Saturday, December 13, 2014

Shelf Candy Saturday #136: A Thousand Pieces of You, by Claudia Gray

 


Welcome to Shelf Candy Saturday!!


This is my weekly feature
showcasing beautiful book covers!
It also provides information,
if available, on their very talented creators!

For more information
about Shelf Candy Saturday,
simply go HERE.



Here's my choice for this week!



 A Thousand Pieces of You
Hardcover, 360 pages
Harper Teen
November 4, 2014
Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, 
Paranormal Romance, Science Fiction,
Young Adult Fiction


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17234658-a-thousand-pieces-of-you?ac=1




My Thoughts About This Cover

This is one of the most unusual, oddly haunting covers I've ever seen. It's also one of the most stunning!

The top of the cover displays a rather sinister-looking, very futuristic type of city. The steely-gray (with a slightly greenish tint) skyscrapers look very cold and inhumane against the dreary sky. This is quite fitting for the cover of a dystopian novel. Furthermore, their closeness to one another gives me a feeling of claustrophobia.

As for the upside-down cityscape which is the other half of this cover, it's a contrasting one. The predominant color is a hot pink, shading off into a purplish gray.  

Interestingly, the bottom cityscape is full of church steeples and spires. The dome of the Vatican is clearly visible, as are the onion towers of a Russian Orthodox church.

The two contrasting images could be a metaphor for the clash between an unfeeling, atheistic future society, controlled by powerful corporations, and a warmer, more spiritual society of the past. Alternatively, it could also be a metaphor for two types of control -- one materialistic, and one religious.

This novel obviously includes time travel in its plot. I love time travel, finding it totally fascinating! 

I love the image's irregular edges; they make me think of a watercolor that's not quite finished, which, again, is very appropriate for the plot, as there are multiple realities that blend one into the other.

The font used for the title and author's name is perfect for this cover -- it's very stark and plain, and the letters are spaced out, thus reinforcing  the theme of separate realities.

I was lucky enough to win this book from the blog, Feminist Reflections, owned and created by Benish Khan, who blogs about books, beauty, entertainment, and lifestyle.

The brilliant cover artist is UK graphic designer Craig Shields, and the designer is Elizabeth Clark. Shields graduated from Lincoln University, and is a member of Depthcore. From their description, they are "....an international art collective focused on modern digital art, incorporating illustration, photography, animation, and audio." The site was founded by Justin Maller and Kevin Stacey in 2002; members are artists from all over the world. Shields' clients include Digital Arts Magazine, Charles Schwab, Coca-Cola, and Sprite.




Craig Shields Online Links
  
 


What do you think of my 
choice this week?
Please leave a comment
and let me know!





5 comments:

  1. This is indeed a great cover maria. I spent a bit of time looking at it.

    I like your interpretations. There seem to be many possibilities.

    An alternate one might be that modern post industrial capitalism has many parallels to older religious power structures.

    It is also making me curious about the book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, Brian!

      Thanks for the compliments!

      This is indeed a great cover, and it's fascinating how it just pulls you in, and you have to contemplate it. It's a very thought-provoking cover.

      I really like your alternate interpretation! I think you're right, too. There are indeed many parallels between the two systems. Both have maintained an inner network of "good ol' boys", with the glass ceiling firmly in place. Both also have certain sets of behaviors with which members are expected to comply. Hypocrisy and politics are also rampant in both systems. And in fact, the religious power structures have not changed all that much.

      You should be curious about this book, as it has a very inventive plot. There's some romance in it, too. I've read only one book by this author, and GREATLY enjoyed it! It's titled "Spellcaster". I want to read more of her books.

      Thanks for the TERRIFIC comment!! : )

      Delete
  2. I think this is one my favorite book covers of 2014! I love the watercolor feel to it, and like you mentioned, the juxtaposition of the two skylines.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi, Stacy!

    I'm so glad you like this cover! It's definitely one of my faves, as well! I will be reading this book very soon!

    Thanks for the nice comment!! : )

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm totally in love with the cover of A Thousand Pieces of You. It was love at first sight.

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