Synopses & Reviews
Fifty of the worldand#8217;s greatest writers share their views in collaborationand#160;with the artist Matteo Pericoli, expanding our own views on place,and#160;creativity, and the meaning of home
All of us, at some point in our daily lives, haveand#160;found ourselves looking out the window. We pauseand#160;in our work, tune out of a conversation, and turnand#160;toward the outside. Our eyes simply gaze, withoutand#160;seeing, at a landscape whose familiarity becomesand#160;the customary ground for distraction: the usualand#160;rooftops, the familiar trees, a distant crane. Theand#160;way of life for most of us in the twenty-first centuryand#160;means that we spend most of our time indoors, inand#160;an urban environment, and our awareness of theand#160;outside world comes via, and thanks to, a framedand#160;glass hole in the wall.
In Windows on the World: Fifty Writers, Fifty Views,and#160;architect and artist Matteo Pericoli brilliantlyand#160;explores this concept alongside fifty of ourand#160;most beloved writers from across the globe. Byand#160;pairing drawings of window views with texts thatand#160;revealand#151;either physically or metaphoricallyand#151;what the drawings cannot, Windows on the Worldand#160;offers a perceptual journey through the world asand#160;seen through the windows of prominent writers:and#160;Orhan Pamuk in Istanbul, Daniel Kehlmann inand#160;Berlin, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in Lagos, Johnand#160;Jeremiah Sullivan in Wilmington, North Carolina,and#160;Nadine Gordimer in Johannesburg, Xi Chuan inand#160;Beijing. Taken together, the viewsand#151;geographyand#160;and perspective, location and voiceand#151;resonate withand#160;and play off each other.
Working from a series of meticulousand#160;photographs and other notes from authorsand#8217;and#160;homes and offices, Pericoli creates a pen-and-inkand#160;illustration of each window and the view itand#160;frames. Many readers know Pericoliand#8217;s work fromand#160;his acclaimed series for The New York Times and laterand#160;for The Paris Review Daily, which have a devotedand#160;following. Now, Windows on the World collectsand#160;from Pericoliand#8217;s body of work and features fifteenand#160;never-before-seen windows in one gorgeouslyand#160;designed volume, as well as a preface from theand#160;Paris Reviewand#8217;s editor Lorin Stein. As we delve intoand#160;what each writerand#8217;s view may or may not share withand#160;the othersand#8217;, as we look at the map and exploreand#160;unfamiliar views of cities from around the world,and#160;a new kind of map begins to take shape.
Windows on the World is a profound and eye-openingand#160;look inside the worlds of writers,and#160;reminding us that the things we see every dayand#160;are woven into our selves and our imaginations,and#160;making us keener and more inquisitive observersand#160;of our own worlds.
Review
Library Journal: and#8220;[Windows on the World] is a great read for those interested in the lives of writers, lovers of memoir, and anyone with a touch of wanderlust. A fun conversation starter and introduction to writers from around the world.and#8221;
Review
Los Angeles Review of Books:and#160;
and#160;and#8220;At their best, the drawings and texts in Windows on the World make writers real and humanand#8230;while still leaving room for mystery and fantasy.and#8221;and#160;
Shelf Awareness:and#160;
and#8220;A diverse, fascinating collection.and#8221;and#160;
Library Journal:
and#8220;[Windows on the World] is a great read for those interested in the lives of writers, lovers of memoir, and anyone with a touch of wanderlust. A fun conversation starter and introduction to writers from around the world.and#8221;
About the Author
Matteo Pericoli