Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence, 25th Anniversary Limited Edition

I'm the baby of a big family, and my closest-in-age sibling is still four and a half years older than me. I worshiped her, and liked everything she liked, but the age gap meant she didn't particularly want to share her favorites with me.

She did, however, share Griffin and Sabine with me, when I was 13 or 14, and I fell in love with the books, the art, and the world Nick Bantock created. They will always have a special place in my heart.

Reading them as a proper adult, perhaps a rather cynical one, I found the nearly instant love between Griffin and Sabine a bit much. Going from strangers to explaining Sabine's strange gift of seeing what Griffin draws, to “you've made life worthwhile” in a few letters and postcards was too rapid for show more me. The art remains absolutely enjoyable though, and there's an extreme tactile glee I still feel pulling the letters from their envelopes.

Bantock remains a wonderful artist, with a true gift for creating unique books and combining his art and writing. I would most recommend the Griffin and Sabine books to the 12-24 age range, or older if the recipient is a sensitive romantic. show less

A fabulist story, building slowly with each new postcard or letter, the ending pleasingly ambivalent. It's satisfying that the pace is slowed with the pauses needed to pull the occasional letter from an envelope, the attention paid to handwriting as well as imagery (stamps, pictures, cancellation marks). Still leaves an impression to interact with the book beyond the standard turning of leaves, and gently ironic given the narrative is rooted in a voyeuristic experience.

The twist is satisfying in that I didn't expect it, exactly, and yet it is fitting. (Julian Jaynes came to mind.) I wonder if the following two books in the initial trilogy, and/or the books of the second, spoil the effect by making too clear a statement about what is show more going on. show less

This is one of the most unique books I have ever read. The book is epistolary in nature, and the letters in the book must be removed from their envelopes and read. The correspondence begins when Sabine, living in the South Pacific, sends a postcard to Griffin. He is surprised, as he doesn't know a Sabine. When he asks her, she tells him that she sees him painting, although she is thousands of miles away. They continue to correspond, growing closer, until one day - nothing. Quite a mystery! I can't wait to read the other 2 books in the trilogy. The art work is quite unique and the physical act of removing the letters to read them adds to the experience.

A delightful and ethereal love story told in postcards and letters, with intriguing artwork on every page. Lovely thick paper, beautiful colors, and the envelope at the end with the little surprise in it was just icing on the cake. I know I read this years ago but forgot just how charming it is. I got it in the mail, opened it, and read it standing up at the kitchen counter. Before I even made my coffee. And it made my day. Can't wait to share it with my sister.

If I didn’t receive this as an ARC in a review program I’d feel a bit cheated by this edition. The publisher’s copy about the book says it contains additional artwork not in the original. True as far as it goes, but if you already own a copy of this lovely piece of art and storytelling, save your dollars. If you’re new to the series by all means get this version.There is another envelope at the very back of the book and it contains a postcard and some stickers in the shape of stamps that feature art from the book. It’s cute and I own a couple of postcard collections from Bantock already, but it doesn’t add anything to the story. Chronicle Books has kept the same high quality of paper and inks as in the original, so no show more worries there, I just wish there was a bit more content in the book since they were going to all the trouble of issuing an anniversary edition.

The story itself is a highly-romantic tale of two halves of what seems to be one soul. Both artists, separated by more than a mere ocean, they must overcome their backgrounds and their own senses to be together. It’s pretty fraught and laced with a supernatural element that is reflected in the artwork, which by itself is ethereal and just a bit weird. If this is the only book you have you’ll probably get the rest of them; they all end as cliffhangers. They’re short, but you can lose a lot of time opening those cunning envelopes and studying those stamps. I re-read the initial series of three and the follow up series of three in a few short hours on a snowy day. Lovely escapism and I’m looking forward to the new book which is coming later this spring. show less

Griffin & Sabine might be a mystery. It might be a love story. But it is certainly beautifully and cleverly assembled. The story is told entirely in letters and postcards between a man and woman oceans apart who have never met. And yet, their lives seem strangely intertwined. Their correspondence is presented as facsimlies of their postcards and letters. Some are hand written, others typed with handwritten corrections. Letters come out of envelops, addresses are squeezed into corners of postcards and every piece of mail is is a small work of art. You see, both Griffin and Sabine artists. Griffin owns a small business designing cards and Sabine is employed designing speciality stamps for her small island nation.

Ultimately the book is a show more concise, but beautifully executed delight ending with a tantalizing question about who these people are and what the nature of their relationship really is. show less

Ah, letters and art and friendship and love! What more can one want? Delightful! It's great these two found... hmm... well, that took a turn. Sad. No. Dark. No. Uplifting. No. Sad and dark. Definitely sad and dark. But, uplifting? Maybe, but still sad and dark. Hmm. Well, whatever, it's compelling. Stickers!