Image by Amazon

Earlier today, the LA Review of Books published an interview with Jewish book cover designer, Peter Mendelsund. Even if you don’t recognize the name, if you’re a reader you’ve almost certainly seen his work. Among other projects, Mendelsund has redesigned covers from the back catalogs of such notable authors as Franz Kafka, Simone De Beauvoir, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Newer titles have included recent work by Tom McCarthy, Jo Nesbø, and Martin Amis. In addition to his design work, Mendulsund is the author of two books: “What We See When We Read” (Vintage, 2014), and “Covers” (powerHouse Books, 2014).

The bulk of the discussion between Mendelsund and interviewer Sam Jaffe Goldstein focuses on the book designer’s new work on the W.G. Sebald back catalogue, but the two also discuss Mendelsund’s influences, his former life as a Pianist, and his thoughts on the importance of cover design. On the continued importance of physical books in the new digital landscape, Mendelsund says “One of those assets [of a physical book] is its materiality as an object, that it can be a beautiful thing, that it can have this beautiful paratextual space in which all this stuff happens.”

You can read the whole interview here on the LA Review of Books website.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount