Customer Reviews

Griffin & Sabine Trilogy: Boxed Set

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have never before been so moved by a work of fiction. These books involve all of your senses, requiring a level of physical interaction with the work that pulls you into the story line. The ambiguity each book creates tugs at your intellect and your heart, pushing you to read further, yet the illustrations force your pause. It's a fantastic reading experience. I found myself simultaneously moved, inspired, and filled with hope.

I found the books to be stunning in content, form, and artwork. A hint of feeling mischeivious that one gets from reading another's correspondance. I think anyone who reads these books should reserve their opinion of the content until they read subsequent books in the series - particularly "The Gryphon". For the hermeticists in the audiance, pay particular attention to the art work and read and re-read the content of the mail. For the inquisitive... check out "The Kabalion" for the principle teachings of Hermes Trismegistus or better yet find an interpretation of "the Emerald Tablet".

This trilogy is a must have for your library and makes a wonderful gift! The story is intriguing and Bantock is one of the most unique writers I have ever read. You will love these books and all the surprises they offer.

I used to work at a bookstore and I recall the day when a customer ran into the store frantically searching for Griffin and Sabine. She was buying it as a present for someone and couldn't stop talking about the beautiful art of the letters and postcards. Curious, I read it, and was not disappointed.

As I read the Griffin and Sabine books, I felt as if I were a part of their interaction, and looking through a scrapbook of actual writings. I smiled, grinned, and cried my way through the pages. The correspondence is detailed enough that you get a really good sense of the storyline and it inspired me to write my own correspondence similarly (even decorate them as such! I get amazing compliments).

The art is whimsical, reflecting the mood of each letter and postcard.. it is impressionistic, abstract, and surreal. Artists like Escher, Dali, and John Pitre float through my mind as I flip through the books.

The best reason to buy the set: this will save you the time it takes to order the other books immediately.

Warning: You will wish ALL your penpals were artists after this!

If you ate the most perfect dinner ever prepared as you read this book--savoring the flavors and scents--you might never recover from the sensory overload. The trilogy stimulates your eyes, your intellect, your imagination, your secretly hidden romantic, and the child inside you stops pretending to be grown up while you read.

Amazing. There is no book like this. Each letter is brief but crafted meticulously. The plot jumps forward with each letter and postcard provoking and delighting. Nick Bantock's art is astonishing. Most impressive of all is the way in which the narrative and the art are interdependent -- one cannot exist without the other.

Of course, until then I have thoroughly enjoyed this box set in pristine condition...May the road rise to meet all those that were on the VOD team.

Rusty

I had a psychotic girlfriend who loved these books
and tried to get me to read them. "Aren't they beautiful?"
Whenever I read see these books, it reminds me of being stalked by a lunatic.

This book is fuel for all of the twisted, psychotic, neurotic,
witchcraft-dabbling women out there.

I loved these books. I read them first a few years ago, when I was staying with a friend, who is as soppy a romantic as I am. Thye are a wonderful adventure.

I am not sure what reminded me of them again, but I bought them for my partner for Valentines Day this year. We have had a wonderful time reading them together pulling out the letters, looking at the drawings and paintings and postcards.

It is just like reading someone else's beautifully written mail. It makes me want to rediscover the art of letter writing and give up emailing my family and friends!

The series is beautifully designed and perfect for the visually motivated. I could easily spend an hour opening the little envelops and marveling at the boldly designed postcards. Brilliant marketing idea, really, for the latte drinking crowd. But. It fails as literature. Thinking "Griffin and Sabine" 'romantic' is akin to thinking 'Hello Kitty' a cat. If you want romance, read "Possession," by A.S. Byatt, "Jane Eyre," by Charlotte Bronte or "On the Wings of the Dove," by Henry James.

One thing I love about the trilogy is that you feel like you are reading another person's mail. You are spying in on this love story...and it is so much fun. When you turn a page, and come upon a letter in an envelope, opening it feels quite exciting.

If you expect the storyline to wind through predictable territory, you will be disappointed. The vagueness of the plot makes you question the characters' reality and makes you hungry for every detail that is provided. Mr. Bantock does such a fantastic job with the story of Griffin and Sabine that you want to believe the couple actually exists.

Yes, this is a fast read but if you are like me, you read it slow to savor each page of the book.