First, thanks to all who have left comments on the weblog. Great to hear from you.
Not much news to report other than the fact that the U.S. paperback edition (Bloomsbury) is scheduled to be out in the first week of September. The last that I heard, they had decided to keep the cover relatively unchanged. I'm happy with that decision as I like the moody, atmospheric colors.
Since you're at this site now, you might be interested in checking out the "works" page to see the various covers from different territories. Whenever a new one is published, I'm always amazed at how creative designers are able to take the same book and come up with such different interpretations for a cover they believe will capture both the readers' attention, and the essence of the subject.
Curious if anybody has any preferences among those displayed. Feel free to leave comments with your favorites.
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Comments
The covers are excellent, I can see what you mean about the diversity of the designs. I'm really interested in how the book has been received in Spain and in the Basque Country in particular. Have you had any feedback from anyone in the region?
best wishes
Suma/Santillana in Spain was one of the first international publishers to buy the book. They were terrific ... having me over for a wonderful tour last September. They told me it went top-10 in the first week or so, so I think it's done well. Interestingly, they changed the name to "A Los Cuatro Vientos" - To The Four Winds. They felt that the title "Guernica" might still be too inflammatory.
I was particularly delighted that it was received quite well in the Basque country. A number of locals told me they were prepared to hate the book. After all, who was this outsider to come in and tell their story? But after a few pages, they saw that it was really a tribute to the victims of one of the great tragedies of the 20th Century. They said they then felt free to really enjoy the book. Several told me that they then thought it might have been a good thing that an outsider (a journalist, too) came in with something of an external perspective on the event.
Take care and be well.
Dave
Thanks for that..
It's such an emotive subject, I know that until recently it was almost taboo and any issues about the civil war weren't really discussed at all, certainly not in the open. It must have been really gratifying to know that people who were so heavily affected by the tragedy have been so supportive of the book. There's a great book that I read last year called Ghosts of Spain by Giles Tremlett, he's the Madrid correspondent for The Guardian newspaper and he tackles the 'civil war issues' really well, it's well worth a read if you haven't already.
best regards
Thanks so much, Laura. Still plowing on the next project. Much to do, but I like where it's headed.
Dave
I have passed it around family and friends and we all agree what a fabulous book and a brilliant read.
Cannot wait for your next one.
Congratulations!!
Oh, thank you so much for the kind comment.
I should forward the assessment "unputdownable" to the publisher in case they could use it as a back-cover blurb! I'm not above the invention of words if it helps the cause!
Dave