Judging a Book?, August 2007

By Fence



This month what other book could I possibly mention but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? After all, this is the book that has gripped so much of the public’s attention for quite a while now. The final Harry Potter book. The end of the series. Even before the cover art had been decided upon it was available for pre-order, but instead of the usual blank, “no image yet” we had a design. Yes, it is fairly blank, but at the same time it shouts out exactly what it is. That familiar Harry Potter font standing out in white against the black background. Why was the colour black chosen? Could it have been because this was supposed to have been the darkest HP book yet, full of death, “a bloodbath” as Rowling herself said?

And then, once the designs were finalised there wer comparisons between the different versions. The US and the UK versiona. The children’s versus the adults’.



Above you can see the full US cover, back and front together. Harry is joined by Voldemort, but they don’t share the spotlight, as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is hidden on the back. Still, it is an indication that things are coming to a head. As if we needed that hint.



Above is the full UK version. The front and back covers, as well as the flaps from the dust cover. Obviously, as one part of a series, Bloomsbury is using the same general format as they have for all the others in the series. If I’m totally honest, I don’t really like the main illustration. It is seems more suited to a comic novel. Perhaps the thinking was that this is a children’s book so a more light-hearted cover was appropriate. I tend to disagree. However I do like the little illustrations on the dust cover’s flaps; the stag patronus and almost its opposite, the snake of Voldemort. Also, I like the fact that it isn’t only Harry up there; he has Ron and Hermione with him, even if they do appear to be in somewhat of a predicament.



The adult version appeals more to me. It is very simplistic; the front cover is a locket, on a dark, possibly stone, background. Nothing more, nothing less. Yet to anyone who has read the previous books it hints at quite a lot of things. The S of Slytherin? The Horcrux? Of course, all of these adult versions have these dark covers, but none as black as this one. It certainly fits the mood of the book.

My personal favourite is the adult version but that isn’t the one I bought. Instead I purchased the UK children’s cover, because that is the style of the rest of my HP’s, and I’m a completionist like that.


And of course, we still have all the various international versions to come yet. So which is your favourite, and why?