The Gone Away World (TGAW herein), by Nick Harkaway, is one of my favorite books. I’ve waxed eloquently to any and all who would listen, and a few that had to be tied down (sorry mom!), so I won’t bore you with the details of the novel (seriously though, read it).
I judge books by their covers, a habit that has often steered my correctly as I figure that any author worth his salt hires a decent graphic designer (or the publisher does), but what to say about the TGAW’s cover? It’s had so many of them:
I purchased the pink version because I was lucky enough to find it used on the shelves at Powel’s in Portland. I later purchased the white version as a loaner copy (and because Elliot Bay Book Company in Seattle was clearing them out for 5.99). These are the advance reader’s edition and the UK release respectively. The third cover is what was released in the US.
A friend of mine broke down and bought the book based on a recommendation and ended up with the orange version. I happen to think it looks quite nice, but he thinks it looks like it got in a fight with the rear end of a cat and lost. I suspect that he simply hates the color orange, so I mocked up a few more colors to share:
What’s your favorite? I think the original orange is quite nice… but some of these others have a certain something.
