Apr 20, 2015

TWO YEARS EIGHT MONTHS AND TWENTY-EIGHT NIGHTS - Salman Rushdie

We commissioned London based illustrator Sroop Sunar to give Salman Rushdie a bold and colourful new look. Here, she talks about working closely with us on this exciting project.

‘When I heard that I was being given the opportunity to work on book covers for such a prolific writer, I was incredibly excited. And terrified.

The task of reimagining the artwork for some of the most iconic novels of the 20th century was so daunting, so enormous. But at the same time so significant.

Much of my inspiration comes from the vibrant, visual language found on everyday packaging and labels found in India around the time of Independence. It was a time of great transition, of hybridity, of old and new ideas clashing together. Of all forgotten places, this showed most on the simplest, seemingly insignificant canvas of all - the humble matchbox and its printed label. The kaleidoscopic variety of haphazardly printed ephemera seen on matchbox labels, as well as medicine boxes, soap packs and firecrackers, all have such a recognisable and symbolic aesthetic that really captured a unique period in time.

Being able to refresh Salman Rushdie’s covers in a truly meaningful collaboration with the Vintage Design team was a great opportunity that I am very proud of. His books touch on many similar themes and places that I pull inspiration from, and I can only hope that these new covers might capture the curiosity of some of the next generation of readers just as matchboxes captured mine.’

Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights is published in September by Jonathan Cape with the backlist available now from Vintage

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