Bento's Sketchbook - (The Essential John Berger) by John Berger (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A deeply moving exploration of the relationship between thinking and drawing, from the author of the groundbreaking Ways of Seeing

The seventeenth-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza (a.k.a. Bento) spent the most intense years of his short life writing. He also carried with him a sketchbook. After his sudden death, his friends rescued letters, manuscripts, notes--but no drawings.

For years, without knowing what its pages might hold, John Berger has imagined finding Bento's sketchbook, wanting to see the drawings alongside his surviving words. When one day a friend gave him a beautiful virgin sketchbook, Berger said, 'This is Bento's!' and he began to draw, taking inspiration from the philosopher's vision.

In this beautifully illustrated book, Berger uses the imaginative space opened up in this experiment to explore politics, storytelling, Spinoza's life and times, and the process of drawing itself.

Review Quotes

"Berger's is a humane and uniquely confiding voice, and this voice is coextensive with his skill as a draftsman. The two attributes act in concert with Spinoza's enigmatic philosophical propositions"
--Teju Cole, New York Times

"This beautifully produced book, illustrated with Berger's drawings, is as much a meditation on the art of drawing as a commentary on philosophy...Whether he is writing about art or about the oppressed, Berger is a dab hand at what might be called semi-mystical exegesis. His stories are often like fables, and his explication - colourfully grounded but picaresque - is admirably lucid."
--The Art Newspaper

"Berger's words and images, rendered serene by age and habit, provide an exhilarating and unflinching account of global devastation and ordinary life."
--Colin MacCabe, New Statesman

"Inspiring, challenging and rewarding."
--Carl Wilkinson, Financial Times

"Characteristically sui generis."
--Nick Wroe, Guardian

"Displays his trademark lyrical precision."
--Meaghan Delahunt, Scotsman, books of the year

About the Author

Storyteller, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, dramatist and critic, John Berger (1926-2017) was one of the most internationally influential writers of the last fifty years. His many books include Ways of Seeing; the fiction trilogy Into Their Labours; Here Is Where We Meet; the Booker Prize-winning novel G; Hold Everything Dear; the Man Booker-longlisted From A to X; and A Seventh Man.