by William Kotzwinkle
illustrated by Joe Servello
"The Satin Woman hears the tune: the tounge of insects is her own"
First published in 1979, William Kotzwinkles classic 'grown up picture book' Herr Nightingale And The Satin Woman takes special place in my book collection. Combining the eerily beautiful love story against the backdrop of Germany, France, Egypt and China, this book tells just as much via Servello's noir-inspired illustrations as it does through the text itself.
I have had no luck tracking down any of Kotzwinkle's other books - amongst them Nightbook, Swimmer In The Secret Sea or Fata Morgana. My copy of Herr Nightingale And the Satin Woman has also seen better days, and my search for a newer copy has also been somewhat fruitless. Still, the somewhat decrepit condition of my copy somehow adds to the flavour...
ILLUSTRATIONS
"The cricket plays for her. The tune is bittersweet, filled with the echo of longing and the ashes of misbegooten love; the melody touches lightly across her incompatible form, circles her combs and fades. If only, she thinks to herself, things could have worked out between us."
"The Satin Woman's wings are folded. She finds she cannot rise again. It's morning, the subtle colors of the night are gone, and her compound eye is closed."
"Her fellow passangers think it merely the cricket's conversation she enjoys, for the tiniest drop of gin and tonic sets him talking of golden catapillers and red and white spiders with one missing leg".