Book Review: Manabeshima Island Japan: One Island, Two Months, One Minicar, Sixty Crabs, Eighty Bites and Fifty Shots of Shochu

Florent Chavouet's new travelogue artbook Manabeshima Island Japan is just as charming as his first, Tokyo on Foot. Chavouet is back in Japan and this time on this particular lesser known island called Manabeshima.

This book is similarly rendered in coloured pencils with painstaking details. The narrative is a collection of his adventures and interaction with locals. He drew in and outside of their homes, the different types of fish, dishes, street cats, festivals, wildlife and of course the different people he met.

The pages can either have interesting events that happen, or just a rendition of a particular scene or themed sketch. The artwork is beautiful and accompanied by handwritten observations. The amount of detail on each page made me look longer and closer just so that I won't miss anything. Some of the drawings are quite intricate and I found myself studying how they were drawn in coloured pencils.

Right at the back of the book is a pullout map of the neighbourhood he stays in, and you can see where all his friends live on the island. The poster size drawing is impressive.

It's a lovely book that looks at island life from a whimsical point of view. I recommend this to those who love sketchbooks, travelogues and journaling.

Manabeshima Island Japan: One Island, Two Months, One Minicar, Sixty Crabs, Eighty Bites and Fifty Shots of Shochu is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN)

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