Daily Bookshot: Movie Cover or Non-Movie Cover?

Movie Cover or Non-Movie Cover?, originally uploaded by Robert Burdock.

This week is rather an exciting week for Tolstoy fans all over the UK, as ’The Last Station’ finally enjoys its UK release (19th February). Based on Jay Parini’s bestselling novel of the same name, ‘The Last Station’ charts the final year of Leo Tolstoy’s life; a final year which can certainly be called tumultuous. It’s a big budget movie too with a whole host of stars lined up to play the key parts. Christopher Plummer steps into the role of Leo Tolstoy, Helen Mirren plays his long-suffering wife Sofia, and James McAvoy is Tolstoy’s personal secretary Valentin Bulgakov.

So it really does look to be an exciting movie (you can see the official trailer HERE) and like most Tolstoy fans I’m really looking forward to seeing it, except I’ve still to read the book. I’ve had Canongate’s 2007 edition on my bookshelves for a while now, and despite knowing that it’s supposed to be an incredible novel I’ve never had the opportunity to pick it up yet. I think with the release of the movie adaptation however, an extra incentive has just revealed itself, although I will never, ever watch a movie before I’ve read the book.

Of course I’m not the only one for whom this movie adaptation has created an incentive to do something with Parini’s novel, and The Last Station’s publisher, Canongate have recently reissued the novel to coincide with the release of the movie. That’s it above on the right of the shot, and I’m sure many of you are quite attracted to it – if only for the moody shot of James McAvoy (that’s what Mrs. Rob says anyway *rolls eyes*). The shot on the left is Canongate’s older non-movie edition of the novel and for me it shines out by far, as being the better of the two.

Why do I prefer the older cover? Well I abhor movie covers on novels in general, and if I’m being completely honest then Canongate’s latest attempt doesn’t do anything to change that view. You see I prefer the original ‘unspoilt by the big screen’ cover which is almost always miles better in my opinion, if only because it preserves the apparatus of the imagination.

But of course that’s only my opinion – as stubbornly as I stick by it – and if other readers didn’t like movie covers on their novels then great publishers like Canongate wouldn’t put them out would they? (did you notice I used the word ‘great’ because I’m trying to claw back a few ‘Brownie points’ ). And so I put these two editions in front of you today fellow reader as a bit of fun (because it doesn’t really matter that much at the end of the day does it?) to simply ask you which edition you prefer? Both are the same in terms of content, and the only difference is the cover. So what’s it to be fellow reader, movie cover or non-movie cover?