High tide

(Portuguese edition)

A silent book can be a disconcerting object.

There are no words on the pages and readers, who are used to the presence of a text that leads them by the hand, may feel rather lost (a bit like when we get to a beach and look for the best place to sit). It’s possible that upon opening this picturebook, some readers will ask worriedly, “What can we do with this book?”

We advise everyone to go barefoot (because the tide is coming in) and, while sitting on the sand, breathe in the sea air. We are certain that before long, that strange feeling will evaporate (or maybe just get carried away by a wave) and the atmosphere on the beach will engulf you and dissolve your worries.

Slowly, the waves will take over. Then readers –  even those who found the sand in their toes uncomfortable — will feel a sudden desire to dive in and, without looking back, they will throw themselves into the blue pages. And so the book will have fulfilled its objective.

After A day on the beach, Bernardo Carvalho returns with another wordless picturebook about the seaside. A book to meander through, barefoot, and to contemplate calmly (just as you should contemplate the sea, be it winter or summer).