Wednesday, 23 May 2012

Mister and Missus

An intriguing special edition of a book forthcoming from Penguin Classics UK has caught my eye, and also puzzled me. Evan S. Connell, whose chilling The Diary of a Rapist gave me the heebie-jeebies, wrote paired novels Mrs Bridge and Mr Bridge, telling both sides of the complicated story of a marriage. They're coming out in paperback, one this year and one next year, but Penguin is also releasing the two together as a pricey special edition that looks like this (click for bigger):



I'm not at all certain out how this set works, though I'm assuming both books have a notch in the spine and inner margins, which would make opening and reading them a bit odd. I'd love to see them in reality, or get more info, but Penguin remain weirdly reticent on their various websites and publicity places. For this reason I don't know the designer, either. UPDATE: The book is the work of designer Ila in collaboration with Thomas Heatherwick, with Claire Mason doing the interiors.

And even though they wouldn't fit normally into any bookshelf, I want them!

Here is the paperback of the first book, which drops the usual Modern Classics look for an mid-century feel:




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7 comments:

  1. Alan25 May 2012 at 02:50

    Just commenting because I just went through this mental process I quite regularly go through where I was on Twitter and wondered why you aren't on Twitter. Are you on Twitter? You should be on Twitter. I would like that.

    That hardback is crazy...

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  2. Ila25 May 2012 at 12:02

    your review made my day! This is the first project I produce at Penguin ^__^
    In reply to your answer about the designer, this limited edition was a collaboration with Thomas Heatherwick - wonderful Claire Mason designed the interior text

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  3. JRSM25 May 2012 at 18:16

    Ila: Thank you for that--it's a lovely looking project. I'll add the info to the post.

    Alan: Thank you! I wouldn't mind, but I tend to be on the computer only when I'm working, or allegedly working, and I have no mobile device or phone to tweet from, so it seems a bit impractical. That, and the fact that lots of the blogs I love seem to have shrivelled up when their owners get Twitter accounts...

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  4. Matt Keeley25 May 2012 at 18:17

    This edition makes my remaindered movie tie-in omnibus of the Bridge novels look very sad indeed.

    Congrats to Ila! That is some striking design.

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  5. Ila29 May 2012 at 06:15

    Hiya! You're too sweet - thanks for adding the info to your blog... the only thing is, I am not a designer @___@ I am a producer, ie I look after the printing of the book proper: source the printer, buy the paper, liaise with the printer on what techniques to use, etc. I am (well Production is) the missing link between the idea of the book and the physical book! Thank you again!

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  6. John Self3 July 2012 at 06:14

    James, just as info: the paperback cover for Mrs Bridge not only has a mid-century feel; it replicates (almost exactly) the original hardback. Not sure how they'll pair this with Mr Bridge next year, where the original hardback was much less stylish. Images of both in my blog reviews:

    http://theasylum.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/evan-s-connell-mrs-bridge/

    http://theasylum.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/evan-s-connell-mr-bridge

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  7. JRSM3 July 2012 at 17:19

    John, thank you--and your reviews are great. I also couldn't wait until Mr's republication, and had to get hold of a second-hand copy immediately after finishing Mrs. Amazingly good books.

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