Fish develop eyes on their sides, and large tail fins that resemble eyebrows. They swim in pairs along the shoreline, freaking out passersby. Towers hover in midair, slowly dissolving into dripping stalactites of petroleum. Men wear hats that crawl and adapt to their surroundings. A naked couple make love on a mattress, and slowly meld into an alligator. The alligator scurries off.
What does all this mean? Hell if I know. It’s all a part of the CODEX SERAPHINIANUS, a most unusual book published in 1981 by the Italian Luigi Serafini. I’ve seen it described as a dictionary of another world, and I guess that’s one solid interpretation. It’s impossible to be sure (unless of course Serafini spilled the beans, somewhere…I’d rather not check) as the book is written in an incomprehensible script. It’s up to you to make of the tome what you will.
What is undeniable is the strength of Serafini’s vision. Each page plays host to some new fancy, often winsome, always bizarre, and on occasion downright sinister. It would be impossible to describe all of the book’s visions here, but if I were to suggest a world of Saturday Morning Cartoon pastels roughly mixed with Dali puerile imaginings, with just a dash of Giger eroticism then, well…actually, no, that doesn’t capture the feel of it at all. Never mind.
I can’t help but draw comparisons to THE VOYNICH MANUSCRIPT, which I read about a month ago. THAT book is a genuine mystery, its author and intent forever lost to time. It’s a rougher, far less polished creature than the SERAPHINIANUS, but somehow that makes its secrets all the more unnerving. Someone with not inexhaustible talent put a whole lot of resources into a work that will forever remain a question mark in history and it…just feels more DANGEROUS. SERAPHINIANUS is undoubtedly a work of genius…and yet somehow by its very accomplishment feels far more tame. It may just be the most brilliant coffee table book ever wrought by man. Make of THAT what you will.
A nice detail: The cover of the book features a swarm of red insects. With every new edition, the insects move slightly. Nice.
Me like books.
Me Like Books 