1. Alienation
2. Art techniques
3. Book design
4. Danger
5. Death
6. Fables
7. Fear
8. Grief
9. Isolation
10. Loneliness
11. Love
12. Mothers
13. Sadness
14. Safety
15. Survival
16. Symbolism
17. Towns and cities
18. Trauma
19. Visual literacy
20. Wolves

Desperate to protect her young child a mother flees the grey, cold war-weary city to find a safe home. Eventually she finds a place isolated, devoid of people and the fittings of communal life. There she builds a home and takes constant care of her son.

The appearance of a colourful band of players seeking directions alarms her, even more so when it sparks curiosity in her son about the city. Her focus and control becomes even more intense until one day she dies. The boy is alone and bereft, the silence filled with her dominating suffocating presence and the terrors that brings.

Things decay around him until all that is left is her bones. His attempts to bury her are haunted by her voice and dark terrifying visions questioning what will happen to him now she is gone. The bones scream, frightened he stumbles and the bones fall freeing him from their oppressive weight. Released he buries them and sets out for the city.

A dark and confronting book that creates a strong sense of fear and insecurity. The charcoal artwork is in Armin Greder’s trademark dark, sombre, oppressive tones. The illustrations in their funereal tones depict a world overwhelmed by emotions. Throughout reality is distorted and there is a strong sense of melancholy and pain with the images of the growing boy becoming sadder and confused as the book progresses. The appearance of the player troupe provides the only spark of colour and vibrancy and a hint to the boy of what the city or life might hold.

This multi-layered book raises questions about the sense and morality of the mother’s actions and the concept of isolation or the exclusion of social contact to provide a sense of security. The book’s front shows the city as bright, colourful and vibrant as do the players. This illustration is in stark contrast to the cold and isolation she has chosen. ‘The City’ is a fable about growing up and finding your way, a struggle between a parent’s wish to hold and protect their child and the child’s need to find his own social and moral compass.

1. Letterpress Project 12 February 2017 review by Terry Potter of ‘The City’ by Armin Greder https://letterpressproject.co.uk/inspiring-young-readers/2017-02-12/the-city
2. Victoria State Government Department of Education Teaching and Learning Cycle: Level 5 and 6, ‘The City‘ by Armin Greder https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/english/literacy/readingviewing/Pages/exampleteachlearncyclelevel56city.aspx
3. ReadPlus 6 April 2010. Jo Schenkel reviews ‘The City’ by Armin Greder https://www.readplus.com.au/reviews/the-city-by-armin-greder
4. Outside in World Browse Books. ‘The City’ by Armin Greder https://www.outsideinworld.org.uk/browse-books.asp?book=1282
5. From Words to Worlds 13 June 2016. Review of ‘The City’ by Armin Greder https://fromwordstoworlds.wordpress.com/2016/06/13/armin-greders-the-city-an-expressionist-story-on-mother-son-love-over-protectiveness-and-social-isolation/