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Follow This Thread

A Maze Book to Get Lost In
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( 282 ratings, 56 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Follow This Thread is an immersive exploration of the world of mazes and labyrinths, weaving together mythology, literature, art, and film. Author Henry Eliot invites readers to trace Ariadne's red thread through real and historical mazes, uncovering their symbolism from Pac-Man to Picasso, Kubrick to Kafka. The narrative coils and twists like a labyrinth itself, combining ancient myths of the Minotaur with a modern quest for the elusive Maze King who vanished in 1979, creating a unique, interactive reading experience.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers fascinated by puzzles, mythology, art, and unconventional book design, as well as fans of literary exploration and interactive, mind-bending narratives.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

An immersive journey into the labyrinthine world of mazes - take hold of Ariadne's thread and turn the page.

As a rule, we take care not to get lost, so why should we willingly enter a maze? Illustrated with a single red line, Follow This Thread traces dozens of real and historical mazes, and their uses in literature, art and film, from Pac-Man and Picasso to Kubrick and Kafka.

Henry Eliot reveals our abiding, ancient relationship with mazes and labyrinths, and unpicks the paradoxical psychology involved in walking them, combining the myth of the Minotaur with a quest for the legendary Maze King, who disappeared in 1979. The text coils around the pages, recreating the experience of walking a labyrinth, with its twists and turns, frights and fantasies.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised by Philip Pullman as "delightful, ingenious and beautifully designed," the book has been celebrated for its wit and innovative format, with the New Statesman noting its inventive interplay of text and illustration that recreates the labyrinthine experience. The Spectator calls it "genuinely odd" and highly giftable, while author Alan Connor describes it as a "hypnotising and strangely physical experience." The Bookseller regards it as a "remarkable feat of creativity," and Greg Bright, the 'Maze King', commends its "beautifully immaculate prose" and coherence.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780141985251

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 April 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Contributors:

  • Illustrated by Quibe

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 19.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 199.0mm

Weight: 384g

Pages: 240

About the Author

Henry Eliot is the author of The Penguin Classics Book and the presenter of the podcast On the Road with Penguin Classics. He has organized various literary tours, including a mass public pilgrimage for the National Trust (inspired by William Morris), a recreation of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, which raised money for the National Literacy Trust, a Lake Poets tour of Cumbria and a quest for the Holy Grail based on Malory's Morte D'Arthur. He is also the author of Follow This Thread- A Maze Book to Get Lost In and Curiocity- An Alternative A to Z of London.

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