Fa la la la la

I read two great books one after the other recently: The Three of Us by Julia Blackburn and While They Slept by Kathryn Harrison. Yes, I suppose it's obvious, these are both very dark tales and shouldn't be snapped up without a warning. It actually makes me a little sad to realize I've wised up and can't try to convince everyone I know to read them simply because I think they're so great. But if you're in the mood...it's the holiday season, after all! What better time to make an "inquiry into the murder of a family?!"

Perhaps you're already familiar with Julia Blackburn's book, from when you noticed the arresting image on its cover somewhere.

Well, this cover annoys the bejesus out of me. One of the many excellent aspects of The Three of Us is how Blackburn included photos from her life throughout the book with no explanation other that what you pick up from reading the text (none of the pictures have captions). It gives the reading experience an extra-added intimacy. But it also becomes immediately obvious that the cover photo isn't the author or anyone she knows. Not that it has to be...but for consistency's sake, wouldn't it make sense if they'd used a "real" photo on the cover, too? You end up wondering who the heck the half-submerged lady is and why she's on the cover of someone else's book. Or, you do if you're a persnickety realist, like I am!

This earlier version of the book cover from how it was published in London is accurate. I know, it's not as visually captivating as the above cover. But at least these are photos of the actual people in the book!



Hm. Now that I've written this all down I wonder if it's just my own odd take on it. I guess I should just get over it. And wrap some presents!