Griffin & Sabine / Sabine's Notebook / The Golden Mean (1991)

by Nick Bantock

Series: Griffin and Sabine Trilogy (Boxed Set)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
450	9	20,955	(4.33)	11

Add to your library

Add to wishlist

all members

▾Members

Recently added by

savagegenius, daisybanana, JenneB, KalliopeMuse, wjmcomposer, clarasayre, aultx013, kmctigue2002, kjkalk

numbers

show all

▾Tags

art (55) artbook (5) Bantock (3) boxed set (3) collage (6) correspondence (2) epistolary (12) epistolary fiction (4) fantasy (26) favorite (4) favorites (3) fiction (61) graphic novel (6) Griffin & Sabine (5) have read (2) illustrated (7) illustrated novel (2) letters (19) literature (5) loved (3) mixed media (2) mystery (4) novel (4) own (3) postcards (6) read (12) romance (13) series (4) stamps (2) voyeuristic (2)

▾LibraryThing recommendations

Amphigorey by Edward Gorey (1972)
The Transitive Vampire by Karen Elizabeth Gordon (1984)
Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaiman (1993)
Same series: Death: The Time of Your Life (The Sandman: Death)
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (1989)
PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives by Frank Warren (2005)

see more recommendations for this work

refresh

▾Member recommendations

None.

▾Will you like it?

▾Member reviews

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 9 (next | show all)

This trilogy is a treasure. Read a while ago, but it certainly is a MUST REREAD. (

)

KalliopeMuse | Apr 2, 2013 |

The books are works of art in themselves. The story revolves around Griffin, a man who designs cards and an islander woman, Sabine and their extraordinary correspondence through letters and postcards. What's quirky is that Sabine can 'see' Griffin designing his work even though she's not physically there with him. A romance develops between the two and they seek to find a way to 'leap' into the same dimension so they can be together.

What's startling about these books are that the story is delivered in actual letters that one pulls out of little envelops stuck in the book, or written on beautiful postcards, and the pages are often illustrated with little symbols, doodles, or partial designs. It's beautiful, it's exotic, it's sublime and one loses oneself in the story and in the art. (

)

cameling | Apr 27, 2011 |

For the romantic. Just a simple love story. (

)

vgusg1rl | Apr 18, 2009 |

After reading all three books, I'm still left uncertain as to what was really happening. I loved reading the postcards and letters, but I didn't enjoy the artwork very much at all. My curiosity kept me turning the pages to see where the story was leading. I remain curious and will pick up the next three to see where this relationship ends up. (3/5)

Originally posted on: "Thoughts of Joy..." (

)

ThoughtsofJoyLibrary | Mar 13, 2009 |

How can you not love these "books"? They are not so much books as they are individual pieces of art. I love that you can remove the letters from the book. The story is beautiful but the books themselves are artistic masterpieces of modern publishing. (

)

katet | Jul 30, 2008 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 9 (next | show all)

▾Published reviews

no reviews | add a review

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (3 possible)

▾Work-to-work relationships

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Series (with order)

Griffin and Sabine Trilogy (999|Boxed Set)

Canonical title

Griffin & Sabine / Sabine's Notebook / The Golden Mean

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1991

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

Epigraph

Dedication

For Kim Kasasian

First words

Griffin Moss
It's good to get in touch with you at last.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Publisher series

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Haiku summary

▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0811806960, Hardcover)

Few books are more romantic than this trilogy, nor more surreal. Griffin Moss is a rather doleful, lonesome, gaunt, and haunted postcard designer in London. Sabine Strohem is an illustrator of stamps living on an island in the South Pacific. One day Griffin gets an extraordinary letter from Sabine revealing that she knows all kinds of things about his life and work--somehow, she can share his soul from afar. They start exchanging love letters, yet it remains an open question whether Griffin and Sabine are two hearts that mystically beat as one, or simply illusory. "You're a figment of my imagination," Griffin accuses Sabine. "You cannot turn me into a phantom because you are frightened," Sabine replies. Phantom or soul mate, Sabine is pursued across the globe by Griffin in an increasingly impassioned fashion, and the mysteries deepen.

The legendarily popular trilogy of books containing the Griffin-Sabine correspondence literally contains the correspondence: postcards, front and back, and letters in envelopes pasted into the book, which the reader must open and read--a temptation few can resist. Nick Bantock's story was way ahead of the computer game Myst, with which it shares a moody allure. Bantock designed hundreds of book covers (for Philip Roth, John Updike, and others) before he fled London for a lovely island off the west coast of Canada with his rather Sabine-like artist wife and became improbably famous by dreaming up this trilogy. His artwork is gorgeous, and countless romances have been intensified by exposure to that of Griffin and Sabine. --Tim Appelo

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:59:12 -0500)

(see all 2 descriptions)

▾Library descriptions

It all started with a mysterious and seemingly innocent postcard, but from that point nothing was to remain the same in the life of Griffin Moss, a quiet, solitary artist living in London. His logical, methodical world was suddenly turned upside down by a strangely exotic woman living on a tropical island thousands of miles away. Who is Sabine? How can she "see" what Griffin is painting when they have never met? Is she a long-lost twin? A clairvoyant? Or a malevolent angel? Are we witnessing the flowering of a magical relationship or a descent into madness? This stunning visual novel unfolds in a series of postcards and letters, all brilliantly illustrated with whimsical designs, bizarre creatures, and darkly imagined landscapes. Inside the book, Griffin and Sabine's letters are to be found nestling in their envelopes, permitting the reader to examine the intimate correspondence of these inexplicably linked strangers. This truly innovative novel combines a strangely fascinating story with lush artwork in an altogether original format.… (more)