Happen is a memoir novel of a young Irish Protestant named Godwin Happen. Based on the troubles in the North, the protagonist is haunted by his father's mysterious death and struggles with his grief as a result.
Throughout the book, there are hidden clues and masked references to the story's outcomes and the cover reflects this. The use of a semi-transparent dust jacket blurs and gives a dual image of Happen's father and amplifies the ghostly and uncertain nature of the deceased's character. The narrator also features on the fold as a child... Innocently smiling but, separate from his father.
Several arrows on the cover reference Happen's journeys to uncover the truth behind his father's death. When the dust jacket is slipped up or down the book the heads of the arrows connect to make an X... revealing a hidden clue towards the book's key character, the enigmatic Mr.X.
Throughout the book, there are hidden clues and masked references to the story's outcomes and the cover reflects this. The use of a semi-transparent dust jacket blurs and gives a dual image of Happen's father and amplifies the ghostly and uncertain nature of the deceased's character. The narrator also features on the fold as a child... Innocently smiling but, separate from his father.
Several arrows on the cover reference Happen's journeys to uncover the truth behind his father's death. When the dust jacket is slipped up or down the book the heads of the arrows connect to make an X... revealing a hidden clue towards the book's key character, the enigmatic Mr.X.
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312pp text pages on Munken Lynx. Cover printed on 280gsm Popset Red. Dust-jacket with folds printed on 150gsm Cromatico (100 special editions / 2000).