[Book review] The Butterfly Lovers

French and original edition of the book

"The Butterfly Lovers" was, if I'm not mistaken, the fist Illustrated book I bought from Benjamin Lacombe.

It tells the story of an intelligent girl called Naoko, whose father wants her to learn good manners in Kyoto, for when he decides to marry her. She goes there, but decides to dress up as a boy to study literature. In Kyoto she meets a boy and both fall in love... that's till she is forced to marry someone else.

I can't remember exactly how I got to know about Benjamin, but when I did, I decided to order this book in a bookstore (in Spanish). My surprise was huge when the bookseller brought me a book of great size (it's 27x39cm!!) I was speechless for a moment because of I had no idea of its real size, but that big!?.

After trying to assimilate it, I loved the fact of its size. The illustrations were huge and you could see every little detail. I loved it from the start. It welcomes you with a pretty die cut that shows the next illustration as if it were a window.

 

The rest of the illustrations (most of them full page) inside are beautiful, with a little vintage touch and oriental feeling I really love. The text is fast to read, as the importance is in the illustrations. Also, I think this book is more for young people or adults who like art or illustrations, because of its quality and size.

 

Since then I have bought, once in a while, one of his books. Most of them are that big, and it makes me to love and to hate them at the same time. These books themselves are like a canvas paint, which you can show their covers as a piece of art. I wish I had more space in my house, and a big bookshelf to keep and to show them, because they are really beautiful. But for now it's impossible :(

It's one of his earlier works, but his newer's are just as beautifully and detailed done, some of them with very interesting.

I will try  to tell you about some of his books in the future, some of my favourite. See you tomorrow!