Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Path to the Spiders' Nests


I saw someone reading this on the subway the other day. He was at one end of the car and I was at the other. Can it be said that a cover is successful if it leaps out at you from across a crowded subway? Anyone know who designed it?

From Amazon:

Italo Calvino's debut novel, updated to include changes that the author made for the definitive Italian edition, previously censored passages, and his newly translated, unabridged preface. "The Path to the Spiders' Nests," written when Calvino was twenty-three and first published in 1947--tells the story of Pin, a cobbler's apprentice in a town on the Ligurian Coast during World War II. He lives with his sister, a prostitute, and spends as much time as he can at the lowlife bar where he amuses the grownups. After a mishap with a Nazi soldier, Pin becomes involved with a band of partisans. Calvino's portrayal of this band, seen through the eyes of the child, is not only a revealing commentary on the Italian resistance, but also an insightful coming-of-age story. A bold, adventurous novel, The Path to the Spiders' Nests is animated by the formidable imagination that made Italo Calvino one of the most respected writers of our time.

8 comments:

Ian Koviak said...

ooh. very fun. kind of russian/italian constructivist/socialist appeal to it all. They had to throw that spider in there huh? It works though.

Ian Koviak said...

like an old propaganda poster...

Gould said...

Michael Crichton just died of cancer.

His novels were guilty pleasure, and their design were great (Rising Sun is among my favorite).

Gould said...

Tal : that would deserve some quite of tribute don't you think? His book design for Knopf were really groundbreaking thanks to Kidd.

Tal said...

Hmmm....I already did a post for Rising Sun and Next. We shall see, Gould, we shall see.

Gould said...

All right Commander.

You should at least post something on the 2666 book from FSG. It's a marvel. Already pre-ordered my copy on amazon

Tal said...

OK, Gould, I'll post it. But as for this cover, is this an homage to Dada? It's growing on me, like a spider web. Interesting that the leading doesn't seem to change in the title, while the font size increase. This makes me hope that someone will write a novel about Spider-Man, like Tom de Haven's awesome novel It's Superman!

Anonymous said...

Just found this site and the Calvino cover that I designed easy back in 1997…you can find me at TMBRWN.co