Kafka covers by Peter Mendelsund

In Denmark book cover design is a rather underprioritized art form - lots of great books are written and published, but in my view really great Danish book covers are few and far between.

I love a great book cover (as I have mentioned before), and have several books I have purchased almost entirely because of their covers, or their overall graphic look and feel. 

I saw these fantastic covers for Kafka's classics, and immediately set about finding out more about who designed them. They are by Peter Mendelsund, who is, as I was about to discover, completely brilliant at what he does. See much more of his work here, or check out his blog.

The scope of his work is amazing, and his covers are elegant in so many different ways; somehow it is obvious that he really involves himself in the content, and puts that above having a signature style.

You can also study his work in appropriate book form, in this great looking volume: 'Cover'

He is a passionate reader himself, and has written a book about reading, about 'what we see, when we read' (but of course) - and I have to read that too, I think! 'What We See When We Read'

But back to Kafka.

Mendelsund designed this series of covers for Kafka's collected works, published by Schocken Books in 2011. I personally find Kafka almost nauseating to read, claustrophobic and odd. But maybe exactly because of that, I love these: they somehow convey some of that unease and constant, slight paranoia I feel in his work.