Atlas of Remote Islands
Judith Schalansky, Penguin
Judith Schalansky was born in East Germany before the wall came down and fell in love with the idea of travel but, constrained by the politics of her homeland, indulged her desires by tracing lines over whatever maps she could access. This lifelong obsession with atlases eventually found their form in this book – a lyrical fantasy of hand drawn islands, matched on each page by her literary retelling of the myth, reality and magic that accompany the history of that island’s discovery. ‘A cartographers dream, a short story readers delight, an artist’s inspiration’- this book has won plenty of awards for its design and Judith Schalansky’s own publishing company Particular Books is a fascinating creation itself.
