My approach to this book design is grounded in Raymond Malewitz theories on how Cormac McCarthy's protagonists find value in misusing commercial objects, as a subversion of capitalism.
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![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/bd96906b-013d-4be4-90ee-79566caddf63/0/0/0/0,0,1280,1255,1280,1200/0-0-0/bc1502d6-56a4-4800-800a-2888d012df1c/1/1/CORMAC3.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037430662~hmac=c3262e598df3bcc79e8aad8f1d14c6a33cfde2dbe29b4b4291db9adeeae0784f)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/bd96906b-013d-4be4-90ee-79566caddf63/0/0/0/0,0,1280,1319,1600,1319/0-0-0/f78e7288-287c-42f3-b45c-0e4a2ec1e736/1/1/CORMAC2.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037430662~hmac=d8b254ca6d1a8b33fac38a87851a50cdb8b5d0eb767267db367a70c538a220b0)
It is confusing to see a book "wear" a shirt, and so invites further inspection. It suggests haste, maybe.
The pocket has a bizarre utility, to hide something.
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The holes in the cloth were made by blow torching a dollar until it was white hot, and then letting it burn through the stretched fabric.
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/bd96906b-013d-4be4-90ee-79566caddf63/0/0/0/0,0,484,239,484,1200/0-0-0/960025e5-b2ca-4036-9db2-2d3881064161/1/1/cormac7.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037430662~hmac=20d893c5645b27eb4f1d0cfcdbcf9afe12eb22a0c4d3f255a9776dc4df86773c)
mountains meant to resemble stock graphs.
The end papers are from a trucker's atlas of the areas of Texas and Mexico where the book takes place. With rough-edged practicality, they have utility in helping the reader place events in the book.
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![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/bd96906b-013d-4be4-90ee-79566caddf63/0/0/0/0,0,1280,1267,1280,1200/0-0-0/fcc4756e-d731-4877-8e98-f7589f464027/1/1/cormac5.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037430662~hmac=77554b2e5557ce22fec3a91eb49497377bbfddd32d004c697976bc9186b7411f)
This edition could be produced in America for a limited run, with the jackets repurposed from deadstock or thrifted western shirts by garment workers being paid a fare wage, directly addressing and opposing the same issues as the book's contents, the careless juggernaut of immoral capitalism embodied by Anton Chigurh.