‘Not Here’3 min read

‘Not Here’ by Sophie Natta.

A disturbing digital book, which preserves the feeling of melancholy and nostalgia, created with Pub Coder technology.

It is the first work by Sophie Natta, graphic designer and illustrator, the digital book is developed with Pub Coder technology, which offers a broad interactivity solution without having the ability to learn the coding world in-depth.

The protagonist of ‘Not Here’ is a quiet and shy giant to which it is not possible to immediately identify with, on the contrary, is instantly the centre curiosity or involvement for the existential question that animates the protagonist.

The protagonist reflects us a lot regarding existential doubt, all of us have felt the need to look for in an alternative answer.

In ‘Not Here’ there is introspection, excellent graphics, as well as creativity combined with technological innovation. There is no need to wonder whether the Cyclops creature, protagonist of the book, is a male, a female or an unknown.

It becomes more interesting to go further, looking for the sense of the story wondering what it has to express, and where it goes.

The eBook opens onto a desolated land without time or geography. It is a dark forest with sharp trees, hostility, always immersed in the mist with the incessant drizzle, it is perhaps the area of ​​the soul, the unconscious?

It will be what everyone wants to see, as anyone who has in him their foggy places, the fragile corners of their minds.

The creature hears for the first time a noise; it is disoriented yet attracted by it. It thinks that it’s alone in the world and wants to know where that noise comes from and where it goes.

It is revealed to be a train passing in the distance continuously, endlessly, on a railroad that seems to be suspended in space.

The creature does everything in his power to be seen, but the train does not stop its journey. So it decides that it is time to go, to leave. And so it starts looking for another place, that one creature who has always lived alone there.

The journey by itself is not the theme of this story.

The theme is instead the meeting, meeting with the ‘other’, entirely unknown to the protagonist, mysterious creatures with which he reports in its way, always remaining himself.

Continuing with his trip he found a swamp, he dives into it and discovers a scooter, using it to enter into a tunnel, where it will go up with a service lift and find a seat in an over ground couch.

His journey comes to an end, he leaves the underground, and the fog clears, arriving at the place from which he started.

But the trees are no longer sharp.

A fascinating story, impressive both in the environments, sounds and atmosphere. The metaphorical language, the fantastic illustrations in monochrome, as well as the stylish graphics make this eBook for everyone, even for the eternal Peter Pan-like adult.

Photo by John Silliman on Unsplash