Okay Hell You Reading readers, if there are any out there. Due to life and stress and work (and lack thereof, cause of stress) I have been lax, but fear not I found this little ditty posted on the Guardian.co.uk's website about the difference between book covers in different countries.
In particular, the novel Everything is Illuminated cover in English and in French.
The English book cover has words written on it in font that are written in what appears to be a shaky hand. This is fitting given if you read the book you would know that the main narrator is kid who is learning English and his misuse of the various words and inappropriateness of syntax is hilarious. Therefore, the irrational, almost rambling style of font is appropriate.
The French book, however. . . I don't know what's going on here
I'll wait for you after the jump.
Done? Okay. So there's this guy doing an amazing reach-around. The medium of this cover appears to be in a lush watercolor. Maybe because it's France and they're a liberated, European country with less sexual hangups. You can see topless women on primetime over there; it's no big deal. The difference is design could just be cultural thing. There certainly is a lot of coquette-ishness going on here. I did kind of like how the woman is looking at the guy as if to say, "what do you think you're doing buddy?", and the guy is looking at the placement of his hands with a smug smile.
A commentator on the article said it reminded him or her of Marc Chagall's "The Lovers"; however the dislocation of limbs that must be necessary for any normal person attempting a recreation of the French cover reminds me of Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss".
Thursday, May 13, 2010
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