The Morning Star: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Is Illuminated

Naomi Brun is a freelance writer and a book reviewer for The Hamilton
Spectator.

During the 1990s, author and illustrator Nick Bantock revived the
long-dormant epistolary novel with his tales of Griffin Moss and Sabine
Strohem. The unique format of his stories appealed to a wide readership,
for people loved to open the beautifully embellished envelopes to find
mysterious, passionate, and deeply personal letters inside. Literary
critics happily noted that the correspondence was artfully wrought.
Bantock wrote splendidly, and wove the language of legend into his
stories with no apparent effort. This final volume, published 10 years
after the series began, is Bantock’s attempt to synthesize the Griffin
and Sabine stories into a cohesive conclusion.

At first glance, The Morning Star appears to be a success. The
postcards and envelopes feature exotic paintings that bring the whole
world to the reader’s doorstep. Bantock’s artwork combines earthly
elements like Egyptian marketplaces with mythological elements like
Hindu goddesses to create a climate of surrealism. This vague,
neither-here-nor-there atmosphere resonates with Bantock’s writing:
all four main characters use an intensely poetic style and incorporate
mythological motifs into the body of their letters. As a result, reading
The Morning Star is a dreamy, delightful experience.

Unfortunately, all that poetry prevents much prose from coming through.
I truly enjoyed reading the book, but I can’t say with any confidence
that I know what it is about. A certain amount of detail is necessary
when revealing the nitty-gritty and tying up loose ends. Bantock,
preferring to communicate solely by metaphor and imagery, leaves a
little too much to the reader’s imagination. In short, while a
pleasant book, The Morning Star is a disappointing conclusion to a
much-loved series.