Book of Hours (Clare McFadden, Walker)

Book of Hours, written and illustrated by Clare McFadden (The Flying Orchestra), tells a life story in a series of dreamy vignettes. These postcard moments capture memories by the sea—of farewells, domesticity, night skies, and tenderness. The painted illustrations are gestural and gentle, full of movement, dreaminess and tranquillity, with soft edges and muted colours. There is something nostalgic in the illustration style, almost calling to a forgotten memory, and the sparseness of the words, carefully scattered through the book, helps to evoke a sense of pensiveness. Book of Hours is beautiful in its simplicity and inspires a contemplative mood, with every read-through delivering a new discovery and moment to notice. As the woman in the book gets older, tiny white flowers appear in the illustrations. Her recollections of playing in a meadow as a child start to bleed into and overlap with her present being, suggesting the fragile nature of memory as we age. This picture book feels more intended for the adults reading it to children, with poetic text rather than narrative, and complex emotions intertwined. It is very much a book to be talked through, for young children aged 3+ to interpret their own meaning and storyline.

Books+Publishing reviewer: George Banach-Salas is a queer, non-binary teacher, writer and former bookseller living in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Category: Friday Unlocked reviews Reviews