Two

by Melissa Ann Pinney

Two is an exquisite collection of captivating and thought-provoking photographs by award-winning photographer Melissa Ann Pinney that contemplate the essence of duality in our relationships and in the world that surrounds us. Edited and introduced by Pinney's friend, New York Times bestselling author Ann Patchett, the volume is filled with memorable images that encase rich two children at play, a pair of aging friends, parent and child, couples in love. But deeper meanings can lurk in the margins of the frame, in the expressions in the eyes, in the disconnect of the connection. Photographs without human subjects bear their own two nesting tea cups, an indoor pool, two chairs in autumn.Pinney, whose work is in the permanent collections of dozens of American museums, including the Metropolitan, MoMA, The Art Institute of Chicago, and the Getty, aims her lens at pairs—mostly, but not always human—that display or imply elusive connections of mind, of spirit, or of simply the act of being. Patchett, whose enthusiasm for Pinney's vision helped bring this project to fruition, has paired the photographs with remarkable essays about the nature of two, commissioned from some of the best writers at work Edwidge Danticat, Barbara Kingsolver, Richard Russo, Elizabeth Gilbert, Susan Orlean, Alan Gurganus, Maile Meloy, Elizabeth McCracken, Jane Hamilton, and Billy Collins (who provides a beautiful poem celebrating "two creatures bound by wonderment.") "I've always been interested in watching people together. I wonder what their story is, who they are to each other," Pinney writes in the preface. "No matter how uninspired I feel, how dull I think a place is, when I look at the world through a camera a new beginning takes place." Filled with startling, sensitive images and nuanced prose, Two is an illuminating keepsake of human experience, at once universal and unique.

Genres: Photography, Essays, Nonfiction, Art, Short Stories

208 pages, Hardcover

First published April 14, 2015

Reviews

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

An impressive series of photographs paired with short essays.

[Etienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book with a beautiful concept. Unfortunately the mixed of texts and pictures are not that well matched together. Independently, the text part was good, some better then other like always, but good and the pictures where for most of them amazing. All in simplicity it presents some form of duality/union (in some we can also find more then one pair) of people or things. It's also, I think, some kind of celebration to the gathering, the bonding, of people together, of love in very different form. I liked the fact that the pictures where not «explain» no text at all, so you can just looked at them for quite some time actually trying to figures out the context or the link between the people there. Beautiful!

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a book that I would have bought on my own, but it came from my Parnassus First Editions Club. The essays are wonderful, but the pictures and the essays seem forced together. It was a good idea, but I don't think the end result works very well.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lovely book provides 90 photographs and 10 essays related to the 'two-ness' of things. Each visual offers 2 of something, and it's a treat to spend some time just looking. The essays are unrelated to the photos, yet offer a story or insight into two of something.

It wouldn't really be fair to write a review and not mention my favorites, so I confess to loving the photos on pages 42 and 71. And 100. OK, so a lot of them invite staring and contemplation.

My favorite essay: Beauty and Tookie by Susan Orlean. But Billy Collins, Richard Russo and Barbara Kingsolver are also contributors.

All in all, I highly recommend this book. Think of it as a literary 'palate cleanser' between beach reads. A thoughtful interlude between two other books...See how easy it is to think in terms of two?

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parnassus First Editions Club never disappoints. May's selection was a nice break from lengthy novels and biographies in the form of this 'coffee table' book of sorts. It is a collection of photographs and short essays - all on the theme of two. Elizabeth Gilbert has an essay in here, so it's obviously magical. Ann Patchett wrote the introduction and edited the whole thing. And there was not a single essay that I did not enjoy. What a great little treat that I picked up and put down a little at a time.

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for my birthday from my sister. Beautiful photographs on the theme of "two." Mostly two people, two objects, or a person and their shadow. All very intriguing and thought provoking. Ann Patchett, a friend of Pinney's, wrote the introduction. Patchett invited ten author/poets (including Barbara Kingsolver and Jane Hamilton) to contribute essays or poems on the theme of "two." These were interesting, entertaining, and a nice complement to the photos.

[Michelle Adamo #EmptyNestReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of photographs that look at the link between two - two people, two family members, two strangers, two things. Two is also a collection of essays by some of my favorite authors. I bought this book because Ann Patchett (one of my very favorite authors) wrote the intro (she's a friend of the photographer, Melissa Ann Piney, as well as with the authors who wrote the essays. I've read & loved nearly everything Patchett has written. And because Patchett and Piney came to Birmingham (AL) to do a book promotion/signing - and I got to meet them, get their autographs, and have my photo taken with them 📸 ❤️. I never got around to reading the stories until this month. I was inspired to do so because Patchett is coming to Ann Arbor in October (and, of course. I have tickets). Maybe I'll have another photo op? 😉
Many thanks to @AlabamaBooksmith and @Literati for bringing #AnnPatchett to their respective cities. #two #annpatchett #melissaannpinney #essays #booksigning #photography #annarbor #birminghamalabama #bookstagramalabama #bookstagrammichigan #readalittlelearnalittlelivealittle

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The concept of this book is intriguing. Each of the ten essays are fabulous and prove that non-fiction can be imaginative and emotional.

I liked the photography for the most part, but I wish there were a better balance between photography and writing. At times the photographs seemed repetitive or too mundane...yeah, I get it, it was what she was going for, but at times I was flipping impatiently through the pictures to get to the next essay instead of looking closely and appreciating them.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't much care for the contributions in this book. I liked AllanGurganus "THEN ONe VanisheS" mostly because it was interesting Elvis Trivia and Billy Collins "Two Creatures."

As far as the photography, I was impressed by how intimate some photos were. I found myself asking "how?!"a lot. The angels, the subjects' expressions, the lighting. Even images that bordered on the mundane were full of life and interest. Others were straight up boring.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this, but like most collections it’s quite the mixed bag — with photos that didn’t land well with me. The photos came off as average, as if found or submitted by amateurs. It took me a few names to realize that all the essays were by notable authors. The essays probably mean more to someone a little more familiar with these authors.

[Dakota Vaughn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this collection a lot. There was plenty to chew on. My favorite type of photography is anything that contains lots of people, so this was right up my alley. It also included an essay by Barbara Kingsolver who is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, so that was cool. Would recommend.

[George Kasnic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this on a whim, been sitting around the house waiting for a new destination. I like the duality of the photography and the short essays. I freely admit that while I am a visual person, the writing was more compelling than the photography. This is my deficit, I simply fail to spend the necessary time examining the imagery. It is how I think, but not how I process. Both the photos and the writing have very touching impressions. A short, quick, worthwhile read.

[Carol Eshaghy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful photos most of them taken in my state of Illinois. I loved the essays interspersed among the photos. They were written by some of my favorite authors.

[Fifi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful photographs and prose--this book's a keeper!

[Suzanne Révy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ninety photographs are interspersed with essays by several excellent writers including Elizabeth Gilbert, Barbara Kingsolver, Edwidge Danticat and Richard Russo among others. Each essay describes a relationship, which share an emotional connection with Melissa Ann Pinney's beautiful photographs. The book is also the perfect size.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

FINALLY FINISHED THIS BOOK . I read half of it and skimmed the rest of the text because I was more interested in looking at the photographs then reading. All the photographs have to do with the concept of "two" so it was really interesting to see some photographs where they made you think of what would make this picture fit into that concept because it wasn't obvious at first as some were.

[Barbara Osterdock · Rating 5 out of 5]

My grandchildren are in this book

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most beautiful book I own! *signed copy*

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed how the images provoked my thinking about twos. I highly recommend "Two Creatures" written by Billy Collins and "Beauty and Tookie" written by Susan Orlean.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous combination of photos and essays about the nature of two. My favorite essay was "And Then One Vanishes" by Allan Gurganus.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done.

[Ginny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite a random book of pictures and short essays.

[Jena · Rating 4 out of 5]

A kind-of coffee table book, a collection of photos and essays focused on "two." A pleasant experience.

[Keishua · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting photos and essays