I see the goal in these reissues, of course: bringing classic texts to new generations of readers with fresh looks to blend in with the current marketplace. But that doesn’t mean it needs to fit in the young adult shelf of bright, illustrated covers with bubbly type. The weird part is that, since these are the classics, you’d think the cover designers — or, at the very least, the people who decided to try to make a buck off distributing their version — would know what the book is actually about. That appears to not be the case, as you’ll find with many of these perplexing interpretations. A sultry Lolita! A naked Elizabeth Bennet! A shark named Moby-Dick! Why! Who let this happen?!
The worst covers of classic books
To cleanse your palate, be sure to peep this excellent collection of Pride and Prejudice covers, books with books on the covers, books with sexy fruits on the covers, and the rest of our book covers content. Also, that ain’t even a screw. And I definitely would have purchased it in the mid-aughts, to fit in with the rest of my teeny bopper books.
