The Singing Bones

Ok, this book is so beautiful that I want to eat it. I want the images to live inside my eyes, so that I can see them when I close the lids. I want to touch the art, to reread the concise and lovely fairy tale retellings, to stare in fascination at the changing backgrounds, which transform the interior of the book to a literal window on another world.

I have always loved Inuit/ Alaska Native/ South American/ Primitive African art, but in loving the forms have felt the lack of the story in my ignorant outsider view. Tan's brilliant sculptures bring the stories I have always loved and treasured into harmonious interpretation, where form and tale combine.

Also, da-yamn, I never realized that one could do that with paper clay. It makes show more sense to me, but it's still masterful. show less

This book will not be for everyone and it feels more like a museum catalog than anything else, but the art is stunning and I'd like nothing more than to see it—and touch it and taste it— in person. These sculptures aren't literal interpretations of scenes from the Grimms' fairy tales, but, rather, evocations of the simultaneously comforting and unsettling feelings those tales arouse in us. If you appreciate the darker side of fairy tales, are a fan of Shaun Tan's previous works, or just appreciate art that illuminates and also makes you question things you thought you knew well, there will be plenty here to appeal.

As I've mentioned in two other posts (here and here), I'm a fan of Shaun Tan's works. What's better than a book written and illustrated by Shaun Tan? A book of Grimm's Fairytales illustrated with sculptures by Shaun Tan with an introduction by Neil Gaiman! If you've ready anything by Gaiman then you know his wheelhouse is dark, creepy fantasy. The Singing Bones definitely qualifies to enter that wheelhouse (why do they call it a wheelhouse by the way?). Each of Tan's sculptures are accompanied by a short passage from one of the Brothers Grimm fairytales. It's all about the emotion that the stories evoke and how they can be interpreted through art. Despair, fear, and hope are just a few of the feelings elicited within the pages of this show more book. If you're familiar with Tan's illustrations then you know the kind of artwork he creates tends to be eerie and full of emotion. This is no exception. I know that most people are familiar with the sweet illustrations and the happily ever after versions of these tales but Tan used the original text to create his art which makes it much more raw. I took my time with it much as you would with a large storybook. I personally think it would make an excellent coffee table book. I'd give it a 8/10 only because I would have liked the full versions of the stories and more art because I'm super greedy like that. show less

The Singing Bones is Shaun Tan's take on the folk tales of the brothers Grimm. For each of 75 stories, Tan selected an excerpt and created a sculpture to illustrate that excerpt. The sculptures were then photographed to pair with the text.

Some of these illustrations are haunting, even creepy. The lighting is done extraordinarily well and captures the mood of the story well; sometimes sunny and optimistic, sometimes scary. The book is an interesting way to breathe new life into very familiar material, and will likely inspire some readers to revisit the original stories, rather than the sanitised versions in popular culture.

This book is like a museum production. Heavy, glossy pages. Gorgeous, minimalist sculptures inspired by Inuit & pre-Columbian artwork. And Grimm fairy tales edited to their barest words -- really just a few lines. Each story has a single, facing-page layout: the story stripped down to its most basic form facing one artwork that depicts the essence of the story. Seventy-five stories total.

A stunning piece.

A collection of excerpts from Grimm's fairy tales, with accompanying sculptures by Shaun Tan. As a fan of both fairy tales and Shaun Tan's work, this book was squarely in my wheelhouse. I wasn't familiar with many of the tales, but I enjoyed getting acquainted with some of the more obscure stories and seeing a new perspective on some old favorites. Highly recommended.

The incomparable Shaun Tan's sculptures, each portraying a different Grimms' fairy tale, are both enchanting and unsettling.