What We See When We Read

by Peter Mendelsund

A gorgeously unique, fully illustrated exploration into the phenomenology of reading—how we visualize images from reading works of literature, from one of our very best book jacket designers, himself a passionate reader.

“A playful, illustrated treatise on how words give rise to mental images.” —The New York Times

What do we see when we read? Did Tolstoy really describe Anna Karenina? Did Melville ever really tell us what, exactly, Ishmael looked like? The collection of fragmented images on a page—a graceful ear there, a stray curl, a hat positioned just so—and other clues and signifiers helps us to create an image of a character. But in fact our sense that we know a character intimately has little to do with our ability to concretely picture our beloved—or reviled—literary figures. In this remarkable work of nonfiction, Knopf's Associate Art Director Peter Mendelsund combines his profession, as an award-winning designer; his first career, as a classically trained pianist; and his first love, literature—he considers himself first and foremost as a reader—into what is sure to be one of the most provocative and unusual investigations into how we understand the act of reading.

• ISBN10: 0804171637
• ISBN13: 9780804171632
• Publish Date: 5 August 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Vintage
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 448
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780804171632

Reviews

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

What We See When We Read by Peter Mendelsund is a uniquely crafted book and uniquely written book. With a large typeface and lots of pictures, 419 page book doesn’t take long to read.

Did I like the book? There are some interesting thoughts here and there scattered throughout the book, but mostly Mendelsund seems to repeat the same thing over and over again. In quick summary…

"We are what we read. Reading is as individual to the reader as it is to the writer. As a reader, we can never know the mind of the writer and we will never know the full scope of the novel in our hands."

But is it a good book? It’s repetitious and too easily skimmed. As an English major, an avid reader and having friends who are avid readers, I felt like I knew and/or agreed with most of his conclusions. As a result, I didn’t learn anything new which is the main reason I reach for non-fiction books. So for the individual voracious reader, I would give What We See When We Read by Peter Mendelsund a thumbs down.

However, this might make an excellent book for a book club discussion. Based on the points that Mendelsund presents, I imagine it could lead to a lively discussion between club members regarding how different people see different characters, places and things in a commonly read book. Did everyone that read The Hunger Games see a yellow-orange cat and then silently (or not so silently in my case) rage when they saw the first movie?

For the individual reader who is looking to examine how they read, or for the book club looking for a potentially lively philosophical discussion this book could be a thumbs up. For the practiced (and/or trained) reader, this book, in my opinion, doesn’t hold much value and gets a thumbs down.

This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

When reading Moby Dick, does Ishmael look like Richard Basehart? How about Anna Karenina? Please don’t tell me she looked like Keira Knightley. What We See When We Read takes a look at the activity of reading with such depth and insight. Looking at not only the way our brain fills in the images but also what the author is trying to say. Take for example Karenin in Anna Karenina; his ears are described a few times within the novel but they get bigger. The size of his ears is an artistic simulacrum that changes as Anna Karenina’s feelings toward him change.

Peter Mendelsund is Knopf’s Associate Art Director and has been responsible for some of their most iconic book covers. Just looking at his book cover designs I get the sense that he loves reading and the artistic side of literature. His book covers really capture a feeling; they stand out and often work well with the written word inside. He is major is in Philosophy and Literature and the two work well together in looking at the idea of reading and how our minds interpret the written word.

This is very much like Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud, it explores the idea of reading in different ways and explores different concepts. We all read slightly different and Mendelsund is able to go into different methods. A stand out for me is the way Vladimir Nabokov read Kafka’s Metamorphosis; there is an image of his copy of the book and it looks like he edits and rewrites the book to make it his own. It is an interesting way to get involve with the written word.

What We See When We Read is a combination of written words and images, which allows Mendelsund to illustrate his point and give the reader a better understanding of the feelings. A big bonus is the fact that he references other books, which gives me a huge TBR pile of books that explore this idea further in different ways. I love books about books so I am pleased to have a reading list.

I have to say What We See When We Read is a must for all book lovers. This book will be a joy to read and will look good on the shelf. I own the new Vintage edition, which is a paperback but it also has French flaps so it looks nice. I like how he went for a simple cover design; it stands out and works well with this book. I know this book is rising in popularity and I hope more people get a chance to read this one as soon as possible.

This review originally appeared on my blog: http://literary-exploration.com/2014/11/08/what-we-see-when-we-read-by-peter-mendelsund/