Page - 48 - in >mcs_lab> - Mobile Culture Studies, Volume 2/2020

48 Mobile Culture Studies. The Journal 6 2o20 (Travel) Rhian Waller | Postcolonial Pictures photograph is a mediated truth. Photography is a process of selective creation; the photographer exerts considerable control over the depicted environment and, from there, the book designer exerts further control over the selection and presentation of the photograph. As Lemke suggests, this selection process takes place in a context of “what might have been” (1990: 188). In every case, the background photograph is chosen in lieu of a thousand-and-one other possible images. The written signifier of Theroux’s name is prominent, rendered in large font over the cover image and often above the title. This foregrounding constructs an impression of the author’s salience, both as a commercial entity and as a creative force. This suggests Thompson is correct when he states it is “assumed that we will find the author […] as interesting as the place they are visiting” (2011: 15). This is Theroux as a brand, and the prominence of his name signifies the individual travel books are part of a cohesive oeuvre. However, none of the covers seek to create a direct author-to-reader interpersonal (parasocial) relationship, for instance by simula- ting direct eye contact between subject and viewer, as per Harrison (2002). Instead, the compo- sition of the photograph places the viewer in the perspective of the solo traveller; this implies we, through reading, will undertake the journey as a traveller, rather than, as is the case, following Theroux through his subjective narrative. “Travel,” writes Theroux, in On the Plain of Snakes (2019), “is less about landscapes than about people” (2019: 304), but, in a stark divergence from this, the Penguin front covers often erase the human element, featuring images that are overwhelmingly concerned with landscape. Human figures are frequently distant, or, unlike the author, who is represented through written signs, rendered entirely invisible. This is by no means universal practice in writing that explores cultural difference: the 2004 edition of Maps and Dreams (Brody), features an intimate por- trait of an indigenous person, the close up shot revealing age lines, clothing, hair and a richly expressive face, signifies the subject’s embodied humanity and lived experience, and establis- hing “emotive meaning” (Feng and O’Halloran, 2012). Nor do all editions of Theroux’s books conform to this pattern; the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt edition of On the Plain of Snakes features an image of the author (2019), while the Mariner Books edition of Dark Star Safari (2004) depicts a group of people in the middle-distance. In contrast, the Penguin covers of Theroux’s books do not attempt this. Thus, the people of Mexico (On the Plain of Snakes, 2019), Patagonia (The Old Patagonian Express, 2008) the African Continent (Dark Star Safari, 2002, Last Train to Zona Verde, 2014), Asia (Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, 2009), The Happy Isles of Oceania (2012) and the southern states of the USA (Deep South, 2015) do not appear. Iconic animal figures are entirely absent, unlike the evocative tigers and elephants analysed in Parameswaran’s work. Flora, rather than fauna, is a dominant motif, while technology implies but also obscures human presence. Most of the covers include a sub-heading that identifies the travel destination, or the place featured in the cover photograph. On the Plain of Snakes (2019) is subtitled “A Mexican Road Trip”, while Riding the Iron Rooster (2011) is subtitled “By Train through China”. Therefore, viewers do not necessarily need to utilise information from within the body text of the book to identify the region represented on the cover. The covers of Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China (2011), The Pillars of Her- cules: A Grand Tour of the Mediterranean (2011), The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia (2008) and The Kingdom by the Sea: A Journey Around the Coast of Great Britain (1984)