ATD cover analysis
The final cover of Against the Day is pretty minimalist, depicting an aged, slightly yellowing book or manuscript in reference to the novel's setting, 1893 through World War I, and the book's mock-recreation of prose from that era.
The writing on the cover seems to cast shadows behind it. The shadows are no doubt meant to simulate the double refraction one experiences when looking through a piece of Iceland Spar, but on closer inspection the writing is not doubled, but tripled, and the typefaces are different. The upper layer is a modern sans-serif font, the middle layer is an older serif font, and the bottom layer is once again a modern sans-serif font. This may indicate that the novel straddles the period where the world moved from the 19th century into the modern age. It also may represent the book in parallel universes seen through the spar.
The mysterious red seal on the cover is Tibetan, and the image in the center of the seal is a Tibetan Snow Lion in front of three mountain peaks. The Snow Lion is a mythical creature which also appears in Tibet's flag.
The generally white color of the cover ties in with the light/dark metaphor that Pynchon weaves into the novel. Perhaps the cover is also largely bare so that the "reader can decide," as Pynchon writes in the book's description, with minimal outside interference from anything but the text itself.
The book cover is designed by Michael Ian Kaye, who also designed the cover for the current paperback edition of Slow Learner. This could indicate that Pynchon likes Kaye's previous work.
We also know that an earlier version of the cover was circulated in promotional material before the novel's release. Note that in the earlier cover, the mysterious red seal looks slightly different, with the writing continuing in an unbroken circle.
What exactly the seal means is no doubt revealed in the book, but the slight changes indicate that Pynchon was probably involved in the design process, as he was with Mason & Dixon (where the ampersand was changed at his request), and the cover is thus fair game in any textual analysis.
The seal appears to be written in Tibetan language, according to somebody who posts regularly to Pynchon-l under the name "Ya Sam", who reports, at :
I contacted the Tibetan Cultural Centre with the request to translate the mysterious legend on the AtD seal. They were kind enough to forward my request to the Tibetan tranlsator Tenzin Namgyal to whose generosity we owe the solution of one more ATD related mystery.
It is the Tibetan language, alright, and it means ...... Tibetan Government Chamber of Commerce.
Read their response below:
- Dear Ya Sam,
- I showed the seal you sent to our Tibetan translator, Tenzin Namgyal. He says the word to word translation is: Tibetan Government Commerce Chamber in other words: Tibetan Government Chamber of commerce. Why Pynchon has chosen to place this on the cover of his book is anyones guess. Reading the book reviews gave no insight into the reason. Perhaps after one has read it?
- Best wishes,
- Sandy Belth
- Tibetan Cultural Center
Original Message --------
Subject: RE: New Request for Prayer/Puja From: "Ya Sam" Date: Fri, December 01, 2006 10:43 am To: tcc@tibetancc.com
Thank you very much for your speedy reply. Please find the scanned image of the seal in the attachment.
Best regards,
Y.S.
>From: tcc@tibetancc.com
>To: takoitov@hotmail.com
>Subject: RE: New Request for Prayer/Puja
>Date: Fri, 01 Dec 2006 08:40:03 -0700
>
>Dear Ya Sam,
> go ahead and send it and we will see what we can do.
>
>Sandy Belth
>TCC
>
>
>
>-------- Original Message --------
>Subject: New Request for Prayer/Puja
>From: takoitov@hotmail.com
>Date: Fri, December 01, 2006 6:49 am
>To:
>Cc:
>
>NameYa Sam
>Emailtakoitov@hotmail.com
>DetailsDear Tibetan language specialists, There is a mysterious
Tibetan
>seal with a legend most probably in the Tibetan language on the cover,
as >well as a front matter page of Thomas Pynchon's novel 'Against the
Day'. I >have a scanned image of this seal. If I were to send it to you via
e-mail, >could you be so kind as to tell me what word or phrase is written on
the >seal?
Best wishes, Ya Sam
>
