So, it’s been a while.
To be frank, I have no excuse but for
a spectacular case of writer’s block. To put this into perspective, please note
that before my previous hard drive fritzed itself into oblivion, (taking with
it 10 years of photos and music), there was a word doc permanently open,
waiting for my thoughts and feelings regarding a book. One specific book: The Rules According to JWOWW!
I wonder what she's measuring?
I never thought that there would be a barrel I wouldn’t
scrape in order to secure an easy laugh. But this book, by Jersey Shore
‘Guidette’ Jeni Farley, proved to be my
Waterloo. I read the book from cover to cover, I really did. And honestly, it
was exactly what you’d expect. There’s very little fun to be had (as I
discovered) in attempting to mock something you knew would be completely
mockable. And so, for two months the
document sat accusingly in my task bar as I gradually deleted its contents.
When my hard drive gave up the ghost, only one part of my review remained. A quote
taken from the book, along with the only picture that could possibly do it any justice. Before
moving on, therefore, I present you with my review of The Rules According to JWOWW! – A.K.A: The Unsnarkable rules of Jeni Farley .
‘Hanging with the hottest gorilla in the club’.
There. With that out of the way, let’s move on to something ENTIRELY unexpected.
Sylvia Plath’s The
Bell Jar is celebrating (is that the right word?) its fiftieth year of
publication. It’s a sad truth that despite its brilliance, it never received
the attention or praise of her poetic works. Nevertheless, if the words ‘Sylvia
Plath’ are in any way familiar to you, you won’t need to have read the novel to
know it’s not a feel-good romp. Frolics, hi-jinks and humorous lessons on life,
love and shopping are notably absent. Throw in the biographical detail that her
suicide followed publication by a few short months and the clouds darken ever
further over the novel. In an extract from a letter written to her mother Plath
writes: “…I think it will show how isolated a person feels
when he is suffering a breakdown... I've tried to picture my world and the
people in it as seen through the distorting lens of a bell jar.”
So imagine my surprise when the new, 50th
anniversary edition of the book plopped merrily onto my trolley.
Look back at the quote, now back at the cover. Quote… cover…
quote… cover…
… I know, right?
Many column inches have been filled over the weekend on this
topic. The the cover has been ridiculed almost unanimously
for missing the point by a very wide
margin indeed.
I have to admit that the vitriol expressed has been slightly
unwarranted. Yes, it bears no relevance to the book’s contents in the
slightest, but the wailing and gnashing of teeth is, let’s face it, ever so
slightly Over The Top.
Just tell me WHY?!?
It has been accused of being anti-feminist.
It’s a woman wearing make-up.
A woman wearing make-up is not by definition anti-feminist
.
I would cheerfully kick anyone who questioned my feminist
credentials in the groin. But I would also do so to anyone attempting to rob me
of my blusher and eyeliner.
Preciousss....
Crotch kicking all round. That’s feminism.
(nb: please note that that is not the definition
of feminism. Quote me on that and I’ll kick you i….. etc. etc.)
Insensitive? Yes. Bizarre? Yes. Demeaning? No.
I would argue that we have been heading in this direction
for a very long time. Having worked with books all of my adult life, I have
seen book covers of all types cross my desk and counter, and have hated a good
60% of them. Anodyne, boring and frankly bizarre, they often do the book’s
contents a huge disservice. I am not alone. My colleague who runs the SciFi
section of our shop emits audible groans when yet another book lands on her trolley with a mysterious cloaked
figure in profile or middle distance, often accompanied by the outline of a
weapon. In silhouette.
The adventures of one man and his dressing gown.
Her point is a good one. For a bookseller passionate
about extolling the virtues of science fiction to readers wary of the clichés
and tropes of the genre, these covers do her no favours whatsoever. It is painfully obvious that in many cases,
no one beyond a couple of editors have bothered reading the contents before
deciding on the cover. Now that’s marketing for you.
I could go on...
In my opinion, the ridiculous cover gracing The Bell Jar is the logical conclusion to
years and years of awful artwork decisions. It is only because the subject is
so well known for being the polar opposite to the spirit of the cover that it
has attracted this level of press attention.
There are, I think, two directions in which the publishing
industry can now head. Either a sea change occurs; with an increase of money,
resources and (frankly) imagination
going into cover art… OR we take it to the other extreme: contrapuntal jacket design.
I would genuinely love to see publishers attempt to smooth
over their mistakes of the past by producing series of book jackets which
deliberately and heroically miss the point. With The Bell Jar as an iconic trailblazer, the books would each be
decorated with a photograph or piece of artwork which either bares absolutely
no resemblance to the book’s contents, or instead focuses on entirely the
wrong aspect of the story.
So taken was I by this idea that I have taken the liberty of
using my prodigious Microsoft Paint skills to get the ball rolling on this one.
Enjoy.
Admit it, you're all jealous of my mad Paint skillz
Sorry, I couldn't resist...
Having got the ball rolling, I'll quit whilst I'm ahead.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- EDIT ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This landed on my trolley today. Coincidence?!? (clearly I bought it).
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