The Night Life of Trees [Hardcover]

Durga Bai (Author), Bhajju Shyam (Author), Ram Singh Urveti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006

In the belief of the Gond tribe, the lives of humans and trees are closely entwined. Trees contain the cosmos; when night falls, the spirits they nurture glimmer into life.

A visual ode to trees rendered by tribal artists from India, this handcrafted edition showcases three of the finest living Gond masters. This collection of their distinctive styles is enchanting—an excellent gift for those fascinated by trees, art or folk traditions.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Tara Publishing, a commune of artists, writers and designers producing handmade books in Chennai (formerly Madras), India, have created a glowingly mysterious and charming volume that combines mythology from central India's Gond tribe with illustrations from three renowned Gond artists who will appear at museums in several U.S. cities this year. Hand screened onto black paper, the colorful, intricately detailed illustrations are almost psychedelic, in some ways reminiscent of Australian Aboriginal drawings. But the forms are recognizably Indian, and despite stylistic differences among the three artists, the pictures reveal a strong and unique Gond artistic tradition where animals, insects and humans merge with and emerge from the trees. There are magical stories about the protective spirits of the Sambar tree, and the serpent and root-entwined snake goddesses holding the earth together. But the practical uses of trees figure here as well: the wood of the thorny Nagphani tree is hard enough to use as a crowbar, and its sap heals sore eyes; the Ganja (marijuana) bush and the Mahua (alcohol) tree are said to be husband and wife. This mingling of the mythic, mundane and poetic gives an alluring glimpse into an integrative worldview that's in poignant contrast to the fragmented postmodern world. (June 1)Correction: In the review of Endgame, by Derrick Jensen (Reviews, May 8), the final sentence should read, "But he has become so disgusted with what he calls 'civilization' that he has more compassion for the salmon than for his fellow humans."
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Review

"A book where the nightingale sings until morning." --John Berger

"The book is a charming and delightful read ... providing a glimpse into the rich storytelling tradition and imaginative world of Gond folklore." -- Time Out (London) October 2006

"This is a book that adds to our understanding of the world." --Fine Books & Collections

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Tara Books (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8186211926
• ISBN-13: 978-8186211922
• Product Dimensions: 13.1 x 9.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #86,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #57 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Fairy Tales

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing book for art lovers..., May 13, 2007

By 

Heather Maas "Reader of Books and Stories" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Night Life of Trees (Hardcover)

I first saw this book at a local bookstore, which quickly sold out before I could get a copy. This book is a unique collection of the silkscreen prints of three separate artists from the same cultural tradition in India. Every image depicts a tree and is accompanied by a short myth about the creation or transformation of that tree. The art style is tribal, using intricate patterns of dots and lines. If you are a fan of tribal art styles and mythology, you will treasure this book for a long time to come. I would hesitate to recommend the book as a children's book for children under a certain age to more conservative parents, given references to suicide and drug use, in particular marijuana and alcohol.
On the whole, however, I found this to be an amazing and incredibly beautiful book. I look at it and read it often. The computer images do not do justice to the rich color and texture of the images.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and unique., September 26, 2010

By 

L.A. in CA - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Night Life of Trees (Hardcover)

This has got to be one of the most unique and unusual books I have ever owned. It brings together two of my favorite things: art and trees. Each page of art in this book is hand silk screened on heavy black paper. Once the pages are silk screened, they are bound together in a very appealing binding. The prints depict trees from India, along with a bit of the history and folk lore associated with each particular tree. This book is a numbered edition of only 2,000 copies. You can see how it was created by going to You Tube and typing in "tara books". Definitely a small scale, local operation. The artists are amazing. And the price is very inexpensive for a book of hand printed silk screened prints.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure delight, December 14, 2010

By 

a d being - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Night Life of Trees (Hardcover)

my new favourite thing in the world - this book is a treasure - a delight to hold, touch and be immersed in - be captivated by its stunning use of colour, gorgeous illustrations and poignant tales. I only bought this book because I read a review on Amazon - it was beyond my expectations. I show this book to all my close friends.