Radio 4 Open Book

http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/80070/

In this episode of BBC radio 4's Open Book, a new illustrated version of A Life of Pi is discussed.

 Tomislav Torjana

In the radio episode the host asks, iis an illustrated re-publication of the award winning novel "an outrageous dumbing down? New trend? The a vision of what's to come? Or just a ploy by savvy publishers to produce gift books for the Christmas market?
Are words no longer enough?"

Presented bellow are illustrator and author reactions to the illustrated adult book.

Chris Riddell, illustrator:
"Anything that adds to the feel of the book as an object, is an all together good thing and is one way in which one can add value to a book tremendously is by the incorporation of the visual."

He suggests a reason to the lack of in book illustration: "The danger almost is to discount the obvious, that sometimes the most obvious thing is the way to go. That's the danger I think with illustration not being more accepted in books, there's a sense that one has to introduce novelty or take an unusual angle. I think sometimes books should just be illustrated directly."

Good illustration should be interpretive, but they also shouldn't overwhelm a text.
In the event of books being more widely illustrated, I think we will think of books as objects of beauty rather than the disposable things that can be throw away after use."

Kate Mosses, Author:

"These images, these chapter punctuations as I tend to think of them are incredibly enriching  for both the reader and also as the writer to put in."
On her novel, Labyrinth  "The illustrations inform the novel and are the landscape to the novel. The imaginary characters move across a real place very specifically in labyrinth. What we were trying to do...was give almost a tapestry, to give a real richness to the experience that people had already imagined in their heads."


Yann Martel, author of Life of Pi
"Illustrations don't compete they compliment the text. Richer way for getting into the text."
"What an illustrated edition brings to a reader is that the illustrations compliment the text, they don't compete. So you read ten pages of text and in doing that you form certain images and these illustrations either confirm what you've read or on the contrary suggest something else. It is a richer way of getting into the text."

 Tomislav Torjanac's expreiance on illustrating The Life Of Pi.
" Doing things from Pi's perspective seemed like a natural thing for me to do. Every illustration is from the point of view of Pi, So you never see Pi, you see what Pi is doing, the reader become Pi. You never see him you see what he's seeing."

Where have all the book illustrators gone? The Independent.

Where have all the book illustrators gone? An article from the newspaper The Independent.

This article discusses the reasons for the lack of illustrated adult novels in the last half a century  It includes controversial opinions like a lack of decent illustrators and introduces the rise of the inner monologue.


'Up until the Fifties and Sixties it wouldn't be unusual for a mainstream publisher to illustrate adult books. '

'Dan Franklin at Jonathan Cape is one of the few British publishers who bucks the trend. "I think a) it's fashion", he says trenchantly. "And b) there aren't that many great illustrators. It's rare you can come across someone who can draw. Even when you're looking for someone to do book jackets, it's hard to find someone who can draw the human figure – it seems to be unfashionable now."

I fully agree with the fashionability of illustration in books being key to its disappearance but the opinion that 'there aren't that many great illustrators' is, I think, another example of fashion. Why do illustrators have to draw the characters to represent what is occurring in the text?

Simon Prosser, publishing director at Hamish Hamilton: It might be", he says, "that illustration is simply unfashionable. I have a strong, deep attachment to books that were illustrated... I remember from my early reading, the classics of natural history, like Izaak Walton and The Natural History of Selborne and they were all illustrated." Which brings us to another issue, the dearth of publishers with some sort of visual grounding.

Does it matter if adult books are all text? Even the greatest enthusiasts wouldn't say you should illustrate everything. You wouldn't wish on any artist the job of drawing much of Virginia Woolf. But the possibility that illustrations could actually illumine writing and draw out elements of a narrative doesn't seem to count for much any more. And as Posy Simmonds, well-known as a graphic novelist as well as illustrator, observes, illustration can do many things for a novel: "There's lots of choice, whether to interpret, decorate, contradict. It can add to or detract from the writing."

On the change in modern literature:

But there is a problem with the nature of modern fiction. As the novelist Piers Paul Read says, "illustrations are best suited to a novel with a strong narrative, that is to say, illustrating an incident – and there are fewer such novels around.

He (Quentin Blake) thinks that the nature of modern fiction is a challenge, but not an insuperable one. "Once novelists got into the interior monologue... that's what spoiled it for illustration", he says. "But there are things you could do that we've lost the habit of doing. There's a wrong assumption that you're going to draw exactly what the text says. But it calls for a bit of thinking. You don't always want to see what the protagonist looks like. Are you drawing surroundings, atmosphere, furniture? There are ways of contributing to novels. Commissioning drawing, I think, is a habit as much as anything. One doesn't want to say everything should be illustrated. But there are moments when something very interesting could be done. We've lost the habit of thinking like that."

The perception of illustration in books as something for children:

Because illustration is now the preserve of children's books, there's a sense that this is where it belongs, with childish things like comics. Or as Quentin Blake says, "there's a feeling it's not quite grown up to have pictures." Posy Simmonds agrees: "there's a sense that pictures are something you grow out of."

On The Resurgance of the illustrated book in the digital platform:

But it's not too soon to write off the possibility of illustration making a return. And curiously enough, it comes from the very development that people darkly assume to be undermining publishing as we know it: digital technology. Kindle makes the reproduction of colour plates far cheaper than now. As Simon Rossiter observes: "Books are more and more in the digital world – there's a real case for making books more special... it would be great to have a special Kindle edition of a novel." Dan Franklin is even more upbeat: "We'll find in the years to come that there's a renewal of illustration in books. Because of Kindle there's a new impulse to make the physical hardback book a more beautiful object. Illustration will be part of that. And when the enhanced e-book is up and running, it will be part of that too."

Pullman on Boarderland conflicts

Philip Pullman answered questions \about his lecture including, When the artists 'boarderland' conflicts with your own and what happens when your view of a characters is not that presented in the illustration. "It comes down to temperament, whether you connect with the illustration on a deeper level, below the level which we can talk about almost. It's a mysterious thing!"
Also addressed is the change a film adaptation has upon your personal 'boarderland' from the book.

"Reading in the Borderland" Philip Pullman

Author Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials) here presents the idea of what he names 'Boarderlands': the space between the private mind of the reader and the book they are reading.

'Boarderland is different for every individual. Whilst part of the boarderland belongs to the book...part of it is made up and contributed to by and belongs only to the particular reader, to us, to our memories, memories of other books, memories of real places and real people we know, the association's we have with this particular word or that particular style of illustration. Aspects that resonate with our own personal temperament.  So while whereas many readers may be reading the same book, no two people will be reading it in exactly the same way. However we can come back from this boarderland and talk about it, tell others about our experiences about it and compare with their experiences.'
He explains that the boarderland is a kind of Liminal space; 'a state characterised by openness and ambiguity, it is period of transition where normal limits to thought, self understanding and behaviour are relaxed, a situation that can lead to new perspectives.'

Here the author looks at 'semiotics' (if we de-romanticise it) and how we all read everything differently because of our own experiences. 



"Pictures work differently from words, they function like a window. We look through the window, lean on the windowsill, daydream. We send our imagination out like a bird, to fly out over the landscape that someone else has generously imagined for us, and make our own discoveries."
Pullman explains how pictures contribute to our enjoyment of the book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxS0JUhacug&feature=relmfu

Here Pullman assesses his own illustrations for his trilogy; His Dark Materials. 

Once again we can argue whether these novels come under the umbrella of 'children's fiction' or adults. They are marketed at a young audience and follow the adventures of a young girl Lyra, who a mature audience may find it difficult to relate to. However the themes and event explored within the text are hugely mature (I'm not sure I understood half of what I was reading at the age of 13.) The book explores the links and differences between science and religion, proposing that they are one in the same, which is immensely deep and controversial without the main child characters possibly killing 'god'. The narrative is also very dark (killing god?) looking at a child being used and to some extent abused by her parents and the terrifying soul sucking consequence's of Lyra and Will's actions by the end of the series. It is safe to say that we can firmly position the books not only within children's literature but also in adults.

Pullman Illustrates his chapter heads with a small decorative device that he describes like more of a symbol, each is simple and of a similar style except for the one for the last chapter, Bridge to Stars. 

'What is significant here is what is not there - every other chapter header is in a box with a heavy black frame.' Whereas in this illustration the frame is missing and the style completely different. The style I think is more down to the skill of Pullman in his want to convey an accurate image of Lyra's face: "She's looking out at the universe opening up above her, wondering at the extraordinary spectacle while being daunted by what she has to do  and being simultaneously absolutely determined to do it."

The lack of frame around her face is because, 'All the boarders, frames have been broken open- the whole universe is wide open, nothing is shutting her in.' (literally!) Here is an example of the illustration being more than just a literal visual representation of the text. It is more symbolic. It changes the way in which the reader responds to the text. A 'barrier' has been broken.

On the final illustration in the final book Pullman couldn't decide what to draw that would represent the heart breaking content of the chapter and so, "Abandoned the idea of simple representation becuase the heart of that chapter isn't about the place it is about the feeling...of love and loss. So I was abstract about it...entirely symbolic."

The illustration is not of the characters of the scene but of two roses bound together representing the characters and their departure from each other. 'Will and Lyra are bound together by love but have to face away from each other forever. It is an Emblem not a picture."

"I owe as much to the great illustrators as I do to the writers whose work they illuminated. More than anything else I remember the look of their work on the paper, the sheer pleasure my young-and old- eyes have found in the shape of a line, the delicacy of hatching, the impression of the weight or texture or movement, or mischief  or sorrow, or courage, or joy conjured up by the simple magic of black lines on the white paper. How do they do it? I don't know. Geniuses, all of them. Long live the illustrators! Hoorah for their work!" - Philip Pullman. 

Folio Society

While most contemporary books on the best-sellers shelf in Waterstones are no longer illustrated there are still sources that publish and sell novels that pride themselves on their inclusion of illustration and the quality of their books.
The folio society, publishing for over 50 years now, strives to create beautiful books that enhance their readers pleasure through its binding and illustrations.

Folio Society, about us:
Great books should be outstanding not only in literary content but also in their physical form: this has been the philosophy of The Folio Society since it was founded in 1947 by Charles Ede, with a dream of publishing beautiful books that would be affordable to everyone. Our pleasure in reading is enhanced by the book itself, in which typography, illustration, paper, printing and binding all play a part in creating a harmonious whole. In a world of declining publishing standards, where most books are cheaply printed, and bound using low-grade materials, The Folio Society resolutely sets store by traditional values of excellence; for our designers and production personnel the term 'quite good' means 'no good': only the best is good enough.

In our 64-year history, Folio has published an astonishing range of works; from Moby-Dick to Pather Panchali, and from the Qur’ân to Kerouac’s On The Road. The quality of our books as tactile and aesthetic objects has been a constant hallmark, but members have long looked beyond our exceptional covers, to the standards we uphold for each and every text. From introducers who make up the great names of modern literature and academia, and editors and picture researchers who ensure unrivalled standards of research and textual work, to our artists who have swept the board in so many illustrations awards – Folio offers a complete experience for the book-lover.
Source

That the folio society curate their illustrators and do not publish new works aside, their view that the physical form of a book influences that which is read is key. While there is nothing wrong with a well read water-damaged paperback that may enhance and change the feel when it is read, the folio society strive to produce books of quality, that feel 'special' and 'unique' when read. The reading experience is instantly changed by the mere look of the book: hardback, clothbound and on quality paper. I feel it sets the standard for the text very high, and perhaps works in influencing our 'experience' as a 'good read'.

Here Quentin Blake talks of his experience working with the Folio Society:

Part 2:
In this second part of the interview Blake talks about the 'rise of the inner monologue  a subject that I want to look at it much bigger detail later on!)

Each year the Folio Society run an international competition to illustrate one of its books. I'll be entering this competition working from the text chosen, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. I think that my own proccess will be intresting and important to examine given the amount of research I've done in the subject, and so I'll be posting my thoughts and progress on this blog. I fully expect it to be monumentaly difficult as apose to deconstructing other illustrators work,(lots of hypocrasy on my part I'm sure!) but that it will be an invaluable insight into the mind of the book illustrator.

The Maiden Feeds The Tree Beasts & The Whores' Asylum

This illustration for 'The house in the wood', a Grimm tale is highly stylised, "It is heavy and naturalistic: there is no hint in the style or treatment that this action is the turning point of the story, or that the maiden's actions will have magical results."
The heavy black frame and archaic style of the illustration distances the reader and is enhanced by the placing of the elaborate caption. 

"Even though the main lines are curve...the overall effect is one of formality and restraint, to match the writing. The result of this is to suggest distance and separation  the rhetoric of the image is a constant reminder that it is an aesthetic construct, and no effort is made to engender imaginative involvement in the child reader."


As a contemporary audience we are fully aware of the age of the illustration, which in turn makes us age the text similarly. This changes the reading experience. No doubt the style of the text(thou, thee) would have alerted us to its age as we read it, but having the image present changes the way we perceive it from the start or even before we read it. As to whether this changes our perception of the text for better or for worse is largely subject to personal opinion, but the fact that we even address it is, in itself, a distraction.

It is interesting therefore to look at contemporary novels that use illustration styled from there archaic eras for the covers or even inside of their books. 

'The Whores' Asylum'

A recent example of this I found is a book called 'The Whores' Asylum by Katy Darby', which sounds charming but there you go.
 The novel is set in the 1880's and so is based in the era that 'Sherlock Holmes' would have been detecting in. 

The author writes;  "..the thing is, it was Sidney Paget's wonderful illustrations for the stories when they originally appeared in the Strand Magazine that really brought Holmes, Watson et al to life. And what would be more appropriate for a Victorian novel than an exquisite series of bookplates to accompany the narrative?"

On aproaching her publisher, "I suggested, in a throwaway fashion, that it would be amazing to have some pictures of key scenes scattered through the text – it's a typically 'period' thing, so would be very much in the spirit of the novel."

"All I had to do was go through the story and find some of the most visually dramatic scenes, then sit back and wait for them to be turned into fantastic Pagetesque black-and-white line drawings. I also had to comb the text for physical descriptions of the various characters..."

I find it interesting that here the author is suggesting scenes to be illustrated and I guess a discourse continues between author and illustrator during this process.

"I'm not one of those writers who has a crystal-clear picture of their characters in their head from the outset; I tend to build them up from the inside out....Who did he look like? Himself. What did that mean? I didn't quite know – but I was aching to find out.

...The above, at any rate, was how my characters appeared to me and therefore in the text – but I didn't set to writing with a gallery of detailed portraits floating before my eyes. I was open to however the artist decided to render the people in my book, because I love having my work illustrated. There's something about seeing your characters afresh through somebody else's eyes that's completely intriguing and revelatory."

That the author herself doesn't have a clear view of the characters in mind is a slight relief. I am not sure I ever have a solid image of a characters face in mind when I read a novel, I tend to characterise them by just that, their character. (This is not helping my argument one bit!)

However I then question her decision to ask for the characters to be illustrated, yes like she sates it is 'intriguing and revelatory' (and its the result I'm routing for), but that is only to her. A reader fresh to the text will not know the characters before the conception of the illustrations but will read them both simultaneously. Does this mean that their perceptions of the characters differ to that which the author 'saw' them as. Or is she happy for this inferation since she herself doesn't have a 'crystal-clear picture' of the character in her head? 

"I was sent roughs of seven key scenes from the book, ranging from a formal ball to a strangulation, via a duel, a naked lady being painted, a prostitute soliciting in a dodgy tavern, and a masked orgy. Lucky Max (illustrator) had to deal with some more of my authorial objections as I pointed out that the tart looked too prosperous, the artist probably shouldn't be wearing a cliché – sorry, beret – and the duellist holding a gun in his left hand is actually seriously injured on that side. However, in my defence, the reason I was so pernickety about the content of the illustrations is that each one is on the facing page to the scene actually described – so the reader having just read about one character's arm getting maimed would definitely be puzzled to see it whole again in the picture opposite."

Here the author makes sure the illustration does not distort the text in performing a major narrative departure and in so distract and thus distance the reader.

In this example of a contemporary novel illustrated in a bygone style it is the authors wish that the readers experience of the book be been highly influenced by the illustrations. She wanted the book to feel like a classic, like a Sherlock Holmes. Therefore this is a case of using illustration to distance for a specific reason, for a specific experience.

Katy Darby's full account of her relationship with the illustrator can be found here on her blog.

The game is afoot!

In this research blog for my dissertation I am aiming to address the lack of illustrations within contemporary adult fiction, the reasons for this and to decide for myself as an illustrator and avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction if this is something that should, by rights, be more prevalent in current literature.

The decline of book illustration (overlooking children's literature) appears to have been ignored and taken as a passing of the ages, of old world traditions and almost historic ways. I'd like to look both into why this is in the publishing industry, why as a culture we no longer question its lack and present a case for the renewal of the illustrated book in the contemporary best sellers lists of 'real grown up' literature.

The suggested reasons are varied and controversial. Lack of decent illustrators, a taboo on 'books with pictures in' and the rise of the digital age (Kindle, iPad & audiobooks).

Most importantly I intend to look at how the illustrations in a book modify your perceptions and responses to the text and specifically, the story. What are the pros and cons towards having illustrations sat amongst your text? Does it distract or enhance?

Personally I'm hoping my research weighs heavily in favour of of the illustrated book but I am not adverse to accepting the difficulties and dangers of illustrating prose or even perhaps the realisation that illustration has little to no place in the modern fiction book.

Who knows! 

The game is afoot!