Customer Reviews

The Secret Books

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Featured in the photographer's epilogue is the claim that he began juxtaposing items such as snakes, skulls, and hands with mysterious books in Latin, Greek, Spanish and other languages before connecting his photographic inspiration with the literary inspiration of Borges. Once he understood the connection, however, it seems the influence of Borges contaminated him; several photographs not only capture Borges's enthusiasm for the enigmas within books and words, they quote the Argentine master within them. Therein lies my favorite aspect of this wonderful book: the photographer's particular fascination with secret books overlaps with yet remains distinct from Borges's particular fascination with the same subject, creating--as with Edward Fitzgerald and Omar Khayyam--a dialogue that is more beautiful and valuable together than apart.

interwoven with poems and stories by borges are these stunning, surreal representations of books as objects of art and mystery. while none of them "illustrate" the text, they follow a parallel theme.

the imagination behind these compositions is both uplifting and a little scary. the notion of a text composed completely of small beetles opens all sorts of interesting possibilities. my only complaint is the binding- this would have made a beautiful hardcover.

As with Borges' writing, there is nothing quite like this stunningly original, evocative collection of photographs. The images contain all the elements for which the writer was so admired: paradox, beauty, and elemental simplicity. If you have any reverence for books as objects, or as vessels for meaning, then you should possess this "secret" book.

I first saw this in a CommArts Magazine and couldn't beleive the images. This was also my introduction to Jorge Luis Borges who is now one of my favorite authors.