Comparing Covers of The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Posted by Anne Healey in book design on May 6, 2009
Speaking of Europa and their big hit The Elegance of the Hedgehog . . . It’s interesting to compare how a book’s cover design varies from country to country. For instance, here are, from left to right, the U.S., U.K. hardcover, and French editions:
I was used to seeing the U.S. version (published by Europa), so the more staid U.K. cover (published by Gallic Books) surprised me. I like it — it’s fitting that the wrought-iron design evokes the lobby of an older, upscale building, because the book’s about a girl’s friendship with a concierge. But it’s not super-obvious at first — it could just seem like an abstract design. And the French cover couldn’t get any more French than this. (Full disclosure: I’ve been blogging about French things, and I’m a bit of a francophile, but I don’t speak French!) It’s the classic off-white cover that in France signifies Literature With A Capital “L.” Indeed, it’s part of Gallimard’s venerable Collection Blanche, founded 98 years ago. Francois Luong gave an insightful analysis of the French book aesthetic on his blog last year–check it out. Merci, Francois!
While I’m at it, here are the Spanish and Japanese editions. Amazon.com thinks that the Spanish translates to English as “The Elegance of the Sprocket Wheel.”
Categories: book design | 1 Comment »
May 28th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
De rien.