摘要：当古典名画撞上霓虹字体，一种前所未有的书籍封面设计正席卷全球书架。《纽约时报》深度解析现象级潮流：优雅油画上叠加刺目荧光字，制造出奇妙的视觉冲击与深度隐喻。从“无骨女人”的戏剧性晕厥到被抹去的前景人物，设计师们正用喷漆和裁剪大胆“破坏”经典，只为吸引你的目光。
有趣灵魂说
当古典名画撞上霓虹字体，一种前所未有的书籍封面设计正席卷全球书架。《纽约时报》深度解析现象级潮流：优雅油画上叠加刺目荧光字，制造出奇妙的视觉冲击与深度隐喻。从“无骨女人”的戏剧性晕厥到被抹去的前景人物，设计师们正用喷漆和裁剪大胆“破坏”经典，只为吸引你的目光。这股风潮由哪本神书引爆？背后藏着怎样的文化密码？
译文为原创，仅供个人学习使用
The New York Times｜Book Review
纽约时报｜书评
The Book Cover Trend You’re Seeing Everywhere
无处不在的书籍封面趋势
Take a genteel painting, maybe featuring a swooning woman. Add iridescent neon type for a shock to the system. And thank (or blame) Ottessa Moshfegh for getting there early.
取一幅雅致的画作，可能描绘一位晕厥的女子。添加闪烁的霓虹字体，制造视觉冲击。然后感谢（或归咎于）奥特莎·莫什费格（Ottessa Moshfegh）率先采用了这种设计。
By Elisabeth Egan
Clockwise from top left: Details from the covers of “These Days”; “The Longest Way to Eat a Melon”; “Dream State”; and “My Year of Rest and Relaxation.”
顺时针方向，左上起：《这些日子》、《吃瓜最慢的方式》、《梦境》和《我的休息与放松之年》封面局部。
Like fashion trends, fads in book covers come and go. One year, the backs of women’s headsmight be all the rage; the next, soft focus photography. And who can forget the exploding flower craze? Or the proliferation of flames on jackets, from thrillers to science fiction to self-help?
But the look that’s commanding today’s runways — a.k.a. bookshelves — is not so incendiary. It tends to lay blaringly bright type in a sans-serif font atop a painting, usually a few centuries old but not always. Facial expressions are baleful or dyspeptic; an aggressive burst of spray paint can change the tone entirely.
These covers are the new signifiers of stylish literary fiction, telegraphing gravitas, wit and cool. They make a bid for a certain kind of reader — more city than suburb, more pét-nat than chardonnay. They wouldn’t be caught dead alongside a volume decked out in pop art or, god forbid, metallic lettering.
Thomas Haggerty, a senior account manager at Bridgeman Images, which licenses paintings for commercial projects, credits the trend to “the power of juxtaposition.” Gregg Kulick, executive art director at Hachette Book Group, agrees: “Poppy type” reads as fun, he says, while the paintings “hint at the academic.”
So how did this ripped-from-the galleries craze get off the ground? After all, paintings have graced the covers of novels since “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” but it appears that “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” (2019) might be the trailblazer for this century’s spate.
Here’s the story behind that one, plus eight descendants out — or soon to be — this year.
如同时尚潮流，书籍封面的风尚也是来来去去。某一年，女性背影可能风靡一时；下一年，又流行柔焦摄影。谁又能忘记那些爆裂的花朵热潮？或是从惊悚小说到科幻小说再到自助书籍，封面上无处不在的火焰？
但如今主导“T台”——也就是书架——的风格并非如此激烈。它倾向于将极其醒目的无衬线字体置于一幅画作之上，画作通常有几百年历史，但也并非总是如此。画中人物的表情要么是恶狠狠的，要么是阴郁不满的；一抹喷漆的强力笔触就能彻底改变整体基调。
这些封面是时尚文学小说的新标志，传递出庄重、机智与冷峻的气质。它们意在吸引某一类读者——更都市而非郊区，更倾向天然起泡酒（pét-nat）而非霞多丽（chardonnay）。它们绝不愿与那些装饰着波普艺术，或者（天哪）金属字体的书籍为伍。
布里奇曼图片社（Bridgeman Images）负责为商业项目授权画作的高级客户经理托马斯·哈格蒂（Thomas Haggerty）将此趋势归功于“并置的力量”。阿歇特出版集团（Hachette Book Group）的执行艺术总监格雷格·库利克（Gregg Kulick）表示赞同：他说，“罂粟花般（Poppy）”的字体读起来很有趣，而这些画作则“暗含学术气息”。
那么，这种仿佛从美术馆里直接“撕下来”的潮流是如何兴起的呢？毕竟，自《道林·格雷的画像》以来，画作就一直在装点小说封面，但似乎《我的休息与放松之年》（2019年）可能是本世纪这股风潮的开拓者。
以下是这本书背后的故事，以及今年已出版或即将出版的八本“后裔”。
MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION
By Ottessa Moshfegh (Penguin Press)
The story An unhappy woman in her 20s resolves to escape the world by sleeping for a year. Hibernation proves more complicated and less peaceful than expected.
The image “Portrait of a Young Woman in White,” by an anonymous artist (oil on canvas, 1798).
The styling The painting and font both came from Moshfegh, according to Darren Haggar, the art director at Penguin Press. “We had to remove the nipples,” he said; otherwise, the jacket came together without incident, later sparking a TikTok trendcelebrating the “coquette aesthetic.” One can’t help wondering what’s running through the cover figure’s head, and the novel is the obvious place to turn for clues.
《我的休息与放松之年》
作者：奥特莎·莫什费格（Penguin Press出版社）
故事梗概 一位二十多岁郁郁寡欢的女子决定通过沉睡一年来逃离世界。冬眠证明比预想的更复杂，也更不平静。
图像来源 匿名画家的《白衣年轻女子肖像》（Portrait of a Young Woman in White）（布面油画，1798年）。
设计理念 据Penguin Press出版社的艺术总监达伦·哈格（Darren Haggar）说，画作和字体都来自莫什费格。“我们不得不移除乳头，”他说；除此之外，封面设计过程顺利，后来还在TikTok上引发了一场庆祝“纯欲风（coquette aesthetic）”的潮流。人们不禁会好奇封面人物脑海里在想些什么，而这部小说显然是寻找线索的地方。
THE CAPITAL OF DREAMS
By Heather O’Neill (Harper Perennial, Jan. 7)
The story In this dystopian fairy tale set in a war torn country, a 14-year-old girl is pulled between safety and loyalty, between kindness and her own survival.
The image “Mother and Son in the Garden,” by Hugo Burkner (chromolithograph, 1878).
The styling “We were looking for something fairy-tale-like with a hint of menace,” said Robin Bilardello, the senior art director who found Burkner’s painting. To signal that, she erased the boy in the foreground with black spray paint and added hot pink splotches at the top (their drips somewhat echoing the 2024 best seller “The God of the Woods,”which also sports an arty cover). Crisp type shows the reader they’re about to enter a world that is, for better and for worse, yoked to modern times.
《梦想之都》
作者：希瑟·奥尼尔（Heather O'Neill）（Harper Perennial出版社，1月7日）
故事梗概 在这个设定在饱受战争蹂躏国家的反乌托邦童话中，一个14岁的女孩在安全与忠诚、善意与自身生存之间挣扎。
图像来源 雨果·伯克纳（Hugo Burkner）的《花园里的母子》（Mother and Son in the Garden）（彩色石印画，1878年）。
设计理念 “我们想要寻找一些带有童话色彩又暗含威胁感的东西，”找到伯克纳画作的高级艺术总监罗宾·比拉尔德洛（Robin Bilardello）说。为了传达这种信号，她用黑色喷漆抹掉了前景中的男孩，并在顶部添加了热粉色斑点（它们的滴落感在某种程度上呼应了2024年畅销书《森林之神》（The God of the Woods），那本书的封面也颇具艺术感）。清晰的字体向读者表明，他们即将进入一个无论如何都与现代紧密相连的世界。
DREAM STATE
By Eric Puchner (Doubleday, Feb. 18)
The story A bright-eyed bride-to-be arrives in Montana to finalize the details of her wedding with her husband-to-be’s best friend. Their unexpected rapport has seismic consequences.
The image “The Teton Range,” by Thomas Moran (oil on canvas, 1897).
The styling Oprah’s 111th book club pick features type in a shade of yellow that you’ll also see on the cover of the forthcoming “Happiness Love,” among others. (A similar chartreuseis popular, too. Designers say this is because neon colors are visible at thumbnail size. See: Amazon.)
Oliver Munday, executive director of art/design at Doubleday, dreamed up the look of “Dream State” in consultation with its editor, Thomas Gebremedhin. “We wanted something that felt big and sweeping,” Munday said, “and that referenced environmental implications and the family saga at the heart of the book.” Moran’s painting — and a bit of photoshopping to extend the sky to the top of the cover — offered the grandeur they were looking for.
《梦境》
作者：埃里克·普赫纳（Eric Puchner）（Doubleday出版社，2月18日）
故事梗概 一位充满憧憬的准新娘来到蒙大拿州，与她未婚夫最好的朋友敲定婚礼细节。他们之间意想不到的默契产生了巨大的影响。
图像来源 托马斯·莫兰（Thomas Moran）的《提顿山脉》（The Teton Range）（布面油画，1897年）。
设计理念 奥普拉（Oprah）第111本读书俱乐部之选，其字体采用了一种黄色调，你也会在即将出版的《幸福与爱情》（Happiness Love）等书的封面上看到这种颜色（类似的黄绿色也很流行。设计师们说这是因为霓虹色在缩略图尺寸下也清晰可见。参考：亚马逊）。Doubleday出版社的艺术/设计执行总监奥利弗·蒙迪（Oliver Munday）与其编辑托马斯·格布雷梅丁（Thomas Gebremedhin）商讨后构思出了《梦境》的外观。“我们想要一种宏大而磅礴的感觉，”蒙迪说，“并且能体现书中核心的环境隐喻和家族传奇。”莫兰的画作——加上一点Photoshop处理将天空延伸到封面顶部——提供了他们寻求的壮丽感。
HUNGERSTONE
By Kat Dunn (Zando, Feb. 18)
The storyIn this retelling of the book that inspired Dracula, a married woman in Victorian London falls for a vampire named Carmilla.
The image “The Nightmare,” by Henry Fuseli (oil on canvas, 1781).
The styling Here we see the dramatic swoon — as if the woman pictured had no bones — popularized on several book covers this season. The nightmarish sensuality of Fuseli’s painting spoke to Alicia Tatone, who designed it. But “blood on the cover of a vampire book felt a smidge too on-the-nose,” she wrote in an email, “so we switched it out for neon green and a single, menacing drip that ends in a spike right near the neck of the sleeping woman.”
《饥饿石》
作者：凯特·邓恩（Kat Dunn）（Zando出版社，2月18日）
故事梗概 这部作品重新演绎了启发《德古拉》的原著故事，讲述维多利亚时代伦敦的一位已婚女子爱上了一个名叫卡米拉（Carmilla）的吸血鬼。
图像来源 亨利·富塞利（Henry Fuseli）的《梦魇》（The Nightmare）（布面油画，1781年）。
设计理念 在这里，我们看到本季在几本书封上流行的那种戏剧性的晕厥——仿佛画中的女子没有骨头。富塞利画作中那种噩梦般的情性感打动了设计师艾丽西亚·塔托内（Alicia Tatone）。但“在吸血鬼书的封面上放血感觉有点太直白了，”她在邮件中写道，“所以我们把它换成了霓虹绿和一滴带有威胁意味的液滴，液滴的末端呈尖刺状，正好落在沉睡女子的脖子附近。”
THESE DAYS
By Lucy Caldwell (Zando, April 8)
The story In Belfast in 1941, two sisters grapple with love and cultural expectations while trying to stay true to themselves.
The image “Woman in the Window,” by Alberto Morrocco (oil on canvas, 1953).
The styling Ploy Siripant, a senior art director at William Morrow/HarperCollins, started to envision “These Days” with “Trespasses,” another Irish novel, in mind. Caldwell had explained how, during World War II, Belfast residents watched the sky, knowing moonlight could determine whether or not bombs fell. The image of the woman sitting by the window captures that expectant spirit. “I intentionally avoided showing the full crop to keep a sense of mystery,” Siripant wrote in an email. “Publishers often favor this approach so readers can envision the character in their own way.”
《这些日子》
作者：露西·考德威尔（Lucy Caldwell）（Zando出版社，4月8日）
故事梗概 1941年的贝尔法斯特，两姐妹在努力忠于自我的同时，还要应对爱情和文化期望。
图像来源 阿尔贝托·摩洛哥（Alberto Morrocco）的《窗边的女人》（Woman in the Window）（布面油画，1953年）。
设计理念 William Morrow/HarperCollins出版社的高级艺术总监普洛伊·西里潘特（Ploy Siripant）在构思《这些日子》时，脑海中带着另一部爱尔兰小说《越界》（Trespasses）的影子。考德威尔曾解释过，二战期间，贝尔法斯特的居民会仰望天空，因为他们知道月光可能决定炸弹是否会落下。坐在窗边的女人形象捕捉到了那种期待的心情。“我刻意避免展示完整的画面裁剪，以保持一种神秘感，”西里潘特在邮件中写道。“出版商通常偏爱这种方式，以便读者能够以自己的方式想象人物。”
DISAPPOINT ME
By Nicola Dinan (Dial, May 27)
The story A 30-year-old trans woman becomes entangled with a Chinese man whose friends and family are way more traditional than her own. History interferes, forcing a reckoning on forgiveness.
The image “After the Ball,” by Ramon Casas i Carbo (oil on canvas, 1899).
The styling Behold another boneless flop! “I got to dive into art history and find as many disappointed looking women as I could,” said Rachel Ake, who created this cover, adding the hot pink type so it “pops off the page.” The covers of “Becoming Duchess Goldblatt”and “All Fours” were inspirations for this and for her work on “Stag Dance,” another recent entrant in this category.
《让我失望》
作者：尼古拉·迪南（Nicola Dinan）（Dial出版社，5月27日）
故事梗概 一位30岁的跨性别女子与一名华人男子纠缠不清，而对方的亲友远比她自己的亲友传统得多。历史横加干涉，迫使她们对宽恕进行反思。
图像来源 拉蒙·卡萨斯·伊·卡博（Ramon Casas i Carbo）的《舞会之后》（After the Ball）（布面油画，1899年）。
设计理念 看，又一个无骨的瘫倒！“我得以深入艺术史，尽可能多地寻找看起来失望的女人，”创作此封面的瑞秋·阿克（Rachel Ake）说，她添加了热粉色字体，使其“从页面中跳脱出来”。《成为戈德布拉特公爵夫人》（Becoming Duchess Goldblatt）和《四肢着地》（All Fours）的封面是这本书以及她近期设计的另一本同类书籍《雄鹿之舞》（Stag Dance）的灵感来源。
THE LONGEST WAY TO EAT A MELON
By Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross (Sarabande, June 10)
The story A collection of works each more satirical and surreal than the last.
The image “Kittens and Snail,” by Alfred Arthur Brunel de Neuville (oil on canvas, undated).
The styling Emily Mahon knew one thing when she embarked on her cover design: It would not feature a melon (too obvious). She went with a snail and a kitten (excising the black-and-white feline in the original painting) because she felt they represented the “humorous and quirky” aspects of Ross’s fiction. Mahon played with the spacing of the text to break up the length of the title and tee up the nonlinear nature of the stories that follow.
Miles McEnery Gallery and Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York
《吃瓜最慢的方式》
作者：杰奎琳·宗-李·罗斯（Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross）（Sarabande出版社，6月10日）
故事梗概 一部作品集，每篇都比前一篇更具讽刺意味和超现实色彩。
图像来源 阿尔弗雷德·亚瑟·布鲁内尔·德·内维尔（Alfred Arthur Brunel de Neuville）的《小猫与蜗牛》（Kittens and Snail）（布面油画，年代不详）。
设计理念 艾米丽·马洪（Emily Mahon）开始设计封面时就知道一点：它不会出现瓜（太直白了）。她选择了蜗牛和小猫（剔除了原画中的那只黑白猫），因为她觉得它们代表了罗斯小说中“幽默和古怪”的一面。马洪调整了文字的间距，以分解长标题的视觉长度，并预示了后续故事的非线性本质。
Miles McEnery Gallery 和 Artist Rights Society (ARS), 纽约
来源：左右图史
