This is me.
And so is this.- according to the author of a novel which is excellent on the inside (sweet yet crunchy) but which has misguidedly been covered from head to toe in a most unappetising outer coating that utterly belies its (shall we say 'bittersweet'?) content.
I was a little taken aback to discover my new alter-ego this morning, but, what the heck - if a bit of stomping around in brogues and a tweedy hat is going to help this Worthy Cause in the slightest way, then I guess I'm happy to play my part for as long as it takes. You can read the full story (and lots of other stories) here.
It is perfectly true that I have hated this book's cover with a vengeance since I first set eyes on it. As I remarked in my original review, if I hadn’t been inspired to acquire a copy through reading the excellent advance publicity, I’d never have picked it up in a bookshop!
The book deserves so much better.
It certainly deserves to be read, and I fear that it won't reach a fraction of its potential readership whilst sporting this misguided cover.
So, I'm all for Bill's sticker idea - the bigger the better.
But ultimately the book needs a radical re-design - one which beckons seductively, attracting the eye of the book-browser, and which captures both the freshness of first love and the age-old tragedies of jealousy and betrayal. Or, failing that, simply a cover that's Nice instead of one which Isn't Very Nice At All.
A challenge, certainly, but one to which the publisher jolly well needs to rise, or Bill's scary friend The Killer will have something to say about it. And so will I (once I get to grips with loading my big gun).
Well, there we are. My venerable jowls are all a-quiver with righteous zeal and my brown lisle stockings are in a bit of a twist, but . . . onwards and upwards, fight the good fight, stick those yellow stickers and then pop the kettle on for tea.
(Oh, and if you'd like to weigh in yourself, then Bill would love to hear from you. You get points for leaving incisive comments on his blog. And points, as eny fule kno, mean prizes!)
1 comment:
Dear oh dear; I see what you mean. Poor Bill. And to think, someone designed that cover, stood back and said to themselves, "That looks really NICE." Or maybe they didn't.
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