Twenty-five Shades of Gatsby

I have previously mused upon the idea of book covers and how varied these can be for a single title. The recent hype surrounding the release of ‘The Great Gatsby’ has of course led to a new cover for the book, one adorned by the celebrities who star in the feature production. This led me to do some hunting around and low and behold this is no exception to the rule, with many many variations across the years.And so I have compiled a few (twenty-five to be precise!) for your viewing.

Feast your eyes on these…

With one sweeping look there are clearly things a lot of the covers have in common. Green is used quite frequently, evidently in reference to the green light symbolism within the book. I also think it’s interesting that in a few cases Gatsby himself makes no appearance on the cover, but rather the focus is entirely on Daisy Buchanan, odd really since anyone coming across the book for the first time would undoubtedly receive a very odd idea of the story within. Anyway, I thought I’d sharea few in particular which caught my eye.

 This cover, the original, is by far my favourite. There is something about the bright growing lights of the city against the darker background which is entirely in fitting with the story held within. With imagery and symbolism drawn from the text this version stands as the iconic Gatsby image and I have yet to find one that beats it.

 This one stood out mainly for the colour. I really like the simplicity of this one and think it works really well as an overall design. The style manages to capture the enigmatic character of Gatsby who is captured amid shade and light and the small detail of the martini glass serving as the 'Y' ties the whole design together. This is definitely a copy I plan on hunting down...

This one jumped out as it has received so much coverage recently to promote the film. I'm not overly keen on this one. It's not that it's a bad cover per se, but I think it is a shame when traditional book covers are replaced with what are in effect film covers. Books and DVDs are different things and their covers should not be interchanged so easily! 

These two are more recent covers. While they wouldn't be my first choice, any collection of covers wouldn't be complete without one of these! My favourite of the two is the second as the pattern is sort of foiled and therefore shiny, reminiscent of the glitz and glamour within. The lack of picture also leaves the new reader to approach the book free from any pictorial influence!

 Finally, this one jumped out for all the wrong reasons. I glanced at the picture and mistakenly thought of Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'. Something about this cover, perhaps the regal design around the title is all too reminiscent of the cover added to so many versions of Austen's novel. Clearly a cover can be a powerful thing!

Let me know if you have any particular favourites!