A lover of details

Author's name: Alberto Manguel

Anatole Vasanbian lived in Poitiers, France, during the interwar period, working in a public bathhouse. He possessed an amazing talent for capturing detail: he would describe the hands handling soap, peer into the bathers' skin colors, body movements, and the scents they exuded. Vasanbian met a Japanese photographer who owned an old bookstore in the city, and developed his talent to the fullest, beginning to photograph things instead of documenting them. But his obsession with detail and his insatiable love of beauty soon led him to his tragic end. Alberto Manguel takes us to the enchanting world of Poitiers, rewriting Anatole Vasanbian's life story in his captivating style. This half-fictional, half-real adventure tells the story of an artist and a lover obsessed with detail.