A book about the history and appeal of miniatures. Not quite as interesting as I thought it would be.

The world of miniatures is explored in this book, not small things but large things created in miniature form. I do enjoy books like this, taking a non-fiction subject and running with ideas producing an eclectic collection for the reader. For most of this book that is what it is. However I found some of the chapters rather repetitive - architectural models for example. The running theme of the Eiffel Tower was amusing and overall this was a short and perfectly enjoyable book without setting the world on fire!

I liked this, but I didn’t love it. In Miniature exams the human love for all things teeny, from souvenirs of the Eiffel Tower, Egyptian tomb dolls to small versions of villages and trains. The scale (pun intended) of the book is enormous, and incredibly well researched with a wide breadth of difffent kinds of miniatures found throughout the world. I liked this global feel, as it added to the author’s statement that miniatures go beyond one culture, and had more of a universal appeal. The writing style is also friendly, humorous and down to earth (anyone who can throw in a Father Ted reference is on to a winner with me) making it easy to read and get in to. I also liked that the chapters were specifically divided into distinct sub genres, making it easy to put down and pick back up again.

Although this goes into great depth about different examples of miniatures and their history, I felt it never really got down to ‘why’ we love them so much - apart from them initially seeming to be seen as miniature momentous of the large scale versions people visited. The psychology of miniatures is lacking, despite the numerous people interviews for the book and I think this would have been an interesting chapter all by itself to explore. I also found some of the chapters on miniature villages and railways a little bit boring compared to other chapters - but this is personal preference. I’m not a model maker or railway enthusiast.

I’ve never read a book discussing miniatures in such great detail, and I found it interesting. Great for open minded readers of non fiction, who like to delve into an unknown miniature world.

As usual Simon Garfield has taken something mundane and possibly trivial and turned looking at small things into a springboard of discovery. It answers the question of where did matchstick modellers get so many matches and offers insights into the minds of people who are fascinated by shrinking things. I now have a list of films to watch, places to visit and more books to read as a result of this book. Small things do please minds of any size.

I think this is my first Simon Garfield book, although my mother can attest to the success of others of his. I found this to be quite decent in the end, but not brilliant. In trying to convey the humour Garfield found in his search of things that are smaller than they should be, and the people who love and make them, he comes down on the wrong side in some instances as to their worth, and just ends up as sounding catty and ungrateful to the people he meets. "…like-minded souls could also convince themselves that being very interested in miniature books wasn't an entirely pointless or solitary pursuit" he snidely says, only to come down in favour of some right numpties and their reduced goings-on. For some reason I didn't like the style of the prologue either, which is kind of pointless all told and only makes the book too big (hem, hem).

On the whole, however, while this book might struggle to define its ultimate thesis here and there, it is fun. In conveying the world of the miniature book dealer, or the person with too much time to produce things made of millions of spent matches, and so much more, the book has a nice sense of the esoteric, which I hoped for and definitely got. Some of it could be shelved as travelogue (the world's largest miniature train railway, a fancy royal dolls' house with no dolls, and so on), some of it cultural analysis and history (the models produced to have impact on those blinding themselves to conditions on board slave ships) – it's a rum bunch all told, much like many of the people we meet on these pages – but it also has a singular charm of its own. It's just that that charm is not quite as large as intended.

Three and a half stars.

This is my favourite kind of non-fiction book! I’d previously read two of Simon Garfield’s other books, To the Letter: A Curious History of Correspondence and Just My Type: A Book About Fonts, so I knew that In Miniature: How Small Things Illuminate the World was going to be full of fascinating facts, personal experiences, meetings with interesting (if obsessive) people and snippets of cultural history.

Why does humanity have a passion for miniature things? How are the objects created and what’s the point of them anyway? Simon Garfield ponders these questions and more in his very readable journey through this super study of smallness. Chapters include the trend for souvenir Eiffel Towers, the art of LSD tabs, dolls’ houses, the flea circus (I’m still scratching my head over that one…) and the model village (apparently, the best ones have model villages inside them, which themselves contain model villages). He follows his interests, so don’t expect a comprehensive study of mini stuff. Luckily, the kind of miniature things he’s interested in are likely to be yours, too. I mean, a microscopic Last Supper in the eye of a needle? Teeny tiny books? Adorable plates of food which are carefully prepared and then eaten in one mouthful? How can you not be completely fascinated by these and the fact that there are people who are obsessed with making or collecting them?

I think that a similar book about giant things just wouldn’t have the same effect.

If there’s any fault at all in the book, it’s perhaps that the author spends too long talking about model railways… as indeed a model railway enthusiast might do, if they cornered you at a party.

This book is about art, cultural history and psychology. Perfect if you enjoy non-fiction which blurs the categories.

Thank you very much to Canongate for providing me with an advance e-copy via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: 1st November 2018.

I honestly didn't know what this book could really be about, but having recently visited Minatur Wunderland in Hamburg, I thought I'd be open to reading about some smaller versions of stuff!

I was expecting model villages and train sets (essentially what I'd seen and liked in Hamburg), but this was so much more. The writer takes us through a whole history of human desire to make things smaller for a multitude of reasons. It's packed with examples and anecdotes and some interesting pictures too. It also covers a whole host of topics I hadn't really considered - art installations, books, architects' models, mocked up battle scenes, miniature portraits...the range is fascinating.

I'm absolutely not a model maker myself or in any way seek out miniature things (it was raining in Hamburg and Miniatur Wunderland was open - hardly a pilgrimage for me!) However, even those with a casual interest will find something of interest here, be it Rod Stewart's love of his model trains or the Chapman brother's' inclusion of mini Ronald McDonalds in their works. There's so much in here that you can't help but be drawn in.

I'd recommend this to anyone looking for an interesting and engaging read, even if model villages aren't your thing. The desire to make things smaller, even microscopic, is explored as something essentially human and the examples are often amazing, humorous or frankly baffling!