Member Review

⭐️⭐️✨ (2.5/5 stars)

Cities by Manon Bucciarelli is a visually pleasing attempt to portray the beauty and individuality of different cities around the world. The concept is attractive — a picture book that tried to capture the soul of each city — but the execution falls somewhat short of expectations while covering the famous things of all those cities.

While the art style is delicate and her color choices soothing, the emotional connection to the cities feels faint. The illustrations and descriptions fail to truly transport the reader or ignite curiosity about visiting the places depicted. For example, Jaipur — the historic capital of Rajasthan, India — is renowned for its grand forts, royal palaces and pink-hued architecture that reflect a majestic past. Yet, the author chose to focus on marigold flowers (which most citizens know are not that famous from here), instead of the city’s vast heritage and regal essence. This kind of oversight makes the portrayal feel incomplete and disconnected from the city’s true character. Somehow it feels like inclusion is just formality not to promote anything properly to intrigue the readers to visit the place rather repel it.

Overall, Cities is a okay-okay coffee-table book — fine to browse through once, but not evocative enough to make readers fall in love with the destinations it depicts. It captures form, but not the spirit of the cities.