Around 2002 or 2003 I was in London England with my man-friend at the time. We had just walked through most of the exhibits and had ended up in the museum gift shop. Flipping through a bin of books I came upon a small book with a big headed doll on the cover entitled “This is Blythe.” I flipped through it slowly, seeing for the first time a series of photos of a doll who although had one face, seemed to express an abundance of subtle expressions. Whoever took these pictures fashioned her and posed her in situations, both dramatic, humorous and intelligently commenting on several aspects of modern culture. I was amazed. How could a doll convey so much? Who was this Gina Garan? Although this was clearly not a childrens book per say I still sensed an innocent, childlike tone about its direction. We must have been getting to the end of our trip because we were sadly almost broke and things in London are way more expensive then in America. The book was too expensive for me to buy at the time or maybe I was just not ready to commit buying something, which seemed so eccentric. I wrote down the title thinking it was only published in Europe and filed it away in my brain to be referenced several years later long after I’d broken up with the guy with whom I’d made the journey to London. I found the book again at some Barnes & Noble in Manhattan and found it as brilliant as ever if not more. I bought it and discovered that I was not alone.
