This book is LOSER by American author Jerry Spinelli. It’s
lovely in every single way.
The cover is plain blue with a matt finish and the figure
depicted in the centre in white (it has a spot UV varnish on the line). Both
the title and the author’s name are in a recessive shade of blue. The design is
all about the crazy little dude in the middle. And that’s exactly what the book
is about: a crazy little dude called Donald Zinkoff.
The thing is, I’m not sure I should really be shouting too
much about the design of this HarperCollins edition when all credit should
really go to Orchard who published STARGIRL with a similarly bold design and,
in fact, did it first (did they? I'm not sure what the US cover was... feel free to correct me on this, if you're in the know). The simplicity of both covers reflects the simplicity of
the stories contained within. Both are about outsiders, people (children) who
couldn’t conform if they tried and who stand out... like, erm, white figures on
a plain background.
Loser is my personal favourite because of Donald, someone
ignorant of his own innocence in a way Stargirl isn’t. Donald really is a
loser, the kind of child even the weak would pick on. But there’s something
comforting in true innocence; you can’t be hurt by others’ cynicism; your love
for life is straightforward and unashamed; even taunts can pass you by if you
really are innocent through and through because you won’t see the intended slight.
I find something very liberating in thinking about
innocence. I’m jaded adult these days, but this book had me yelling “I can
spell tintinnabulation!” (and then failing miserably) for days. If you read it,
I reckon you’ll be doing the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment