Lispector Quartered

New Directions is about to release new translations of four of the great Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector's books (I read and loved her Hour of the Star and some short stories, and so have already ordered all of these). The covers, designed by Paul Sahre, combine to form a portrait of her.

This is the original portrait. It's quite a captivating photo, and I can well see why Sahre was inspired to use it.

And pleasingly, it seems the back also form a single image:

Picture stolen from Three Percent, whose Chad Post went off on an enraged rant a while back over the presence of a quote from dull old Franzen on one of the covers.

Here are the individual covers:

Tapping

Not much to say about this one, other than it's really nice: simple, striking and spot-on. From Pantheon in the US, designer as yet unknown: is Paul Sahre. The bottom image is stolen from Peter Mendelsund's blog, where he talks more about the design.

Thomas Mallon: Watergate
  

Mosaics

I'll be back properly next week, but in the meantime, via the blog of the excellent Peter Mendelsund (who I interviewed here), see these lovely mosaical covers for Stephen Jay Gould (by Sam Potts for Harvard University Press)...

That gap in the design will be filled by future volumes

and for some of the work of Clarice Lispector (I've only read The Hour of the Star, which was excellent, so here's an opportunity to read more) using a striking photo of her when young (covers by Paul Sahre for New Directions).

Here's the original photo: