You may remember that back in January I posted about a groovy book called Woman’s World which I had then recently purchased. Visually the book is a graphic sensation. But last night I actually started reading the thing and POW! I just have to rave about this novel. I love what I’ve been reading so much that I sent a fan e-mail to the author and artist Graham Rawle. As I was reading the whole thing was just leaping to life in front of me, the language was tickling my fancy and I was excited thinking about the possibility of staging an oral interpretation
production of the thing, which would be tricky but then, most of you know, so am I. Read my previous post, please and go out and find this exciting work. Just to whet your appetite I will quote a bit, but remember, the book is not typeset, rather it was constructed by cutting and pasting fragments of text from old women’s magazines. That’s why you need to get it because the playful language, combined with the typography really create a unique world.
“There was a giddy knot in my stomach and my heart was skipping madly to the beat of Jack Costanzo’s Cha Cha Bongo. These are the sensations that SPRING from being young and feminine and beautifully dressed.”
And, from page seven:
“In the mirror my natural loveliness is quite breathtaking. But the mirror can never take the place of a real PERSON. I yearn to see my winsome charm reflected in the eyes of a real flesh-and-blood admirer. Not one admirer in particular, but any member of the public whose HEAD might turn with an approving glance as I pass them on the street. A dear old lady, refreshed by the sparkle of my unassuming youth and beauty; a teenage boy, intoxicated by the heady perfume of feminine Glamour, compelled to lay down on a grass verge; or an old man, so entranced by my sophisticated yet COQUETTISH demeanour that he forgets his manners and goes to the toilet in his trousers.”
Sigh. It’s the way I would use language if I were to use language to write a book. And the plot is heart-pumpingly thrilling!
September 9, 2008 at 11:28 am |
[...] Wizard of Oz. Lord, this artist astounds me. Some will remember my fierce recommendation of his Woman’s World. This new book is just completely different but it looks equally exciting and I cannot wait to [...]