Focus: Reflections

Editor: Julie Hale

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I'm a sucker for good photography, I love light and I am fascinated by reflections. Is it any wonder I grabbed a book from a stack offered by a passing bookseller that combines all three? This is a small format hard-cover book packed with fascinating images (around 180 pages with an image per page). With a theme like "Reflections" the subject matter is very broad, from "found art" (photographs that are impromptu of people and scenes that are not rehearsed) through to carefully structured close-ups.

There are a wide range of styles as well. I love the shot of a single pencil coil of pencil shaving shot against a shiny dark table, but equally an astonishing shot of a closed lily bud with three dew drops hanging from it... each reflecting perfectly an open flower from the background.

The pages are mostly offered as diptychs, with pictures on the left and right that have some resonance with each other. Sometimes it is a colour, sometimes a concept such as a page of pool reflections that have been inverted so we see the reflection as the reality. Some of the links are shapes, some are textures, some are technical, such as a set of three shots that are duo-tones with vignette... but all from different photographers.

There is little discussion of how this collection was put together. All artists are attributed, but the back cover suggests the sources are "emerging photographers" from image hosting sites.

This is a celebration of light and reflection in a thoughtfully selected presentation with dazzling variety. It is well printed and a surprisingly satisfactory format for a relatively small book. There is no material I could find that would give parents any cause for concern for younger viewers... and I'm going to suggest that younger students would enjoy glancing through this to find and enjoy eye catching photographs. As well as the book cover I have added one of my own "reflection" photographs from the Blue Mosque in Kuala Lumpur.

Andrew Lack
Head of the Odell Learning Resources Centre

The Old Man Mad About Drawing and Hokusai Prints and Drawings

Hokusai was a renowned Japanese artist who died in 1849. Even if you know nothing about Japanese prints you will be familiar with one of his famous images at it inspired the Quiksilver Clothing logo. We have two beautiful books now in the OLRC. The one I love most is Hokusai Prints and Drawings (Author Matthi Forrer). It is a hefty book with 200 pages covering Hokusai's major series (such as 36 Views of Mount Fuji)   nicely reproduced in colour, though not at the original size. There is a thirty page introduction about his life and art.

I can think of many reasons to sift through these beautiful and exotic images. He is an acclaimed master, but also heavily influenced the French Impressionists. Many well known artists have been collectors of his prints. He is sometimes said to be the forerunner of modern Manga, but his works were never assembled into comic styled stories. Individual pictures, however, often tell intriguing stories. When you reflect that much of what is in the book are hand carved woodblocks you can also start to appreciate the artisanship involved in the fine lines, detail and delicate textures.

For younger readers, we have The Old Man Mad About Drawing (by Francois Place). This lovely book tells the story of Hokusai's life from the point of view of a young boy who sells rice cakes and meets the famous artist. It is illustrated both with original Hokusai prints and also with charming illustrations of Japanese street life done in the style of Hokusai. Both book are suitable for any age, with the Biography suiting Year Four and up.

For those who want to follow up connections, I reviewed 36 Views of Mount Fuji by Cathy Davidson a few weeks ago. This is the story of her time spent in Japan and is named and structured as a tribute to Hokusai.

Andrew Lack
Head of the Odell Learning Resources Centre

Cloud Atlas

Author: David Mitchell

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Cloud Atlas is an exciting and unusual novel. It uses a structure I have never seen before in a book... a nested palindrome.  The book opens with a story set about 200 years ago, which is half told, then interrupted. A new story starts, set in the early 20th C. This is then interrupted, and a contemporary story starts, which in turn gives way to a story set in the foreseeable future, then another story starts in the far, post-apocalyptic future. This is the “keystone” of the arch, and after it is told the other stories are completed in order. Each story in the layer is connected in some way to the story that follows, typically by having the main character in the subsequent story read, view or observe the previous story. This could have been handled badly but Mitchell does this well. As soon as the structure’s full design became clear I was actually pumping the air with my fist and saying “YES”.

The author simply disdains the conventional divisions such as “historical fiction”, “adventure story” and “science fiction”. I was delighted to find out that the book was both on the Booker Prize short list (as literature) and the Nebula Award short list (as Sci Fi) in the same year. The connections between the stories are not forced. In some ways this consists of six well written short stories or novellas that have been torn in two and inserted in each other. Doing this, however, and doing it with the nesting also happening in terms of an ascending then descending time line, opens all sorts of wonderful possibilities for subtle interactions between the “layers” of stories. For instance, once you read about how the character in the fifth story is remembered in the sixth story, you have a new layer of understanding of her fate and purpose as you read the conclusion of the fifth story. There is also the hint of a more mystical connection as each main character seems to carry a similar birth mark.

The stories are of many kinds, each told in the first person, each using a language representing the age and context.  There is a decided moral tone throughout the book, though one of the characters is decidedly immoral, and other characters describe distressing sights and events.  While the book
reeks with imagination and is redolent with rich story-telling, it is not merely artifice and rumination. Most of the stories have elements of adventure, risk and challenge: I was torn between reading for the sometimes poetic language and intriguing cross references, and flicking pages in my normal style to catch the drift of the action.

I was reminded of another recent favourite, A Visit from the Goon Squad which also combines interlinked tales with stories from past, present and future. I was also reminded of the extraordinary Gödel, Bach and Escher by Douglas Hofstadter which explores the concept of layers of meaning and
reference.

This is a thoroughly engaging book for an adult reader who is prepared to explore unusual structures. There are definitely adult themes and references to sexual encounters, some quite grim, though overall there are positive messages about resilience, fortitude, courage and virtue. A delightful
discovery for me!

Andrew Lack
Head of the Odell Learning Resources Centre