The cover of Booker-winning author Arundhati Roy’s next book “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” draws inspiration from the beauty of decay. The first look of the book, scheduled to hit stands in June, was recently released by publisher Penguin India on Twitter.
“The Cover is here. The book is comin soon. June 2017. #UtmostHappiness,” Penguin India tweeted. The cover is designed by David Elridge and inspired by the beauty of decay, the initial idea for which came out of “some gorgeous, rich images of beautiful old gravestones” that Roy had sent to the designer.
“One of the novel’s core settings is a graveyard, it becomes very important in the story and it speaks to many of its themes…” says Elridge. “I spent some time examining the gravestone photos Arundhati sent. One in particular sang out at me, and that became the starting point for constructing the front cover panel."
The designer had also created the cover for Roy’s Booker-winning novel “The God of Small Things” in 1988. According to the designer, the most important elements of the cover are the objects of beauty that are in a process of decay.
