If you are a linear person who likes to read things that are clearly set forth in a,b,c steps and you only like realistic art, this set of books is not for you. If, however, you have any appreciation for abstraction and surrealism combined in the worlds of writing and art, you need to own your very own set at once! All three books are correspondence with actual envelopes, letters and postcards between Griffin and Sabine, both of whom are artists in niche markets, designing postcards (him) and stamps (her). They live halfway across the world from one another. The actual reading of the correspondence can be done at many levels. It can be read as a romance between the two people, which many people have chosen as their preferred view, or it can be read as two sides of the same person, with the split parts not realizing they are part of the same whole. There are also extensive other meanings that can be attached to the work depending on how much cognitive concentration you care to bring to reading and viewing the books. I abandoned that approach almost from the beginning though because I found the right-brain, instinctual pull of the art work so powerful, accompanied by the surrealism of the writing, that I preferred to take in the whole thing as an abstraction of life and the universe. There is a huge temptation to overly analyze this work or nitpick as to the ultimate destiny of Griffin & Sabine but I suggest you just let yourself go and immerse yourself in author-artist Bantock's world. This would make a fabulous gift for many people who are open to non-linear, abstract and surreal work.
