Uncovered (115): The Swan Gondola
Who says you can’t judge a book by its cover? While it isn’t always the marker of a good book, it certainly helps when I am making a decision at the bookstore. Uncovered is my weekly post that pays homage to great book covers. Each week I’ll talk about one of my current cover loves.
Happy 4th of July to all of our American readers. Hope you’re enjoying some nice weather and a BBQ or two. This week on Uncovered, we have The Swan Gondola by Timothy Schaffert, a type lover’s dream. I saw this at the bookstore and fell in love with all of the wonderful type on this cover. I really like how the words are framed in the banners. This reminds me of an old time flier or advertisement. The two swans on the bottom of the cover add a little something different so that this isn’t just a cover full of type. I like how they are mirrored images of each other and how their curves give the cover a slightly softer look and help break up the text. Below is the synopsis for The Swan Gondola.
On the eve of the 1898 Omaha World’s Fair, Ferret Skerritt, ventriloquist by trade, con man by birth, isn’t quite sure how it will change him or his city. Omaha still has the marks of a filthy Wild West town, even as it attempts to achieve the grandeur and respectability of nearby Chicago. But when he crosses paths with the beautiful and enigmatic Cecily, his whole purpose shifts and the fair becomes the backdrop to their love affair.
One of a traveling troupe of actors that has descended on the city, Cecily works in the Midway’s Chamber of Horrors, where she loses her head hourly on a guillotine playing Marie Antoinette. And after closing, she rushes off, clinging protectively to a mysterious carpetbag, never giving Ferret a second glance. But a moonlit ride on the swan gondola, a boat on the lagoon of the New White City, changes everything, and the fair’s magic begins to take its effect.
From the critically acclaimed author of The Coffins of Little Hope, The Swan Gondola is a transporting read, reminiscent of Water for Elephants or The Night Circus.
Sounds slightly magical and very unique. I have a soft spot for circus and fair settings. There’s something very weird and cool about them. I think this sounds pretty interesting and I hope to add it to my bookshelf soon.
What do you guys think? I’d love to know!
