Guardian Unlimited Books | Review | Theatre of the mind
Joanna Carey reviews Tales of Hans Christian Andersen as illustrated by Joel Stewart
Within the often disturbing bleakness of the stories, the children Stewart draws are tenderly observed: they have a touching, down-to-earth gravity and, while there's very little detail, every stance, every gesture is eloquent. Hands are particularly expressive, as in "The Wild Swans" when the young princes are magically transformed. In "The Snow Queen" we see Kay gazing through an ice block that he clutches with frozen fingers - it's a haunting image that reflects the spirit rather than the letter of the text... ...
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