Smoke by John Berger (text) and Selçuk Demirel (illustrations), first edition in 2016.

John Berger, long-time smoker, joins forces again with Turkish writer and illustrator Selçuk Demirel in an unexpected pictorial essay.

Once upon a time, men, women and (secretly) children smoked.

This charming pictorial essay reflects on the cultural implications of smoking, and suggests, through a series of brilliantly inventive illustrations, that society’s attitude to smoke is both paradoxical and intolerant. It portrays a world in which smokers, banished from public places, must encounter one another as outlaws. Meanwhile, car exhausts and factory chimneys continue to pollute the atmosphere. Smoke is a beautifully illustrated prose poem that lingers in the mind.