Griffin and Sabine
Encyclopedia
Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence is an epistolary novel
by Nick Bantock
, published in 1991
by Chronicle Books
in the United States and Raincoast Books
in Canada. It is the first novel in The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy
and was a bestseller in 1991. The story is told through a series of removable letters and postcards between the two main characters and is intended for an adult audience, as some sources describe the artwork as disturbing.
who makes postcards for a living. He is unhappy and lonely, though he is unaware of these feelings. His life is changed forever when he receives a cryptic postcard from Sabine Strohem, a woman he has never met. Like Griffin, she is an artist (she illustrates postage stamps) and comes from a fictional group of small islands in the South Pacific known as the Sicmon Islands (Arbah, Katie, Katin, Ta Fin, Quepol and Typ). The two begin to correspond regularly.
Griffin comes to realize that he is in love with Sabine, who reciprocates his feelings, and that they are soulmates. However, his growing uncertainty as to Sabine's true nature and the changes her presence in his life has brought to him develops into fear and he ends up rejecting her offer for him to come see her in person. He comes to the conclusion that Sabine is a figment of his imagination, created from his own loneliness. It appears to be true until another postcard arrives from Sabine with an ominous promise that if he will not come to her, she will go to him.
, and Jungian psychology. The author says the poem "The Second Coming
" by William Butler Yeats
influenced the book.
Sheldon and Mrs. Levine, An Excruciating Correspondence by Sam Bobrick
and Julie Stein, with illustrations by Price Stern Sloan
. It is composed of letters exchanged between a man and his domineering stereotypical Jewish mother (ISBN 0843136685).
Epistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
by Nick Bantock
Nick Bantock
Nick Bantock is a British artist and author based in Saltspring Island, British Columbia. Bantock is well-known for his popular series, The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy, and for making collage popular...
, published in 1991
1991 in literature
The year 1991 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Douglas Coupland publishes the novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularizing the term Generation X as the name of the generation....
by Chronicle Books
Chronicle Books
Chronicle Books is a San Francisco-based American publisher of books for adults and children.The company was established in 1968 by Phelps Dewey, an executive with Chronicle Publishing Company, then-publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle. In 1999 it was bought by Nion McEvoy, great-grandson of...
in the United States and Raincoast Books
Raincoast Books
Raincoast Books is a Canadian book distribution and wholesale company. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Raincoast was founded by Mark Stanton and Allan MacDougall in 1979 as a consignment wholesaler that shared overhead, warehouse space and staff with the pair's sales agency, Stanton &...
in Canada. It is the first novel in The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy
The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy
The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy is a series of three bestsellingepistolary novels written by Nick Bantock. The novels in the series, Griffin and Sabine, Sabine's Notebook and The Golden Mean, were first published in 1991, 1992 and 1993 respectively. Each story is told through a series of letters and...
and was a bestseller in 1991. The story is told through a series of removable letters and postcards between the two main characters and is intended for an adult audience, as some sources describe the artwork as disturbing.
Plot summary
Griffin Moss is an artist living in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
who makes postcards for a living. He is unhappy and lonely, though he is unaware of these feelings. His life is changed forever when he receives a cryptic postcard from Sabine Strohem, a woman he has never met. Like Griffin, she is an artist (she illustrates postage stamps) and comes from a fictional group of small islands in the South Pacific known as the Sicmon Islands (Arbah, Katie, Katin, Ta Fin, Quepol and Typ). The two begin to correspond regularly.
Griffin comes to realize that he is in love with Sabine, who reciprocates his feelings, and that they are soulmates. However, his growing uncertainty as to Sabine's true nature and the changes her presence in his life has brought to him develops into fear and he ends up rejecting her offer for him to come see her in person. He comes to the conclusion that Sabine is a figment of his imagination, created from his own loneliness. It appears to be true until another postcard arrives from Sabine with an ominous promise that if he will not come to her, she will go to him.
Influences
Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence contains elements of romance, mythology, modern philosophyModern philosophy
Modern philosophy is a type of philosophy that originated in Western Europe in the 17th century, and is now common worldwide. It is not a specific doctrine or school , although there are certain assumptions common to much of it, which helps to distinguish it from earlier philosophy.The 17th and...
, and Jungian psychology. The author says the poem "The Second Coming
The Second Coming (poem)
"The Second Coming" is a poem composed by Irish poet William Butler Yeats in 1919 and first printed in The Dial and afterwards included in his 1921 collection of verses titled Michael Robartes and the Dancer. The poem uses Christian imagery regarding the Apocalypse and second coming as allegory to...
" by William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
influenced the book.
Sequels
The correspondence of Griffin and Sabine continues in Sabine's Notebook and The Golden Mean. Their story is further expanded in a second trilogy, known as the Morning Star Trilogy.Parodies
Griffin and Sabine inspired the 1994 parodyParody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
Sheldon and Mrs. Levine, An Excruciating Correspondence by Sam Bobrick
Sam Bobrick
Sam Bobrick is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. He is best known for creating the television programs Good Morning, Miss Bliss and Saved By The Bell and for his numerous plays, many of which were co-authored with Ron Clark.-Biography:After an almost four year stint in the U.S...
and Julie Stein, with illustrations by Price Stern Sloan
Price Stern Sloan
Price Stern Sloan or PSS! is a publisher that was founded in Los Angeles in the early 1960s to publish the Mad Libs that Roger Price and Leonard Stern had concocted during their stint as writers for Steve Allen's Tonight Show and also the Droodles...
. It is composed of letters exchanged between a man and his domineering stereotypical Jewish mother (ISBN 0843136685).
See also
- The Griffin and Sabine TrilogyThe Griffin and Sabine TrilogyThe Griffin and Sabine Trilogy is a series of three bestsellingepistolary novels written by Nick Bantock. The novels in the series, Griffin and Sabine, Sabine's Notebook and The Golden Mean, were first published in 1991, 1992 and 1993 respectively. Each story is told through a series of letters and...
- False documentFalse documentA false document is a literary technique employed to create verisimilitude in a work of fiction. By inventing and inserting documents that appear to be factual, an author tries to create a sense of authenticity beyond the normal and expected suspension of disbelief for a work of art...
- TelepathyTelepathyTelepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
- Ceremony of InnocenceCeremony of InnocenceCeremony of Innocence was a Windows CD ROM based game created in 1997. It used a mystery narrative based on the Griffin and Sabine novel by Nick Bantock...