P E N G U I N B O O K C O V E R : " W H A T A C A R V E U P ! " B Y J O N A T H A N C O E
The Penguin Book Cover competition brief is simple: create a new and interesting cover for one of two books - this year they were "What A Carve Up!" by Jonathan Coe and "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton. I chose the former, and after reading the book I was left with a lasting image of wealth and power - themes which I tried to carry into my cover design.
Making my own wallpaper was something I was adamant about - using an original Victorian wallpaper I’d found on the internet seemed like a cop-out, and I felt like it’s something extravagant that the Winshaws would have had done anyway - get their own wallpaper designed. Originally I wanted to make silhouettes of each of the family members, but I opted for Margaret Thatcher instead as it shows the family’s dedication to her. I symbolise this through the crown on top of her head - I hope that at first glance a reader would think it’s the queen and then after looking closer, realise it’s Thatcher. Also, I feel it’s in keeping with the book. Personally I thought that Thatcher’s involvement in the story is merely background, rather than hugely relevent to the plot. In this sense, it is perfect to have her as the physical background to my design.
The original photo is of a guilded mirror, and I had all sorts of ideas about having the glass of the mirror smashed, or cracked, or plain removed to see the original un-bleached wallpaper behind it. However, after some thought I wanted to include a painting which emphasises greed as it would give a clear visual link to the piggy bank on the mantel piece. I thought of Adam and Eve, Bacchus (the Greek god of wine) and Judas, but finally set on this painting of a dog. It’s a happy coincidence that it includes a cut of meat as that links to the title of the book very clearly.
