I like the idea of having the cover change from saying "A Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" To the other characters names since the book is actually has very little to do with Oscar. This could make the cover interactive as well which could be interesting.
I also like the idea using FUKU really big. I want to make the cover similar to a book in that you flip over the letters to reveal the next letter and then you could take it off to read FUKU very large. The fuku curse is a big part of the novel. Its never really explained how your pronounce fuku but I think its sort of a play on words. The entire novel is written in very rough and street language with Spanish and Spanglish thrown in throughout. So I think having a primarily typographic cover could be interesting.
Synopsis from enotes.com:
This modern-day tale of an unlikely hero takes readers on the dark journey of a contemporary immigrant.The novel's main character, Oscar de Léon, is a "ghetto nerd" from a family of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. Plagued by the fukú curse brought upon the aboriginal people of the Americas by Christopher Columbus, Oscar portrays himself as a hero in search of his personal Grail—a "pure and unadulterated love." Obsessed with science fiction and fantasy, Oscar is alienated in his lower-class community. Throughout high school, and into his teaching career, he is the victim of the narrow perspectives of those without his imagination and vision.Told from the point of view of Oscar’s sister Lola and his best friend Yunior, this tale of the search for redemption leads the reader through the darkest corners of a country under dictatorial control. Lola seeks her own redemption, away from her family and her heritage. She loves only her younger brother Oscar and seeks to protect him from the curse that tragically affects their family.Yunior, his best friend and college roommate, does not quite understand Oscar, yet loves him just the same and sees that there is something within Oscar that begs to be understood. As the primary narrator of the novel, Yunior provides a loving portrait of a tortured soul within a tortured family. The redemption of Oscar’s “brief wondrous life” comes at a significant, but justified, price.
I also like the idea using FUKU really big. I want to make the cover similar to a book in that you flip over the letters to reveal the next letter and then you could take it off to read FUKU very large. The fuku curse is a big part of the novel. Its never really explained how your pronounce fuku but I think its sort of a play on words. The entire novel is written in very rough and street language with Spanish and Spanglish thrown in throughout. So I think having a primarily typographic cover could be interesting.
Synopsis from enotes.com:
This modern-day tale of an unlikely hero takes readers on the dark journey of a contemporary immigrant.The novel's main character, Oscar de Léon, is a "ghetto nerd" from a family of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. Plagued by the fukú curse brought upon the aboriginal people of the Americas by Christopher Columbus, Oscar portrays himself as a hero in search of his personal Grail—a "pure and unadulterated love." Obsessed with science fiction and fantasy, Oscar is alienated in his lower-class community. Throughout high school, and into his teaching career, he is the victim of the narrow perspectives of those without his imagination and vision.Told from the point of view of Oscar’s sister Lola and his best friend Yunior, this tale of the search for redemption leads the reader through the darkest corners of a country under dictatorial control. Lola seeks her own redemption, away from her family and her heritage. She loves only her younger brother Oscar and seeks to protect him from the curse that tragically affects their family.Yunior, his best friend and college roommate, does not quite understand Oscar, yet loves him just the same and sees that there is something within Oscar that begs to be understood. As the primary narrator of the novel, Yunior provides a loving portrait of a tortured soul within a tortured family. The redemption of Oscar’s “brief wondrous life” comes at a significant, but justified, price.
sounds like a cool book. i like your idea with the beat up faces the most. i picture a lot of bloodied parts that come together to make one, interesting looking, beat up face. next i like where you unfold the cover to introduce all narrators. u have two of these in your thumbs-i like the last one. and if you want my third fav, it's the "FUKU" in big letters.
ReplyDeleteI definitely like the giant FUKU folding out letters but I was wondering if it would be possible to incorporate the other characters names in the fold out process? Also are you going to have a mix of english and spanish?
ReplyDelete@Larry, yeah It's a cool book. Definitely check it out. I really want to try and incorporate the different characters into the fold out cover since the book really isn't that much about Oscar.
ReplyDelete@Melissa, I agree. I think I'm leaning to either the Fuku or Shattered faces/Fold out character profiles. I'm thinking of maybe doing the idea with the Fuku but have the backs of each letter be a character profile so when you flip through it, you will the the characters on the back? Not sure if that is too, complicated though. And yes, I don't think it would be a true representation of the book without having the text in English and Spanish.
I like the fold out letters i'm wondering if there could be a hint of some kind included in the design toward the curse. The letters are interesting but I think maybe a hint would peak the readers interest even more. I'm not familiar with the book so I don't know if it's a big reveal as far as the curse is concerned or not. Maybe the hint could be a spanish or spanglish word, with in one of the letters.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that caught my eye the most was the concept with the pop out letters that read FUKU. That much interaction with the viewer will engage them, and definitely keep their interest.
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