WILLY'S WORLD OF WONDERS

Tiny visits to wonderful locations.

Avian weddings, Jurassic comparisons, and minuscule whispers populate this book as Austrian artist Puchner invites readers to embark on an imaginative adventure. Bizarrely peculiar and wonderful, the surrealist journey keeps them tethered to reality as it incorporates sly references to popular culture, such as Salvador Dalí and Star Trek. The narrator often directly addresses the audience, using the second person. Prompting philosophical thoughts about paradise or praising readers’ existence, the narrative invites constant thought and examination between reality and dreams. With active ambiguity, the narrator seems to morph through the different creatures portrayed as the perspective switches from a cat receiving presents to a rabbit perusing photographs, for instance. With no clear narrative or story progression, the book requires diligence to persevere in its reading. Offering a smorgasbord of creatures and locations, Puchner plunges readers into the depths of the ocean and elevates them to the highest reaches of the cosmos from one page to the next. It’s dizzying. However, the sequence of spreads invites patient reading as it displays a visually enticing set of illustrations and begs for the deciphering of meaning.

An adventurous exploration into the deepest recesses of imagination.