Search Press Classics (an ad hoc series of which this is a member) is a way of re-issuing some of the publisher’s blasts from the past. Just because a book was first published some years ago doesn’t mean it’s been superseded or no longer has merit. Although it may have sold well in its time and reached most of its natural buyers then, it doesn’t mean that enough new ones won’t have come along for a new investment in stock to be worthwhile. And, of course, raiding the backlist comes with no editorial or setup costs. All publishers like that.
But enough of your smart-alec world-weary cynicism, I hear them say. How does this stand up in today’s post-apocalypse marketplace? Very well, I’m pleased to report. “Cheng Yan captures all the freshness and spontaneity of Chinese brush painting”, it says here and I couldn’t have put it better myself. The style is authentic, but presented in a way that’s readily accessible to the Western reader. The text is clear and concise, accompanying some nicely-judged step-by-step photographs and the colours are still as bright as they should be (some older books can show their age in this respect).
All the materials, styles, techniques and subjects are here and, as a modestly-priced paperback (they’re passing on some of those savings), this is a very worthwhile and rewarding introduction.
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