Monday, 2 July 2012

Zouravliov's Isherwoods

One of my favourite illustrators has been doing covers for one of my favourite writers, and I only just found out (though in my defence, I already owned all these books, and so was not looking for them in bookshops). They're the Christopher Isherwood covers by Vania Zouravliov for Vintage Classics UK. Vania's your man for creepy decadence (see The Berlin Novels, Goodbye to Berlin and Mr Norris Changes Trains).













And because I never let an opportunity to pass this cover go past, here's one of my favourite Zouravliov covers.
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11 comments:

  1. Kit3 July 2012 at 00:26

    I bought the Berlin Novels mainly for the cover but I hadn't seen the others. They're great. I think I may need to be making a big purchase soon...Good to know who the artist is.

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  2. JRSM3 July 2012 at 01:52

    Yes--I'm looking at my tatty old Signet paperbacks with much less attractive covers, and trying to fight temptation.

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  3. Anonymous3 July 2012 at 15:59

    Unrelated, but thought of you when I saw this: http://www.amazon.com/Genital-Grinder-Ryan-Harding/dp/162105022X

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  4. jb3 July 2012 at 16:25

    I've not read any Isherwood - where's the best place to start?

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  5. JRSM3 July 2012 at 17:18

    Anon, that's... unusual. And having "thought of you when I saw this" and "genital grinder" in the one sentence fulfils an ambition of mine.

    jb, you're in for a treat. Start with 'A Single Man', which struck me as nearly perfect, and then move on to 'Goodbye to Berlin'.

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  6. jb3 July 2012 at 19:42

    Thanks; ordered!

    Thanks to Booko, I found it at Readings, who have 'A Single Man' & 'Goodbye to Berlin' in these Vintage covers for $6.95 (with free postage in Australia) at the moment.

    If that helps you give into temptation, don't blame me...

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  7. JRSM3 July 2012 at 20:56

    $6.95? That's insane! I'm ordering too! Thanks you.

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  8. Thomas Hogglestock9 July 2012 at 04:57

    While I can respect the quality of these covers, taste is subjective, and I don't find any of these covers evocative of Isherwood's books. I love his writing but I think it is more straightforward and clean than these covers suggest.

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  9. JRSM9 July 2012 at 15:32

    An interesting point, Thomas--I can see what you mean, to be fair. The older Vintage editions, like http://amzn.to/NcqW7g and http://amzn.to/LKedc3 had a sleeker, cooler (greys and silvers) look to them.

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  10. Adair30 July 2012 at 12:13

    With all due respect, I have to agree with Thomas. I find that the covers of the Berlin books in particular do not capture the hard-edge of Weimar-era Germany (New Objectivity) nor of Isherwood's prose. I find these covers very off-putting, in fact, and prefer the older editions.

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  11. Unknown3 December 2015 at 23:48

    I saw "A Single Man" three or four years ago, but have only decided to read Isherwood's works recently. I still haven't read anything except for his and Bachardy's letters. Now, I'm certain that I'll buy his books. By any chance, do you know what technique/art style the books covers are?

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