My daughter Lisa reviews books for a Kansas City web site; the following is a posting she did on changing styles in book covers. Despite the fact that she's my kid, and I'm partial to her, I thought her comments were interesting and worth sharing, but didn't know just where they should go. Hence, I put it here in the book review blog. If it's judged too far afield, David can delete it into limbo and all will be forgiven.
Ken
New Illustrated Book Covers Breathe Life Into Classic Novels
by Kansas City Literature Examiner, Lisa Westerfield
I’m the first to admit that I do judge books by their cover. My reasoning is that rightly or wrongly I assume a writer has some say as to the appearance of their novel (as for nonfiction books I think their creators might be more limited in their choices).
A good book cover can hook earnest book buyers by looking interesting enough to pick up to read at least the summary blurb on the story. I understand that often book covers edit out certain parts of a face of body in order to more readily catch the eye of a shopper on a book hunt. Apparently the human eye is attracted to things that aren’t quite right – such as why are there no eyes attached to that nose and mouth? I’m sure certain colors are preferable over others as well as certain bright neon pinks and greens indicate a book has landed in chick lit territory. Don’t believe me? Check out the Target book aisle next time you are shopping.
It doesn’t take an art history degree to notice that the style of book covers change with every decade indicating the popular colors or lifestyle choices/art of one decade to the next. Further, as a constant Googler of book cover images I have discovered that book covers are often changed when they end up in different markets, even other English speaking/reading markets such as Great Britain. Sometimes I prefer book covers aimed for those across the pond.
I’m sure that during the immortal lifespan of classic novels they have experienced on average a thousand different covers, but I have to say that the covers currently presented by Penguin Classics (subsidiary of Penguin Books) which are being done by Ruben Toledo, best known for his fashion illustrations, are marvelous. The first one that caught my eye a few days ago was ‘The Scarlet A’ with Hester holding the struggling evidence of her indiscretion looking all fashion forward. Even the A seems like it has taken a few lessons from Trya Banks and appears fierce (or maybe it just is smiling with its eyes). Immediately I had to pick up the book and examine it. If I hadn’t read the story originally back in high school I might have considered buying it as if the cover had refreshed the tale of an illicit affair gone very wrong. Oh, and the fact that I have about thirty something books waiting to be read was also a factor.
Upon further examination I came across ‘Wuthering Heights’ also illustrated by Toledo and published by Penguin. I don’t think I have ever imagined Cathy being so glamorous with her big doll eyes and tightly hugging dress. I confess I never read the book primarily because I never got into the 1939 movie version with Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff. I know that is normally not a very good excuse, but since it was never assigned reading and I don’t really like moody literary heroes, I have always passed it by. With that being said, even I have to acknowledge that this new cover draws me in in a way that the story never has.
All of this led me to look for my all time favorite classic novel, ‘Pride & Prejudice’ and sure enough there it was with another Toledo book cover but this time it was silhouette composition. For a moment I wondered what exactly the lollypop things were until I realized that they were trees. Overall, I don’t really have anything else to add except borrowing the catch phrase of one of my favorite Internet sites, Go Fug Yourself (which sounds harsher than the site really is) Penguin Books and Ruben Toledo – Well Played, well played indeed! Oh, BTW, Penguin is calling these covers ‘Couture Classics’…cute phrase isn’t it?
Ken
New Illustrated Book Covers Breathe Life Into Classic Novels
by Kansas City Literature Examiner, Lisa Westerfield
I’m the first to admit that I do judge books by their cover. My reasoning is that rightly or wrongly I assume a writer has some say as to the appearance of their novel (as for nonfiction books I think their creators might be more limited in their choices).
A good book cover can hook earnest book buyers by looking interesting enough to pick up to read at least the summary blurb on the story. I understand that often book covers edit out certain parts of a face of body in order to more readily catch the eye of a shopper on a book hunt. Apparently the human eye is attracted to things that aren’t quite right – such as why are there no eyes attached to that nose and mouth? I’m sure certain colors are preferable over others as well as certain bright neon pinks and greens indicate a book has landed in chick lit territory. Don’t believe me? Check out the Target book aisle next time you are shopping.
It doesn’t take an art history degree to notice that the style of book covers change with every decade indicating the popular colors or lifestyle choices/art of one decade to the next. Further, as a constant Googler of book cover images I have discovered that book covers are often changed when they end up in different markets, even other English speaking/reading markets such as Great Britain. Sometimes I prefer book covers aimed for those across the pond.
I’m sure that during the immortal lifespan of classic novels they have experienced on average a thousand different covers, but I have to say that the covers currently presented by Penguin Classics (subsidiary of Penguin Books) which are being done by Ruben Toledo, best known for his fashion illustrations, are marvelous. The first one that caught my eye a few days ago was ‘The Scarlet A’ with Hester holding the struggling evidence of her indiscretion looking all fashion forward. Even the A seems like it has taken a few lessons from Trya Banks and appears fierce (or maybe it just is smiling with its eyes). Immediately I had to pick up the book and examine it. If I hadn’t read the story originally back in high school I might have considered buying it as if the cover had refreshed the tale of an illicit affair gone very wrong. Oh, and the fact that I have about thirty something books waiting to be read was also a factor.
Upon further examination I came across ‘Wuthering Heights’ also illustrated by Toledo and published by Penguin. I don’t think I have ever imagined Cathy being so glamorous with her big doll eyes and tightly hugging dress. I confess I never read the book primarily because I never got into the 1939 movie version with Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff. I know that is normally not a very good excuse, but since it was never assigned reading and I don’t really like moody literary heroes, I have always passed it by. With that being said, even I have to acknowledge that this new cover draws me in in a way that the story never has.
All of this led me to look for my all time favorite classic novel, ‘Pride & Prejudice’ and sure enough there it was with another Toledo book cover but this time it was silhouette composition. For a moment I wondered what exactly the lollypop things were until I realized that they were trees. Overall, I don’t really have anything else to add except borrowing the catch phrase of one of my favorite Internet sites, Go Fug Yourself (which sounds harsher than the site really is) Penguin Books and Ruben Toledo – Well Played, well played indeed! Oh, BTW, Penguin is calling these covers ‘Couture Classics’…cute phrase isn’t it?
Lisa Westerfield 9/12/09
1 comment:
Eye catching art work on a cover is not lost on me. I believe there is a "quality" connection. A publisher's judgment is reflected in both art and literature. Good idea, the "Couture Classics".
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