The 11 Best Book Covers of April

Another month of books, another month of book covers. In April, I was charmed by designers taking chances, by excellent art choices and ecstatic doubling. And, as always, by humor. Here are my favorite covers of the month—see you back here in May.

Ben Lerner, Transcription; cover design by Rodrigo Corral and Violet Dine (FSG, April 7)

Visually striking, and a clever way to represent the conceit of the book. The texture—you’ll have to pick up the hardcover to know what I mean—is a nice touch, no pun intended.

For an entirely different take, check out the UK cover, designed by Gray318 (Granta Books, April 7)

Hanna Johansson, tr. Kira Josefsson, Body Double; cover design by Nicole Caputo (Catapult, April 7)

I love covers that change the frame, and also take chances with the text; this one does both.

Egana Djabbarova, tr. Lisa C. Hayden, My Dreadful Body; cover design by Alban Fischer (New Vessel Press, April 7)

I’ve seen deconstructed paper dolls on covers before, but this is a particularly elegant version.

Agnieszka Szpila, tr. Scotia Gilroy, Hexes of the Deadwood Forest; cover design by Linda Huang (Pantheon, April 7)

In a vacuum, it’s hilarious. But this is actually a very restrained cover for a novel about an oil executive who has sex with a tree…

Che Yeun, Tailbone; cover design by Myunghee Kwon (Bloomsbury, April 7)

Orange on orange shouldn’t work, and yet—

Giada Scodellaro, Ruins, Child; cover design by John Gall, art by Lorna Simpson (New Directions, April 7)

It’s sort of cheating to use a Lorna Simpson collage, but still.

Hallie Cantor, Like This, But Funnier; cover design and illustration by Rachel Willey (Simon and Schuster, April 7)

A satisfying callback to another era of book covers.

Noam Scheiber, Mutiny: The Rise and Revolt of the College-Educated Working Class; cover design by Ben Grandgenett (FSG, April 7)

Bold and odd and memorable.

Gabrielle Sher, Odessa; cover design by Ben Turner (Little, Brown, April 21)

It would have worked with a single figure, but the doubling—and the overlap at the central eye—takes it to the next level.

Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed; cover design by Danielle Roa (Harper, April 21)

The photo choice and subtitle sing.

Vincent Delecroix, tr. Helen Stevenson, Small Boat; cover design by James Nunn (Mariner, April 21)

The literal representation is, here, a risk that pays off.