The Book of Mechtilde By Anna Ruth Henriques, Knopf, $350 Books with fabulous illumination are rare outside museums and poetry is regarded as old-fashioned, but when you pick up The Book of Mechtilde you wonder why.
This gloriously illuminated - illustrated is hardly the word - book of celebration, fable and poetry is a startling piece of work. One does not so much read it as browse, ponder, meditate and enjoy.
Jamaican-born Anna Ruth Henriques lost her mother when she was 11 and this book is an ode to her, a woman who lived simply and died leaving her loved ones mourning.
Sometimes in poetry, sometimes in prose and using the narrative device of fable, Henriques tells her mother's story from youth through falling in love, marriage, the birth of three daughters, her slow debilitating illness while the country was in turmoil around her, then death and final peace. The Book of Mechtilde is based on the Biblical Book of Job, with the main character Mechtilde (Henriques' mother) replacing Job. Job personifies the good person punished by misfortune but who is rewarded for patience and faith.
But while the tale is derived from a Christian theme, there are influences from other religions and cultures. The story could happen anywhere. The faces in the pictures could be Indian, or Chinese or African. The tale itself is touching, minimalist in words, but large in feeling, universal in appeal.
The sumptuous illustrations also celebrate Mechtilde.