Sunday, 10 August 2014

Discussion: Happy Birthday Charlie!

To mark the 50th anniversary of Charlie and the Chocolate factory, I'm re-reading my well loved copy. Penguin went a little further and not everyone is happy about it.
For those who are unaware of the news, Penguin has inducted Charlie and the Chocolate factory into their 'Modern Classics' collection, unfortunately it is with this cover ...

The new Penguin Modern Classics edition of Roald Dahl,
dividing opinion since its release.
A lot of people have a lot of opinions about this cover and for what it's worth I thought I'd weigh in. I hate it.The photograph used on the controversial cover is a cropped version of a picture which appeared in a 2008 issue of Numéro magazine as part of a fashion story entitled 'Mommie Dearest' and can be found here. I haven't read the article but I have seen the original and the other pictures used in the same article and, in that context, I really like it.

However, as a cover for the beloved children's story I find it completely inappropriate and weird. I don't, as many people are complaining about, find it over sexualised and I do kind of see how it could portray the deeper aspect of Charlie and the Chocolate factory about the parent, child relationship. Nevertheless, the purpose of a book cover is to give a snapshot of the book and encourage people to read it .... for someone who was picking Charlie up for the first time it wouldn't portray the story-line, giving a bigger impression as possibly a sci-fi, dystopian story - Stepford wives esque definitely.
I think I will stick to my lovely hand me down copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with it's vibrant and inviting cover and even when it does succumb to its age and falls completely apart I will not be replacing it with the Modern Classics edition as, quite frankly, it freaks me out.
My lovely edition of Charlie and the Chocolate factory,
a much loved hand me down from my mum and much more appealing.
What do you think of the new cover? Do you love it? Do you hate it? Or, are you somewhere in between?

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