posted on 22 Dec 2015

Notes From The Sofa by Raymond Briggs

This is Raymond Brigg's first new book for a decade - and it's not a children's book. What Briggs has edited together is a collection of his columns written for the Richard Ingrams edited journal, The Oldie. In many ways Briggs is the perfect Oldie contributor; a little bit grumpy, slightly sentimental over unlikely things and always always bewildered by life and people. You most certainly wont want to read this book from cover to cover - it's really not designed for that. This is best experienced as a dip-in treat that will repay you with a little nugget of wisdom or spleen or, even, a sort of impotent fury - depending on how lucky you are. What Briggs does beautifully is to give you some momentary thought-bubbles made solid - these musings aren't going to change the world but they will give you tiny frissons of excitement or a knowing nod of sympathy.

But the real pleasure of this book is not in the content but the design. What a lovely production it is. Published by Unbound which specialises in crowd funded print-runs, this is a peach of a hardback.You can see Briggs' eye for design all over it. Not only has he provided a host of colour drawings and black and white sketches, he has put himself - or caricatures of himself - right at the heart of the book. The paper is beautifully heavy and has a sort of pearl finish to it which makes it a joy to read. This is aided by the excellent choice of fonts which seem designed for those who may be of an age when clarity of print is at a premium.

The book was published this year (in November I think) and costs £14.99. No doubt there will be a paperback but I would advise you try and get hold of the hardback - you wont be disappointed by the production values I promise you.

 

Terry Potter

December 2015