Sea of Ink – Richard Weihe
Peirene Press, 2012
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Sea of Ink is a novella that consists of 51 chapters in which we are provided with an overview of the life of Bada Shanren, an influential Chinese painter who lived in the 17th century. We follow Bada Shanren as he experiences the loss of power by the Ming Dynasty. From being a member of the royal family, Bada Shanren becomes a painter trying to remain unknown during the new Qing regime.
This new Peirene novella provides a comfortable and interesting reading experience. I particularly liked seeing how Bada Shanren grows into his own over the 112 pages that are part of the book. Moreover, I liked how small details of his life, the production of his paintings, and philosophical (tao?) inspired life-lessons.
What surprised me most about the book is how well the descriptions of the process of painting worked, especially as most of these descriptions were accompanied with the resulting painting one or two pages later. Usually, I struggle with very visual descriptions in books and I quickly lose my interest. But in case of Sea of Ink I actually enjoyed reading and guessing what the result would look like. It is also why I am so grateful for the inclusion of 11 pictures of Bada Shanren’s paintings.
All in all, Sea of Ink was a very pleasant read. Nevertheless, it has this elusive quality that keeps you a little removed from the story and I felt little personal involvement in the characters or story. The book was interesting, and very very beautifully written (I could quote passage after passage for you, but I think they work best discovered in the book), but it lacked something that pulled me right in. Then again, quietly beautiful books are very worthwhile reads and this one certainly covers those aspects.
I read Sea of Ink by Richard Weihe as part of Lizzy and Caroline‘s German Lit Month. Do check out their blogs for more content dedicated to German literature.
Other Opinions: My Book Year, The Worm Hole, Follow the Thread, Our book reviews online, Parrish Lantern.
Did I miss your post about this book? Let me know and I will add it to the list.
I took a while to ‘get’ this book. I started in too much of a hurry and with too many interruptions, whereas it needs to be read slowly, taking time to let each chapter sink in. More here http://www.ourbookreviewsonline.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/sea-of-ink-by-richard-weihe.html
I’ve added your review to the list
Thank you for letting me know. It didn’t show up in the Book Blog Search Engine, so I missed it. Sorry about that.
I definitely agree, this book takes time and dedication, or at least a quiet environment. In a way this diverges from the usual Peirene format in that it is short and it can be read in 2 hours, but it took me much longer (and that’s not meant in a negative way). Then again, most Peirene books ask for more contemplation than casual reading – I like that about them.
Thanks for adding the link
I must admit that there were certain sections that I read two or three times before I felt I’d understood what the author was trying to say – a bit like the way I’d read a poem.
This sounds quite lovely. I wanted to buy the German book when I saw Pereine had chosen to publish this but it’s out of print.
I usually like books about artists but I know what you mean, all this effort to imagine all the paintinsg can become a strain. I’m glad it worked well here. Thanks for participating Iris. There are two other reviews of this around, one on Parrish Lantern, the other on Andrew Blackman’s blog (just in case you really want to keep track of all of them).
Sigh… Still looking for a German-language version
I read a review of this on Parrish Lantern yesterday. It sounds like a lovely read. I’ve read my first Peirene Press book this year for GLM. They seem to have some great titles.
Ooh, sounds interesting!
You’re right about the descriptions of the paintings, it needed those images to work, and it’s nice how you can look at the images and read the text at the same time. What you’ve said about the visualisation not working for you is something I found here, though, and although it was beautiful it was distracting at times. Overall however a very good book.
aw, this sounds like a really lovely read and I’m glad you were able to enjoy it.
Thoroughly enjoyed this when I read it , I’d read a book recently concerning haiku & art & this fit nicely with that. Also posted on it.
http://parrishlantern.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/sea-of-ink-richard-weihe.html?m=1
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