“Chopsticks” (Penguin/Razorbill,
2012), a multi-media collaboration between author Jessica Anthony and book
designer Rodrigo Corral, is a haunting story of love, mystery, and madness. Told almost entirely through images and links
to YouTube videos and online music, the book opens with a breaking news story:
world famous piano prodigy Glory Fleming has gone missing from the Golden Hands
Rest facility, an institution for musical geniuses. The rest of the book is a
flashback that tells the story of the events leading up to her disappearance.
After
Glory’s mother died, she and her father have buried their grief into developing
her career as a world-class pianist. Through photographs of playbills and
newspaper clippings, we learn that Glory is famous for virtuosic performances
of classical music peppered with references to contemporary rock bands. She
falls in love with Frank Mendoza, the boy who moves in next door. Photos,
instant messages, postcards, letters, mix CDs, and YouTube videos (the reader
is provided with links to online media) tell the story of their growing love.
When
Glory’s father books her for an extended European tour—partly to further her
career, but mostly to separate her from Frank—she really begins to fall apart.
She begins to lapse into the Chopsticks Waltz at her concerts; soon, that is
all she can play. As she descends into further into madness, the line between
reality and imagination becomes blurred.
It
is possible to read “Chopsticks” very quickly. There are, after all, very few
words. To truly understand the story, however, the reader should take the time
to linger over the carefully crafted images, listen to the music and watch the
videos. All of these elements carry considerable narrative weight.
“Chopsticks”
is also available as an iPad or iPhone app. If they are available, I definitely recommend the
digital version of “Chopsticks.” The images are gorgeous and sharp, and the
reader can access the app’s interactive components by clicking on subtle
animated musical notes. The interactive features add little additional content,
although clicking on the image of a tape recorder opens an audio file of
Glory’s mother singing to her as a baby—a poignant touch. The most important
feature of the app is that the reader can simply click on a link to access the
online media; there’s no need to laboriously type in the URL. And readers can
choose to shuffle the pages—something that can open up new interpretations of
the mystery of Glory’s disappearance.
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