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A niche photographic book depicting final resting places acroff the globe.

Synopsis

A Visual Journey Through Life and Death
This unconventional photo book is a heartfelt meditation on life, death, and memories of loved ones. It is presented through a carefully curated collection of photographs, stories, and touching poems that take you on an emotional journey through resting places and memorials worldwide. The book is organized into sections that explore various emotions and aspects of human life, with the goal of encouraging readers to think deeply and reflect on how we are all connected as human beings.

I would like to express my gratitude to Nasser Khadjenoori, and Reedsy Discovery for the opportunity to read the Advanced Reader Copy of this book. Here follows my honest review.

Marketed as a photobook with a difference, Hodie Mihi, Cras Tibi by Nasser Khadjenoori is a collection of images and poetry, curated and positioned in a way to evoke a range of emotions as you travel through each section. The title inspired by an inscription on several Portuguese tombstone is literally translated as, ‘My turn today, yours tomorrow’. This beautiful translation that had me envisioning loved ones leaving the world ahead of others in order to pave the way had me curious as to how Khadjenoori would interpret the same text, particularly as he also draws on the grief of losing a friend early on in his adult life. That curiosity was aroused further with the opening poem that speaks of an unknown person buried in a grave. It speculates on who they might have been and who they might have known, which will forever remain a mystery. This was shortly followed up by an image of an unknown soldier’s grave. This set my emotions off from the get-go because someone cared enough to add a headstone, to write a poem, and to honor this loss of life.

Whilst the photographic focus on cemeteries had the potential to be quite morbid, Khadjenoori, almost brings death back to life by offering a fresh perspective on final resting places, i.e. life after death – one of the many terms used to describe being dead judging by the poem heading up section 2.

Focusing solely on the cemetery photographs, I was struck by how same but different they each were. Some of the images that capture my attention was the grave in Cairo for its depiction of the departed’s personality along with an inscribed dog, the shrine in Barcelona complete with a photo and statues of the departed couple, and image of a man buried alongside his two wives in Massachusetts. I also admired the sad image of the rag tree in Cork Ireland that captured several teddy bears and other items seemingly belonging to children. My most favored images were probably those from Italian, Hungarian, and Peruvian cemeteries. Despite the sadness of the topic, the shrines were beautifully made and kept. Whilst several others had lovely statues and shrines, there is something beautiful, haunting, and sad about the ones burying their heads in their hands looking like they are crying due to being weather worn. On the flip side, the one that gave me pause for thought were toward the end when Khadjenoori talked of the witch trials and the unmarked graves of the enslaved.

Each and every one of the poems curated for this book is moving, made even more so by the isolated phrase in each one typed in red. Whilst not all the deaths are apparently violent, the use of a color that, to me, symbolize blood hammers the point that there are no live characters in this book.

I would have preferred Khadjenoori’s excerpts to be more evenly spaced, and I’m not wholly sure where I would expect to find this book outside of a library or perhaps a religious place. It certainly provokes some emotional responses and not necessarily positive ones. The book has the potential to be triggering and references quite a few scenarios that resulted in loss of life and a lack of remorse. That aside, there are some beautiful photos, some blurred photos (that I put down to artistic stylistic choices). The book is likely to be appreciated by fellow photographers, travelers, and art critics.

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Hey Fellow Reader, I'm quite the bookworm. As such, I'm never without a good book on my phone, under my pillow, and tucked in my bag. I think we'll get along just fine. Here's to sharing reviews that could create our next love affair with a series of pages. Tips & submissions very welcome ;p

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Hodie Mihi, Cras Tibi (Today Me, Tomorrow You)

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