How does griffin and sabine end

Some information may no longer be current. The recipient, Griffin Moss, was himself a maker of postcards, while the sender, Sabine Strohem, designed postage stamps for a tiny chain of islands in the South Pacific absent from even the most detailed of maps. A rather strange description for some rather strange books.

It was a novel idea at the time that, having recently reread the original trilogy for the first time in over a decade, now feels almost quaint; what was once innovative now seems like an artifact from the distant past, adding a fascinating layer to the reading experience. Like its precursors, the book is told through letters postmarked from exotic locales around the world — Papua New Guinea, Spain, Indonesia, Turkey, Sri Lanka — as the pair grow closer to Egypt, still pursued by the malevolent Victor Frolatti, who wants to study their psychic connection for his own nefarious purposes.

I have only read the first book and wondered if it was worth it to read 2 and 3. I am so confused by the reviews. Some reviewers seem to feel there was no real conclusion and others seem to have read that Sabine and Griffin come together, get married and have a child! How can there be such widely different interpretations? Janet Mahlum This answer contains spoilers… view spoiler [ If you don't like open-ended endings, don't read 2 and 3.

If you want to give your imagination free rein, go for it. I would say both endings in your …more If you don't like open-ended endings, don't read 2 and 3. I would say both endings in your question are possible interpretations. They aren't the only 2 possibilities, however. A third option is that Sabine is like the Sirens of old, luring unsuspecting vulnerable men to their death. She's finished with Griffin and now has a new victim in her sights.

See 2 questions about The Golden Mean…. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Jan 09, Mohsin Maqbool rated it really liked it. An enlarged cover of the book. The book is in the form of correspondence between two lovers Sabine and Griffin. It contains 15 beautifully-illustrated postcards and four letters that are tucked inside intricately-designed envelopes.

Griffin's postcard to Sabine, telling her about the storybook he is writing for children. I had bought the tome towards the beginning of the new millennium and kept An enlarged cover of the book. I had bought the tome towards the beginning of the new millennium and kept it in my library to read it someday. Then I forgot all about it. Then I took it out towards the middle of last year, put it on a table and once again forgot all about it. Finally, on January 8 I rediscovered it while searching for another book to read.

I picked it up and started reading it immediately. I am glad that I did as it contains an enchanting story of two lovers who have been separated since quite long. Sabine's postcard addressed to Dr. Matthew Sedon in Nairobi, Kenya. The woman is writing from an island in the South Pacific and the man is writing from Devon, England.

The distance between the two seems to be growing greater and greater. And all the more so because of the intrusion of a stranger -- Formatti -- into Sabine's life.

Will the two lovers finally get to meet to end their separation into marriage? Or will the intruder, Formatti, prove to be an iron wedge between the two?

He certainly is colder than cold steel! A butterfly skeleton. Does it signify fluttering to freedom from the throes of danger and, thus, death? I was most willing to give the book five stars because of the stupendous epistolary between Sabine and Griffin and the amazing artwork. However, I decided to give it only four stars because of the inconclusive ending. I also felt cheated on behalf of its author Nick Bantock who instead of ending the trilogy here extended it to yet another trilogy.

I am sure he takes his readers to be suckers. A goldfish crashes through a champagne glass. It could be an allusion to Sabine escaping from her island fortress and the tentacles of Formatti.

View all 4 comments. Sep 07, s. The third act of the Extraordinary Correspondence by Nick Bantock, The Golden Mean continues to be a gripping and stunning work of performance art and delivers an extraordinary and satisfying conclusion. The payoff is certainly worth it here. For a better discussion on the aesthetics of these works, see my review of Griffin and Sabine , but I will restate how delightful it is that Bantock makes the reader a part of the performance through clever use of letters that create a tactile experinece.

This book starts right where the last concludes, with Griffin confused how he arrived back at his apartment before the date Sabine left and not only does not find her there but there is no evidence anyone was ever there.

The long-distance romance between the two only blossoms more as they discover strange forces might be working to thwart them from meeting. This final chapter also introduces a third writer of letters and the inclusion of a villain really shakes up the narrative in a fun way. While Bantock leaves this one fairly open-ended and with a new mysterious occurrence it still would make for a satisfying conclusion if the story was never expanded upon again. What really works best here is that Griffin and Sabine are on equal footing and understanding, working together against a common enemy by the end.

It is enjoyable to the last drop and would be particularly satisfying to anyone who has experienced a long-distance relationship. Clever, artful and just a great time. This is best read as an entire trilogy definitely read in order and the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

I'm so glad I discovered this series. View all 9 comments. May 24, Hannah Greendale rated it really liked it Shelves: oddities , contemporary , fiction , adult , epistolary. Just when Griffin and Sabine's story is starting to feel a bit stagnant, a postcard appears with unfamiliar handwriting from a character yet unseen in the series.

The new character makes an odd request, and the result is an unexpected twist that shifts the tone from surreal to unnerving. With few words, Nick Bantock stirs the imagination and hints at something from a veiled realm: Academically bright as he is, [he] never has been able to smell a shadow. I will take you to the garden and show you Just when Griffin and Sabine's story is starting to feel a bit stagnant, a postcard appears with unfamiliar handwriting from a character yet unseen in the series.

I will take you to the garden and show you the dark trees they call the twelve apostles and tell you about the one night a year when you can see the thirteenth. The Golden Mean is visually rich. The postcards and letters exhibit the implication of bold textures and diaphanous layers of dusted color. Still others are stunning for their simplicity. All are subtly nuanced; little details like whether or not a card is postmarked or dated remain meaningful.

The ending speaks for itself and, as always, the mystery continues. Sep 17, Matthew rated it it was ok Shelves: mystery , library-books , romance , , adults , fantasy , series , fiction , art , magical-realism. Their polarity is now more than just divisive, it is a harbinger of what might happen if they do not finally meet face to face. Sabine suggests middle ground.

They agree to meet in Alexandria, at Pharos Gate. But not before the third book ends with: "For some years nothing was heard from either Griffin or Sabine, until a young doctor in Kenya received an unusual postcard from a stranger. The conceit of this book is that it fills in the time after they decide to meet up in Alexandria and their actual meet date. Sabine is still on the islands. She is worried about Frolatti, still around, still threatening and manipulating, and how he will react after she's given him the slip.

As she writes, "I'm certain he'll do anything to stop us. Griffin cannot wait. He leaves for Spain because he feels its "magnetic pull. Griffin writes to Maud, Vereker's old friend from the countryside, and tells her what he is up to, filling her in on the secret love affair he has been having with a woman named Sabine.

Maud, in turn, writes to her friend Frances, who lives in Alexandria, asking her to look out for Griffin while he's there, but not to tell him that she Frances knows anything about his extraordinary relationship with Sabine. Finally en route to the meeting place, Sabine reaches Papua New Guinea safely. And here we learn that Pharos Gate, according to Sabine's adoptive father, "was one of the city's earliest structures" and "the ancients had revered the gateway as a portal to the underworld.

But there's a catch: "The first Alexandrians believed that whilst the arch could be walked through by anyone, only those who wished for completion could step beyond the mortal realm and find safety from their enemies. Frolatti, however, will not be averted. He writes to Griffin again: "You will not meet. Your world and hers will always circle one another. Somehow, through their resolve to meet, Sabine's vision of Griffin's art is restored.

Discussions of art and the act of creation throughout are conflated with emotion and the internal search for self. As an artist in Spain, Griffin sees his task as an artist "more akin to that of a flamenco dancer drawing up the fire through his body and watching in awe as it grows upon the surface before him.

For him to be both, he must be one united. Frolatti is getting closer to the lovers, having gone so far as to having an "associate" track down Maud, who experiences him as having a "barely human" mein. Murderous starlings, rabid human-eating wild dogs, an unfriendly monkey—it is as if Frolatti, like the devil, morphs into malevolent creatures determined to stop the lovers in their journey toward one another. Time now starts ticking loudly to the climax.

Griffin describes his evolution as an artist and a man as an experience both exquisite and annihilating: "I feel like I am only now coming into full existence. It is as if my real self has been secretly growing within. It's a strange evolution, sometimes a warm unfolding, at other times a painful crunching of bone and twitching of muscle. Sabine replies, "I believe, Griffin, that you and I were born inside each other, like changelings inverted within a prism.

Lolo S. There are vague written references to sexuality, and to nudity, and to erotic artwork. Nothing graphic. All of the pictures in the book would be appro …more There are vague written references to sexuality, and to nudity, and to erotic artwork. All of the pictures in the book would be appropriate for young children. See 2 questions about Griffin and Sabine….

Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Jul 28, Nicholas Sparks rated it it was amazing Shelves: nicholas-recommends. This isn't a novel; in fact, it's a book that can probably be read by most people in less than an hour. It is more of an artistic expression of both love and desire in written form, as explored via a mysterious correspondence, in which the reader can participate.

View all 3 comments. Sep 05, s. Artist Giffin receives a postcard in the mail one day from a woman he has never met, telling him details of his art nobody should be able to know. The book itself is quite literally just the letters between the pair, sometimes the post cards upon which they write or envelopes the reader gets to open, unfold and read in their hands as the characters themselves would do. While this initial book is short, it is only the first chapter in an epic narrative between the two characters that unfolds with plenty of intrigue and mystery that the artistic elements are a welcome bonus and not a gimmick without which the story would fall flat.

While the love story does pose a few problematic issues, this is a magical work and such a delight to flip through and enjoy.

Nick Bantock is a British artist who certainly has a gift for finding inventive uses for his art. Written into the narrative is that Griffin creates postcards and Sabine is an artist for postage stamps, which allows open opportunity to show his unique art in a way to visually adorn the story.

As the book is framed as found documents, the tactile aspects of rummaging through envelopes and postcards leans into the voyeuristic nature that is also thematic to the story. It draws you in as both reader and participant, fully immersed in the magical world Bantock has created. There have been other similar works-- S. Abrams and written by Doug Dorst immediately comes to mind--but what makes this work is the simplicity rather than the elaborate conceits of S.

There is nothing outside what is written in the letters, which, especially as they turn from mysteriously rummaging around to learn about each other and blossom into love letters and emotional confessions, become more like poetry than anything else. Another clever aspect that keeps you drawn into the world is that Bantock uses a different handwriting for each and often a typewriter for Griffin and adds little flourishes such as misspellings, crossed out words and other minor flaws individually characteristic of each writer.

It is the small details that really make this work and the book--and ultimately the full collection of books--amalgamates to be greater than the sum of its parts. Admittedly, taken individually or for each element it is just okay, but the overall performance is impressive.

Initially, Griffin takes their correspondence to be either a hoax or some threat, though he quickly eases up and believes in the magic professed by Sabine. He quickly opens up about intimate details in his life and is the first to--rather quickly--begin to write that he loves the other. There are strong themes of loneliness and yearning to be understood, which vibes well with them each being solitary artists, but also a theme of mental health. He constantly fears Sabine might just be his imagination and mental illness playing with his one heart, but then also fears the connection forming between them when he accepts that she may be real.

Which is, unfortunately, where there are some problematic issues to be addressed. While we do learn her past in brief, much of the work is centered on his struggles with his own past. While she is the first to initiate contact, she lacks much agency beyond being a figure caring for him. Being from a small island in the Pacific and he living in London it practically screams imperialism and evokes the long history of European colonialism in the region.

Unfortunately this only gets stronger in the second act. That said, the book is still lovely and cute, and the actual performance aspects of it are what kept me reading the entire series but these issues were never too far from my mind. I came to this series quite by accident, really. I work at a library and was pulling our Holds for the day when I grabbed the book directly next to these and noticed the spines.

I grabbed the whole series and read them over a few short days. These are short--the pacing feels a bit rushed, to be honest--but rewarding and a great little piece of art on its own.

The art is quite wonderful and embodies aesthetics of antiquated and found objects, travel, and mystery, a style I tend to enjoy as it is. If you are someone that ever owned a typewriter for aesthetic purposes instead of practical, this book is for you. In an era where many relationships begin online, this book seems extra relevant, with the magical touches only making it more adorable. A clever and charming little adventure, made all the better by being able to take part in the adventure yourself.

It is a really unique and fun experience. View all 10 comments. I believe the illustrations alone are worth ten 10 stars. However, the story is a bit weird. This is a story told through a series of correspondence.

A young woman on an island in the South Pacific starts by sending a postcard to a young man in London. Based on the postcards and letters exchanged both are very talented artists. Sabine sometime gets visions or dreams of the illustrations by Griffin as he works on them. She writes him about things that no one should know except him. They develop I believe the illustrations alone are worth ten 10 stars.

They develop some type of romance through their communications. The book actually shows the postcards and letters nineteen The book even actually has envelopes with the letters enclosed. The book is a great presentation. Very well done!!!

I really liked this book and plan to read the other books in this trilogy. View all 4 comments. Shelves: art , 4-star-reads. A little fictional bon bon for the discerning palate. Just 46 pages long. A small package of strange and delightful images, and a storyline with a mystery. This was recommended to me by a friend who sends me flying letters - and the book is full of illustrated envelopes and postcards.

I can see why she liked it on another level too - her art and the art in the book have the same lovely sense of playfulness. Bantock's work is inspiring, weird, charming I am not a A little fictional bon bon for the discerning palate. I am not alone in admiring it - it was on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years.

Jan 13, Kelly rated it really liked it Shelves: fiction , 20th-century-postwar-to-late , fantasy-and-scifi. Equal parts Romantic in the Byron on a windswept moor sense , Impressionist and Surrealist, Griffin and Sabine is a memorable experience. I finished this in the wee small hours of the morning, and immediately drifted off to sleep. I highly recommend that all readers choose the same time to move through this piece. I can't imagine a better time to have wrapped myself up in this charming, intriguing, simple yet incredibly layered piece of art.

There are many things that can be analyzed here- from Equal parts Romantic in the Byron on a windswept moor sense , Impressionist and Surrealist, Griffin and Sabine is a memorable experience. There are many things that can be analyzed here- from the straight mystery of the identity or representative status of Sabine and the fate of Griffin Is she real? Is she an overly dramatic justification for self-debasement, the Muse?

Is she a symptom of a lonely, diseased mind? Does it matter? However what I really took away from it was a beautiful, sad statement on the capacity of people to dream a world, a love, a passion into their own reality, and some absolutely gorgeous, subtly created art that you could stare at and read into nearly endlessly. This book can be read in half an hour if you really desire to, but I don't know why you would desire that.

View all 6 comments. Sep 08, Margaret rated it really liked it. I was then teaching English to high school seniors, a challenging job but one I loved.

But this book reminded me again and again that so many who seem on the outside so independent and ready to move on, are tender and fragile on the inside.

I might not have chosen to read it again, save that I read S. Thanks for that, Sven.