“(…) but it is a curious fact. We live in a visual world still run by language.” — Christoph Niemann
May has been a rainy month here in Auckland with poor weather and work to catch up with after the Easter Holidays. It rained almost every single day and weeks have gone so fast.
One of the highlights for me was getting my Auckland Library Pass and checking out the first book: a graphic novel I found wandering the library. What a fantastic thing, having a library pass, I have re-discovered!
Soft City, the first book I checked out in the library, is illustrated by Hariton Pushwagner and portrays a dystopian city where people are controlled by machines and trapped in monotonous routines. It critiques the dehumanizing effects of modern urban life and the alienation of individuals from their own identities and desires.
Yes, the story is this heavy. The crazy thing is that the book, the narrative, was created in the 1970s, but some of the emotion it conveys on technology, monotony, alienation, etc., may as well be transferrable to today’s world.
This is the power of drawings. Pushwagner doesn’t need to use that many words, in fact, he barely uses them and when he does, they are explicit and meaningful (“Where is the mind when the body is here?”). He doesn’t need to show and describe the reality he talks about literally. What I like about this piece of art is that it conveys a powerful meaning with very few resources: mainly well-placed lines, symmetry, touches of colour and shading, and repetition of patterns and elements.
Some stories are more powerful if told with both words and pictures - even with only pictures. This book made me think about graphic novels in general, a form of art I love and consume.
These are some of my favourites authors and titles I keep in my library (at the moment partly in a box full of books waiting for my return in London, partly in my teenage room at my parents in Xàtiva, Spain):
Saul Steinberg, who describes himself as a writer who draws. He’s drawn many of The New Yorker covers. The Labyrinth is the book I recommend and have in my library (but I want to have them all!).
I have almost every book published by Christoph Niemann but Abstract City is one of my favourite ones. I have also recommended many times Pianoforte, but Hopes & Dreams is also a special one.
I have been a fan of Paula Bonet since I saw one of her earlier illustrations for the first time when I was in my early 20s. The very first book I bought from her was Qué hacer cuando en la pantalla aparece The End, which I got her to sign when I met her at a book fair in Valencia (almost a decade ago!). Since then, she’s transformed herself and her style powerfully, as shown in one of her latest publications Los Diarios de la Anguila.
A very regarded graphic novel for me is Cosmonauta by Pep Brocal. Love the story and the style of the illustrations, shifting between blues and reds, reality and memories, in a space journey.
Plus, an artist I recently came along with and will be adding to my library is Chris Ware. This interview is fantastic and so inspiring.
Happy reading! 📚✨
Ana
📚 What I’m reading in May 2023:
Matariki. The Star of the Year by Rangi Matamua. A beautiful gift from a new friend to learn more about Maori culture and the celebration of the New Year in July.
Which Native Tree? by Andrew Crowe. Gifted by the same friend on Aotearoa’s native trees.
Soft City by Hariton Pushwagner. The graphic novel I talked about in the post above.
The Mistery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie. My partner (in crime solving) and I have resumed our little murder mystery book club with another case investigated by the best detective in the world. (Of course, I am talking about Hercule Poirot 🕵🏻♂️)
PS.
Silver lining: the good thing about it raining in Auckland every single day is that between the clouds and some glimpses of sun, there is always a rainbow. These are some of the last ones 💛🌈
Much love.
a
📚 May 2023
We have had some sunshine the last few days here in the UK. At last we begin to move out of a rather cool and overcast Spring and into Summer. And, what a beautiful library pass! As you say, even the smallest most mundane thing can be designed with thought. I've spent some lovely times in Xativa, Spain, so it was nice to have had my memory prompted with your post. Happy reading.