Asleep in the Sun (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Against this backdrop, we travel to the Cyclades, a cluster of Greek Islands in the southern Aegean Sea..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Don't let the cover's cuddly close-up cause you to bypass this book. Asleep in the Sun is packed with beautiful composition and colors. Hans Silvester has been snapping the exquisite beasts of the Cycladic Islands for almost 20 years, and his love and patience have paid off before. In the 1993 Cats in the Sun, he notes the symbiotic rapport between Greeks and their feline gifts: cats keep the rat level within reason, and the humans "like them without exactly loving them, they care for them without exactly caring about them."

Silvester, however, obviously cares very much about them, and takes care to catch them in the best possible light. Mediterranean sun and shade sweep across rough pavements, blue sea, and white steps. Cats keep watch in the most tenuous spots, or nap on boats and buildings with elegant panache. If there is more sleeping than leaping in this book, why blame the exhausted kitties? It is the author who admits to being "an unconditional lover of the siesta." Anyway, they still look sublime.

Review

Asleep in the Sun, the latest in a series of books documenting the feline good life as enjoyed in the Greek islands, may be his most attractive yet. -- The New York Times Book Review, Alida Becker

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081181873X
• ISBN-13: 978-0811818735
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 10.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,067,790 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hans Silvester is THE BEST cat photographer there is!, October 1, 1999

By A Customer

Most books about cats have them dressed in silly clothes or in crazy poses and that just makes me ill.....but Silvester takes stunning photographs of cats from a distance to maintain a natural feel! And in such a beautiful location! If you are a cat lover, you will greatly appreciate his books.

I was sad to learn though, that he has a book of dogs out :(

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cat's Meow, July 14, 2004

By	FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Hans Silvester is a master photographer, and here he has chosen one of his favourite subjects, cats. On many Greek Islands, cats roam free among the people, living their lives on beaches, in the public spaces, and in every nook and cranny around. These photographs, astonishing in colour and clarity, are fabulous images of familiar and emotive subjects.

Who doesn't like to nap? Certainly, cats are renowned for this - the phrase 'cat-nap' is a standard English phrase for good reason. Cats also are creatures of comfort and joy -- they have a good talent for seeking out even the smallest sliver of sunlight to bask and enjoy. Single, double and in 'clumps', cats are portrayed in various settings here -- cliffs, beaches, stores, stairs, empty boxes, waterside -- every conceivable pose.

These are natural shots. Silvester does not work with trained cats, and as most people know, cats are notoriously hard to 'herd'. Silvester went everywhere with his cameras, every day, and found cats doing what they do naturally, which is most often, napping. The settings on the Cyclades Islands in Greece provide a stunning backdrop. The buildings are better than any Hollywood set could ever be; from the dramatic colours of the Mediterranean to the simple white-washed stone buildings, the colours of the cats, their fur and their eyes, provide dramatic visuals, touching images, and wonderful feelings.

Silvester is good at playing contrasts and well as blended images. The opening pages show a solid white cat at play and rest against a white-and-blue washed building in the shade -- the camoflague of the cat is subtle and effective. The calico and orange tabbies against the sandstone is also an effective blend. On the other hand, the tortoise shell cats against the green steps and the mother gray-striper with her collection of nursing kittens against the soft-coloured, light gray stone provide good contrasts.

While the title of the book, 'Asleep in the Sun', implies something about cat behaviour and the selection of photographs by Silvester, in fact Silvester never passes up a chance at a good photograph, so we are also treated to cats at play, cats on the run, and cats in various poses such as grooming and stretching.

There are no humans depicted in the photographs -- this is a book about the cats and their environment, although the human presence is very much a factor in the architecture and general layout of the place.

Silvester includes a short essay at the beginning of the book, in which he praises the Mediterranean idea of siesta and relaxation that we in the north (and those descended from northern Europeans) tend to have forgotten. Cats are companions to humans with love to offer, and means of living to teach. This is a precious book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Kitschy Kitties Here, March 31, 2000

By	"sologub" (Vienna, Austria) - See all my reviews

Even if you don't especially love cats, you will love this book. If you do love cats, you'll be crazy for it. Silvester's photographs are so beautifully composed, it's amazing -- angles, colors, lighting -- all are wonderful. In focusing on sleeping or yawning kitties, he captures the relaxed atmosphere of the Greek islands to perfection. The cats you will see here look like and behave like cats -- they aren't posed in that cute way you typically find in cat books and calendars. On the other hand, the photographs are not "arty" in a cold, inaccessible way either (thank goodness). I can't imagine that anyone would regret purchasing this book. It would also make a nice gift for a cat lover.