fantasizing that you are Griffin and Sabine.

When I first heard good rants of the Griffin and Sabine Trilogy from my friend, I was inclined to read the series. And sure enough, I found Griffin and Sabine to be a vivid, gorgeous story in both context and design. The plot is simple and yet mysterious; a love story of two people living in the opposite ends of the world unfolded through letters and postcards...the unexpected twists in the book left me hanging and craving for more. Furthermore, the entire story allows you to open and read the letters other people (a taboo in real life), making the story even more surreal and exciting. An exotic love story wedded with whimsical artwork and an unusual format, Griffin and Sabine is a timeless winner that's sure to please the eccentric heart.

to read and to simply look at! These books are just beautiful. And not only are the beautiful, but they tell an excellent story-one filled with mystery, excitement, love, and more. Told through a series of letters (this is where the 'beautiful to look at' part comes in), Griffin and Sabine is amazingly original and wonderful to read.

Follow the lives of Griffin and Sabine as they discover each other in an interesting and very different way. Sabine, since a very young age, has been able to "see" what Griffin, an artist, paints. Finally discovering who she has been "seeing" for years, she begins a very intense correspondence with the lonely Griffin. What follows is one of the most powerful love stories I have ever read.

This books are a must read for anyone who appreciates beauty and romance.

Amazingly beautiful artwork surrounds a spledid tale of love. What an awesome medium to display both writing and drawing. I read read through all three books in one afternoon; completely captivating. These will hold your interest for years to come. Great for the coffee table! Will make a beautiful gift for anyone.

This is not a tale of love in any conventional sense. Rather, this is a story of a predatory, perverted love, if about love at all. Indeed, I will concede that the artwork is truly extraordinary. The suspense is palatable, and the language is poetic. But they are mere distractions--window dressing--to what is really going on. The beauty and suspense are meant to throw the reader off, to make him want to read too quickly and not carefully. The author has created something that not only works on many levels, but can also appeal to many people on different levels. A very difficult task, to say the least. But there is a genuine disrespect in the way he tricks people into believing that this is a great 'love' story.

At first glance, the trilogy seems to raise more questions than it answers. However, the answers are strewn amidst the prose of the postcards and letters. Without revealing the plot, the trilogy is replete with references to Yeats' "The Second Coming," even down to the reference to the sphinx. Yeats sees the sphinx rising up to bring forth the end of the world. The indignant "desert birds" (line 17, a.k.a. humans who foresee the Second Coming) try to stop the sphinx from bringing about the end of the world, but their task is impossible. In the end, Yeats reveals no hope for the continued existence of humanity. This is relevant because the character "Victor Frolatti" in G&S is the author's personification of a desert bird.

Furthermore, one of the postcards, with the very symbolic picture of a child on it, has in the fine print at the bottom that says, "and what rough beast...slouches...to be born." Straight from Yeats' "Second Coming." This postcard is addressed to a new stranger no less, and it begins exactly as did the first one she sent to Griffin: "It's good to get in touch with you at last." Sabine signs her name "Sabine M. Strohem," not "Sabine Strohem-Moss" or "Sabine Moss." Some may think, mistakenly, that since she has included the 'M' she and griffin must be married and living happily ever-after. I think not. She's added the 'M' almost as if it's a trophy. And note that the stamp is the gold fish breaking out of the glass--the picture on the first postcard presented in the first book. By the way, "The Second Coming" is not about the resurrection of a kind, benevolent Christ, it's about the resurrection of an omnipotent judge with an iron fist.

It's easy to be clouded by the muse of an apparent romantic love story to even worry about the discontinuity here. In short, and at its core, "The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy" is a study in deceit and evil. Griffin receives a postcard in the mail from a stranger. The stranger knows things about him that no one else knows via 'powers' that she somehow possesses. This stranger uses her cunning to evoke feelings from Griffin that he has never felt before. Griffin eventually surrenders himself to her, and in doing so, ultimately seals his own fate. Sabine feeds her own thirst by destroying her prey from the inside out; not metaphorically, but quite literally. She is the true personification of evil. And when she has finished with Griffin, she moves on to her next victim, ready to add him to her collection of vanquished souls. This is the only logical conclusion that can be drawn after examining all the evidence. She is a predator, and those she seeks our are her prey. She uses her powers reveal the most vulnerable aspects of her victims, and then attacks using 'love' and 'passion' as her camouflage. "The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy" is not exceptional because it's a great love story; rather, it's an extraordinary study and presentation of the complexity of human nature disguised as a great love story.

If you are a linear person who likes to read things that are clearly set forth in a,b,c steps and you only like realistic art, this set of books is not for you. If, however, you have any appreciation for abstraction and surrealism combined in the worlds of writing and art, you need to own your very own set at once! All three books are correspondence with actual envelopes, letters and postcards between Griffin and Sabine, both of whom are artists in niche markets, designing postcards (him) and stamps (her). They live halfway across the world from one another. The actual reading of the correspondence can be done at many levels. It can be read as a romance between the two people, which many people have chosen as their preferred view, or it can be read as two sides of the same person, with the split parts not realizing they are part of the same whole. There are also extensive other meanings that can be attached to the work depending on how much cognitive concentration you care to bring to reading and viewing the books. I abandoned that approach almost from the beginning though because I found the right-brain, instinctual pull of the art work so powerful, accompanied by the surrealism of the writing, that I preferred to take in the whole thing as an abstraction of life and the universe. There is a huge temptation to overly analyze this work or nitpick as to the ultimate destiny of Griffin & Sabine but I suggest you just let yourself go and immerse yourself in author-artist Bantock's world. This would make a fabulous gift for many people who are open to non-linear, abstract and surreal work.

Why go for the entire Griffin and Sabine trilogy when you haven't seen any of the books yet? Believe me, experience (this is more than reading) one and you WILL want the others. Go for the box.

Bancock, an illustrator who has produced pop-up books in the past has created a picture book for adults that's a guilty pleasure. The concept is built about a suspenseful series of correspondence between Griffin, a London postcard illustrator, a Sabine, a postage stamp artist residing in the South Pacific. There is mysticism, romance, a little Jung, a little Freud. The text is conveyed on the illustrated postcards and in letters that are tucked into actual envelopes. It is a tour d'force of ideas and illustration. A grouch might say it is glib or slick; that's the grouch's problem. This is for everyone who would like to be surprised and entertained in an off-beat way.