Landscapes & Voices

Like Masereel's other wordless books, this doesn't so much narrate a linear story as illustrate it with loosely connected snapshots. I'm not wholly sure the snapshots are in order, but I'm not sure that it really matters. Each page frames a single woodcut, printed in dense blacks on heavy, glare-free paper. Continuity between images comes from the reader's own imagination, and the wordless format goes a long way in encouraging that imagination. The pictures portray widely varying scenes: rural roads, mysterious stairways, the warmth of a shared quilt, a bustling railway station, a night shattered by lightning, and much more. Some of the pictures stir one's spirit, others show friendship and love. Masereel's style is angular and blocky. His primitive lines lend a naive comfort to scenes of affection, but that same jaggedness works equally well conveying power of many kinds. Whether you're a fan of woodcut prints or of illustrated storytelling, you'll find a lot to like in Masereel's work. -- wiredweird