Cover Art Conversations

Cover art is compelling and we do judge books by their covers. Let's talk about what makes them neat.

Bibliophile, theatre geek, arts marketer.

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Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor

 

Tiffany Baker’s The Little Giant of Aberdeen County Here’s an audiobook I picked up because of the cover art. It reminded me of the cover of John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany because of the dress form. I found the form here to lack the same visceral connection Irving’s novel inspires, but it’s not a wrong choice. I like it for this novel because its vague, provides a sense of nostalgia (the novel begins in the 1950s), alludes to the small town setting, yet does not reveal much of the plot. It hints at Truly’s larger than life size, without becoming cartoonish. I really like the way the light hits the dress form and the composition of the title over the form. It fits perfectly. Both the title and the cover art hint at the story in a way that intrigued me.

Tiffany Baker’s The Little Giant of Aberdeen County

Here’s an audiobook I picked up because of the cover art. It reminded me of the cover of John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany because of the dress form. I found the form here to lack the same visceral connection Irving’s novel inspires, but it’s not a wrong choice. I like it for this novel because its vague, provides a sense of nostalgia (the novel begins in the 1950s), alludes to the small town setting, yet does not reveal much of the plot. It hints at Truly’s larger than life size, without becoming cartoonish. I really like the way the light hits the dress form and the composition of the title over the form. It fits perfectly. Both the title and the cover art hint at the story in a way that intrigued me.

Veronica Roth’s Divergent The tagline on the cover does more for me than the cover art. After reading the novel I see how the cityscape and the two figures relate to the book, however, the fiery eye (? I’m not sure it is supposed to be, but I always think its an eye, so there.) stands out as the strongest image and I have yet to see it’s direct significance. I may have read the book quickly, but I don’t remember fire playing a large part in the society Roth creates. Her protagonist does choose the faction that values bravery (Dauntless), but fire doesn’t play a role in training. All I can think of it is a watchful, Big Brother eye, but there is no reference to a separate governing faction, watching over all the inhabitants. The Erudite faction turn out to have far reaching surveillance, but do not set any fires, so I am left to believe this image is meant to pique reader interest. And honestly, for me it conjures up images from another dystopian novel; The Hunger Games.  So what’s the motivation for this artwork? The overall composition does present finality, fate, hint at the mythology of dystopian societies already embedded in our cultural consciousness (the landscapes in Minority Report and Inception come to mind). Back to the tagline. ONE CHOICE CAN TRANSFORM YOU. It’s foreboding and combined with the gray/stormy sky behind it does to most evoke the urgency found in the novel. I wish the cover art here did more to elevate the novel beyond its young adult status. I know YA is the target audience, but I think dystopian novels like this one provide the audience with an opportunity to examine the constructs in our own society - class structure, distribution of wealth and power, divergence from our norms, etc.

Veronica Roth’s Divergent

The tagline on the cover does more for me than the cover art. After reading the novel I see how the cityscape and the two figures relate to the book, however, the fiery eye (? I’m not sure it is supposed to be, but I always think its an eye, so there.) stands out as the strongest image and I have yet to see it’s direct significance. I may have read the book quickly, but I don’t remember fire playing a large part in the society Roth creates. Her protagonist does choose the faction that values bravery (Dauntless), but fire doesn’t play a role in training. All I can think of it is a watchful, Big Brother eye, but there is no reference to a separate governing faction, watching over all the inhabitants. The Erudite faction turn out to have far reaching surveillance, but do not set any fires, so I am left to believe this image is meant to pique reader interest. And honestly, for me it conjures up images from another dystopian novel; The Hunger Games.  So what’s the motivation for this artwork?

The overall composition does present finality, fate, hint at the mythology of dystopian societies already embedded in our cultural consciousness (the landscapes in Minority Report and Inception come to mind).

Back to the tagline. ONE CHOICE CAN TRANSFORM YOU. It’s foreboding and combined with the gray/stormy sky behind it does to most evoke the urgency found in the novel. I wish the cover art here did more to elevate the novel beyond its young adult status. I know YA is the target audience, but I think dystopian novels like this one provide the audience with an opportunity to examine the constructs in our own society - class structure, distribution of wealth and power, divergence from our norms, etc.

How do we begin to talk about artwork like that of The Phantom of the Opera? Long before it occurred to me read Leroux’s novel (ok, listen to the audiobook), the iconic image of a white mask and a rose were burned into my brain. I didn’t even realize there were alternatives. But there are so many alternatives! I couldn’t find a definitive sample of the cover art. There are many iterations of similar themes, but no one standard. And none of the images I found online exactly matched that of my audio book.

At this point, the artwork created for the musical surpassed the original artwork and became the brand. I learned the artwork for the musical doesn’t even accurately represent the musical (I’m a theatre geek who has never seen the stage or film adaptation, can you believe that? I’ve heard the music though, so simmer down). It turns out the creative team realized a half mask for the Phantom would work better on stage, but the posters of a full mask were already done, so it stayed. Changes that I recognize all too well. I’m an arts marketer by day.

What to say about this cover art? Not much. In my opinion it is too consumed by the myth, legend and brand that permeates our culture. Without having seen the movie, musical or knowing much about the story, we already recognize the brand here and make our own associations. I actually found the novel to be disappointing, but maybe that’s because English Romanticism was my least favorite class in my English Major.

(Source: Wikipedia)

I didn’t love this book. Long story short: it was too much of an easy beach read for me, though while I read it, I found myself more interested in artistic styles than I had been. That interest has passed. Read the full review here. At the time, I was grateful Renoir’s painting (the subject of the novel) was featured on the cover. I was able to follow along with the progression of the painting by referencing a replication of the finished product. However, this easy access to the visual ruined parts of the novel for me - it serves as a, albeit unintentional, spoiler alert. Renoir asked several friends to pose for him over several afternoons one summer and each is represented in the painting as they enjoyed a luncheon feast. Vreeland uses Renoir as a narrator for much of the novel and describes at length the intriguing folds of one models dress, but I couldn’t find any hint of what Renoir describes on the cover and realized, this character isn’t in the painting. Plot twist! Furthermore, Renoir anguishes over how to anchor the balcony to the building to avoid the sense that the guests are simply floating near or on the river. Look at the cover. The hint of awning stares the reader in the face from page one. I didn’t realize it initially, but while Renoir stewed over how to solve this problem, I referenced the cover and thought ‘it looks fine to me, he’ll figure it out.’ No suspense. I appreciate the availability of a replica of the painting as a reader. It helped me figure out who’s who within the novel based on their clothes and positions, which were described at length. However, I would have preferred if the replica were placed at the end of the novel, allowing it to unfold through the written word. I recognize the recent publication date of the novel means readers will likely conduct their own research and easily find an image of the painting on their own, but don’t ruin it up front, ok?

I didn’t love this book. Long story short: it was too much of an easy beach read for me, though while I read it, I found myself more interested in artistic styles than I had been. That interest has passed. Read the full review here.

At the time, I was grateful Renoir’s painting (the subject of the novel) was featured on the cover. I was able to follow along with the progression of the painting by referencing a replication of the finished product. However, this easy access to the visual ruined parts of the novel for me - it serves as a, albeit unintentional, spoiler alert. Renoir asked several friends to pose for him over several afternoons one summer and each is represented in the painting as they enjoyed a luncheon feast.

Vreeland uses Renoir as a narrator for much of the novel and describes at length the intriguing folds of one models dress, but I couldn’t find any hint of what Renoir describes on the cover and realized, this character isn’t in the painting. Plot twist! Furthermore, Renoir anguishes over how to anchor the balcony to the building to avoid the sense that the guests are simply floating near or on the river. Look at the cover. The hint of awning stares the reader in the face from page one. I didn’t realize it initially, but while Renoir stewed over how to solve this problem, I referenced the cover and thought ‘it looks fine to me, he’ll figure it out.’ No suspense. I appreciate the availability of a replica of the painting as a reader. It helped me figure out who’s who within the novel based on their clothes and positions, which were described at length. However, I would have preferred if the replica were placed at the end of the novel, allowing it to unfold through the written word.

I recognize the recent publication date of the novel means readers will likely conduct their own research and easily find an image of the painting on their own, but don’t ruin it up front, ok?

John Irving’s A Widow for One Year. First novel with artwork that caught my eye. I happened upon this in the school library over ten years ago. The bare hook intrigued me, but I didn’t know why. As I read the book, I had an ‘a-ha moment’ about how and why this book had this cover art. It gave me chills. This bare look hints at a pivotal moment in the novel and echoes the repercussions of this event. I think it’s brilliant.

John Irving’s A Widow for One Year. First novel with artwork that caught my eye. I happened upon this in the school library over ten years ago. The bare hook intrigued me, but I didn’t know why. As I read the book, I had an ‘a-ha moment’ about how and why this book had this cover art. It gave me chills. This bare look hints at a pivotal moment in the novel and echoes the repercussions of this event. I think it’s brilliant.