Monday 3 August 2009

Unfortunate Juxtaposition

Another book I have no intention of reading is Charlotte Roche's widely panned Wetlands, about a woman obsessed with consuming her own bodily excretions (as well as inserting various foreign objects into every available aperture). It came out in hardback English translation in February, and as noted at the Bookseller Crow, has been rushed into softcover four months later with indecent haste. In the process, the cover has gone from this:



to this:



If ever you want to discourage readers from picking up a book, make sure you include the words 'Marmite' and 'haemorrhoids' on the cover.

I note that Wetlands has also been turned into a play, as though people weren't already staying away from the theatre in droves. If you still enjoy a night out at a live performance, these rehearsal photos should pretty much put a stop to that.

The Bookseller Crow, by the way, also has the perfect wrapping paper for when giving a copy of the new Dan Brown to a friend.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm a frequent lurker, and this post made me laugh out loud. The Sh**t Present wrapping paper was the icing on the cake.

Thank you for a good laugh.

JRSM said...

My pleasure--and all credit, too, to the Bookseller Crow!

JonathanM said...

Cheers!

Dastardly Depictions by Catherine Davis said...

I am left curious but not curious enough after the performance photos....hmm..

Will said...

This photo made my day. Now we just need an interpretive dance version.

JRSM said...

It's hard to tell if those two are having a really good time or a REALLY bad time.

James Bridle said...

While I won't comment on the paperback cover, I'll take issue with the "widely panned" review description. I thought Wetlands was awesome - disgusting, yes, but compelling and very convincing.

JRSM said...

Good point--to be fair, I've actually come across several good reviews in Australia since writing the post. And if it had been that widely panned, they wouldn't have had anything to (ill-advisedly) scrawl over the paperback cover.