Relations that Suck: The Story of Eva and Dries

by Marilyn Yu

Author Marilyn Yu has assembled a unique group of artists and professionals with a passion for beauty and pushing boundaries to create this piece of art in book form. Relations That Suck bridges the worlds of fine art, fashion, and writing, portraying the tragedies of denial and guilt in thirty-five dramatic photographs accompanied by a poetically heartbreaking narrative.

52 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2009

About the author

Marilyn Yu, voted Best APA Designer in the Bay Area by Asian Week readers, is a clothing designer, artist, and author based in San Francisco. With a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Masters in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley, Yu is constantly trying to merge her various interests in the work she does. For over a decade, Yu has interwoven media, ideas, and people in her creations.

Reviews

[kimyunalesca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the book cover it has this very dark set into it as if she's planning something evil that just kinda pulls and attracts you over...very beautiful and I love the overall presentation of this picture story book,the photographs are very well executed,modern,innovative,high end fashion I enjoyed reading and browsing each piece.A very short fun read and it's really nice to see all these overflowing creativity and incorporation of art,fashion and literature at the same time but story wise not so much I understand the concept and all that but there are some details that are quite vague and lacking when it comes to character building and development as far as the story goes though I think Dries is really sweet and thoughtful.Eva's beautiful,tried her best to be human enough,blend in the crowd inspite being a vampire.A very peculiar bond is formed between the two.I don't like the ending though the gesture was quite peaceful and sweet.Readers of all ages will enjoy and learn some things from their tale.

[OpenBookSociety.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review brought to you by OBS Staff member Katie

Beware of spoilers

The Story of Eva and Dries is a fable about friendship and destiny. Eva is a creative vampire who likes people and Dries is a traveling spider; their story portrays denial and guilt.

This beautiful story takes being a coffee table book to a whole new level.

The photographs are absolutely fantastic. Marilyn Yu really knows how to creature a wonderful picture by using the right setting, lighting, make up artists and costumes.

I found myself studying the pictures for a long time, looking at every single detail in awe.

But let’s not forget the beautiful story she wrote. It is a short and simple story between two ‘people’ who have their own struggles. Who would have thought a vampire and a spider would become friends? Of course I also have to mention how well the pictures and the story go together. Brilliant job by Marilyn Yu!

This has promise to be a real conversation starter.

[L (Sniffly Kitty) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the fact that this was essentially a picture book for adults. Each page has a photo and some of them are haunting while others are silly.

I'm not that artsy so I'm not much of an art critic, but I found some of the photos to be corny although others are very nice. The story itself is a bit weird, and has a a sort of well that sucked (for the people in the story) feeling to it... as the title implies.

It's definitely something interesting to check out, and since it consists of mostly photos, it won't take you very long to look through either.

First published at Sniffly Kitty's Mostly Books