Hello everyone,
It is time for one of my occasional random list posts and today, I am looking back at all the books I have read which feature modes of transport on their front covers.
Some of these are just for decoration, some are there because the story is partly set on or within a particular type of transport, and others examples are to create suspense or reflect the tone of the book. So here we are!
Planes
Most of Hostage is set on a plane and the premise of the story makes it one of the most intense thrillers I have ever read – literally high stakes! The Paris Library meanwhile, is set during the Second World War.
Boats
The Bronzed Beasts has a very pretty cover which shows a gondola, as the book is set in Venice. Nat spends time on a ship to France during The Smallest Man, and Where The Crawdads Sing shows a boat sailing through the marshes.
How To Be Brave partly tells a very powerful true story of men stuck on a lifeboat during the Second World War. The more you look at the cover, the more you appreciate its beauty. Dangerous Women is inspired by the true story of a ship carrying female convicts and I like the ship is shown riding across cardboard waves. The Titanic is the obvious backdrop behind Valora in Luck Of The Titanic, with a cover that has a great colour palette.
These two covers are both for thrillers and rather than depicting a single scene in the book, they both represent the themes of grim isolation that are feature so prominently in the plot. The taglines on both covers reflect that too.
Bikes/Scooters
These covers use upended bikes and scooters to similar effect. Close To Home is about a missing child and the scene reflects the eerie reality of someone being abducted by a stranger. A Song Of Isolationuses the bike along with the branches and the park bench to highlight the sense of hopelessness the characters feel in the book.
Cars/Buses
The rainy car window and wing mirror create suspense for The End Of Her before you event open it, making this cover quite effective.
Although the colour scheme for The Truants is the most interesting thing about that cover, it illustrates the fact that one of main characters drives around in a hearse.
As for The House In The Cerulean Sea, the vehicle that sits outside Arthur Parnassus’ orphanage in this whimsical, distinctive cover is just a fun little random detail.
Trains
This cover can be interpreted in many ways. It is about a woman whose daughter was killed and the person she suspects has not been convicted. The woman standing with her back to the camera is quite powerful.
Let’s Chat
Have you read any of these books? What is your favourite cover that contains a mode of transport? Let me know in the comments!
Stephen Reads Books 