Friday, July 1, 2016

The Golden Mean


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Today's post is on The Golden Mean by Nick Bantock. It is the third in his Griffin & Sabine trilogy. It is 46 pages long and is published by Chronicle Books. The cover is green and gold with postcard in the center. The intended reader is someone who has read the two books, likes reading other peoples mail, and love stories. There is mild language, no sex, and no violence in this book. The story is told from the first person perspectives of Griffin and Sabine. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- I received your Paris card. I waited but you did not return on the 23rd. I waited until the 31st, but you did not return. What happened? Where are you?
--Sabine

Sabine's Notebook ended with a disturbing disclosure--Griff and Sabine had somehow eluded each other once again. The Golden Mean begins with an even more disturbing development:
I was sure I understood. Yet you were not here when I returned and there was no sign that you ever had been here... Today comes your card saying you were in this house for three days after my return. I am bewildered...
--Griffin

It seems that each cannot exist in the presence of the other. Yet neither can continue without the presence of the other. And so, in this final volume of the Griffin & Sabine trilogy, they struggle against the mysterious forces that keep them apart. Time is running out: Sabine's crystalline visions of Griffin's artwork grow cloudy and dim, and a threatening stranger begins to appear everywhere she goes. The Golden Mean is the tale of Griffin and Sabine's journey towards one another, sometimes dreamy, sometimes desperate, sometimes nightmarish. The golden mean--the harmony of perfect balance--is what they seek in the haunting conclusion of this extraordinary correspondence.


Review- A beautiful end to this story. Everything from the first books has been for this one. They get a real villain who wants to control them, they work through everything and end up somewhere special together. As always the art is wonderful, the letters are compelling, and the villain was a fun addition to the story. I wanted more from the villain, like who he was, and why he was doing what he was but in the end it is about Griffin and Sabine. I think that Griffin behaved better in this book than the last one. He was not whiny at all. My only compliant it that Sabine never changes over the course of the story. She is still the beautiful mysterious woman who contacted Griffin at the beginning of the books. I like her but I would have liked some growth from her.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this book with my own money.

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