I also wanted to mention something we talked about last class briefly, which was book covers and how misleading they can be. I am a graphic design major and I love looking at book covers, cd cover art, posters. I looked at the hard cover art for the Ted Chiang book we read, and I'll be honest I would never read that book if that was the cover I first saw...it is a little awkward
I agree on both the science fiction aspect of the book and the cover art. The cover art for the Windup GIrl definitely gave me a different impression than what the story actually was like, in the sense that the cover made it seem more like science fiction in regards to futuristic technology rather than interactions and consequences. The cover art for the Ted Chiang book seems similar, almost as if the point is to show traditional science fiction on the cover but not so much in the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea that the cover for Windup Girl made me think the story was going to be completely different than how it has been so far. This also reminds me of the introductions for each story in the Dozois anthology- I know we talked a lot in class about how they set up almost biased expectations for each reader as they started reading the story, does anyone see this similarity?
ReplyDeleteI actually thought the cover fit it pretty well, because it reminds me of the numerous market scenes described in the book. On the other hand, it is somewhat....cheerier than the actual story. However, I found the blurb misleading, because the first two paragraphs make it seem more like a romance (seriously, look at a romance blur, it's the same setup: hero, heroine, why they can't be together). Moreover, while Anderson and Emiko are important, it doesn't mention any of the other viewpoint characters!
ReplyDeleteI HATED the blurb after reading the book. I agree with Maureen 100% here. And I get that it's the same philosophy - it's designed to sell books, not necessarily be accurate - but come on.
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