Picking up where he left off in the remarkable Blue, Zucker once again mixes art, history and narrative to examine the fate of a young Jewish man in New York. Using the same Talmudic style, in which the main story is placed in the center of the page and surrounded by blocks of running commentary, Zucker introduces the plight of Raphael Fisher, a writer at Time Inc., who finds himself unable to make a decision abut his relationship with Dosha Jerusha. Fisher's confidant is the same gadfly gem dealer who starred in Blue, Abraham Tal: he steers Fisher in a variety of philosophical and artistic directions for guidance as the writer pens the proposal for Green
and tries to get some attention for the project from Time mogul Henry Luce. The inevitable movement toward the wedding is almost an afterthought as Fisher journeys along his unique path, accompanied by real and imagined commentary from the likes of Fisher's parents, Vermeer, Bob Dylan and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Given the ambitious but somewhat fragmented concept, the beauty of Zucker's book will rest in the eye of the beholder: fiction fans who prefer a straightforward narrative will tend to see it as a coffee-table art book containing a rather disjointed story, while art devotees looking for something more than a coffee-table book should be entertained by the inventive combination of gorgeous visuals and intriguing commentary. 112 full-color and b&w illustrations. (May 1)
Forecast:Fans of the well-received
Blue are the most obvious audience here, though this oversized, handsome title will definitely catch the eyes of browsers.
