Book Review: Written in the Stars: Constellations, Facts and Folklore
July 2020 :
Written in the Stars: Constellations, Facts and Folklore, by Alison Davies, illustrated by Jesus Sotes Vicente, London, Quadrille, 2018, ISBN 978- 1-78713-176-7, hardbound, $16.99 US
Reviewed by Francine Jackson
I’m sure many of you have the very tiny The Night Sky: A Guide to the Stars, by Ian Ridpath. This little softbound book, not even four inches square, gives a synopsis of all 88 constellations, listed in alphabetical order, for ease of locating. In this case, Written in the Stars is slightly larger, and hardbound, containing some of the most beautiful images ever seen in a book on stars; however, instead of listing the constellations by alphabet, they are broken into quadrants, several of which I’m not sure how they are determined, although many are placed together into their “normal” groupings.
Where you might be surprised is that some of the images are not what you normally picture with respect to the constellation. For example, Draco’s image is one of the most beautiful sketches of an apple, a sign of why he was placed in the sky. Ursa Minor is Arcas. Eridanus, although a river is depicted, concentrates on the chariot driven by Phaeton, whose erratic driving eventually ended in the river.
Through the book, whether the constellation’s image is close to your normal depiction, or it totally changes your mind concerning the myth attached to it – some of which tend to be a variant of the traditional legend - the reader will never find a more beautiful set of illustrations. Jesus Sotes Vicente’s images literally jump out of the page, possibly having you want to take some of them and frame them.
In addition, this book lists an incredible bibliography, including other books, web sites and apps; also, it does give a short description of each constellation myth, including a notation that any listed god existed on Mount Olympus.
Written in the Stars takes the sky, and wraps it into one beautiful, and durable, book. Its pages are virtually indestructible, and the cover instantly attracts the reader to see more. This will proudly fit on any stellar bookshelf.
