You don't buy a book by Todd Shimoda expecting the usual thing. His fiction veers in and out of nonfiction, and the ubiquitous illustrations by his wife, master calligrapher/artist Linda Shimoda, are integral to the passage of the plot. The Shimodas' lovely 1998 collaboration 365 Views of Mt. Fuji: Algorithms of the Floating World, strayed beyond the usual boundaries of linear storytelling, weaving together bits of Japanese history, art history, lore and cultural traditions along the way. And Todd's latest book, Oh!, follows suit by taking on the same kind of hybrid form. As the protagonist Zack Hara, an American traveling in Japan, finds himself on the tail of a mystery, Linda Shimoda's elegant freehand calligraphics provide clues. The result is a multi-dimensional reading experience that you won't soon forget.
Todd Shimoda reads from Oh! at a 7:30 p.m. book signing tonight at the Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl Street, Boulder. Visit the book store's site or call 303-447-2074 for details. And for more about the Shimodas, surf to Shimodaworks.
For more ways to rock the night and kill the day, go to westword.com/calendar.
