Reviews: (by author)

Macaulay, David. Angelo. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. $16. ISBN 0-618-16826-5.

Highly respected for his architecturally- oriented picturebooks like Cathedral, City, Pyramid, The Way Things Work and many others, David Macaulay shows another side here, spinning a sweet tale of friendship between an old artist and a pigeon which he rescues. The Mediterranean colors of the art and look of the town, the pastoral scenes, convey the peacefulness of the story and its theme that kindness is never wasted. Macaulay's trademark use of perspectives in the watercolor/pen&ink illustrations and their varying placements on the pages entice the readers' eyes and minds.

Macaulay does frequently depart from his more matter-of-fact books, for example the slyly funny Motel of the Mysteries. His books are well worth buying, for they can be enjoyed through many rereadings.

A.A. Sp '03

 

David Macaulay. Motel of the Mysteries. New York: Scholastic, 1993. ISBN 0-590-47236-4. No price

David Macaulay's genius for intrigue, artistry, and detail are found in his other well-known books, such as City and Pyramid. These intricate works of art open worlds of wonder for children and adults. In this brilliant, tongue-in-cheek fantasy, Macaulay posits the end of North American civilization in 1985 and its rediscovery in the year 4022. Why did our civilization come to a sudden end? I won't reveal the author's hilarious reasons, but despite the levity, there is a serious monitory message not only about the end of the world, but about the futility of trying to understand the past. This casts doubt on our current attempts to interpret Cro-Magnon art, for example, or daily life in ancient Egypt, this problem being a topic raised with utter seriousness by novels such as Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker. "Misprision" is the literary term for such blunders, typically, of course, undiscovered.

A small sample of the misinterpretations of future archaelogists unearthing our culture are Monument Row-a strip mall of fast food restaurants and landing strips for extraterrestrials-actually freeways loops (like crop circles, they make sense only when seen from the air). Howard Carson, however, is the prime archeologist in this satire, for he unearths the Motel of the Mysteries, where a skeleton in the commonplace motel room facing a TV is described as facing the Great Altar-a reasonable conclusion.; a skeleton in the bathtub leads to a discussion of ancient burial rites, and a credit card is a portable shrine.

The pen and inks illustrations are extraordinary, beautifully executed and very funny. This isn't exactly a picturebook, though, but a sophisticated spoof for older readers.

A. Allison

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