For Faber & Faber's 90th-anniversary short story series, I delved into the essence of John McGahern's "The Country Funeral" to craft a cover that resonates with the story’s themes of ritual and connection. The design features the title in bold, green lettering arranged vertically and stretching downwards, creating a sense of movement and rhythm.
This stylistic choice is a nod to the repetition and renewal found within Irish funeral rites, reflecting the stark contrasts of darkness and light, death and community depicted in the narrative.
The green hues not only mirror the story's rhythmic prose but also evoke the Irish countryside's timeless continuity. Balancing simplicity with depth, this cover stands as a visual homage to McGahern's narrative and the cycles that bind us in life and death.
