I made a GoodReads account in an attempt to be more mindful of my reading. I reviewed this book and then never looked at it again, which at least puts it ahead of my letterboxd account.
Recovered: Creatures of Near Kingdoms (Review)
Creatures of Near Kingdoms by Zedeck Siew, illustrated by Sharon Chin. 5/5 Stars.
The book is ~160 pages, paperback, liberally illustrated with woodcuts. There are 25 flora and 50 fauna inside, with each described on the right-hand page via a short second-person vignette with ecological digressions, and illustrated on the left-hand page. It could be described as a bestiary of a near-future mythical Malaysia.
I loved this book. The second-person narration seems strange at first, but it quickly becomes very comfortable, like the voice you talk to yourself in your head with. I don’t think you are meant to be a specific person. Instead, each new vignette gives you new family, new surroundings that immerse you in the narrative much more deeply. The creatures are not described scientifically, but rather they are brought to life by the ways that they interact with your newly-assumed everyday life.
My heart was broken several times and I laughed out loud a few times also.
It is hard to describe the illustrations in a way that do them justice, but they are critical to the mission of the book.
You probably don’t need to know this, but for whatever reason, some books take me months to get through, and some books I read overnight (this doesn’t seem to affect my enjoyment either way). Despite its format suggesting the former, I devoured this book. Maybe it was the anticipation while it was in the mail.
I no longer know how you can order Creatures of Near Kingdoms, but Zedeck is still easy enough to reach on tumblr or instagram.
This post was first shared on December 11, 2018.