QUEBEC DESIGNER David Drummond searched everywhere to find the perfect cover concept for the French-language edition of Yann Martel’s latest novel, The High Mountains of Portugal. Published in Quebec under the title Les Hautes Montagnes du Portugal by Les Éditions XYZ, the story is broken into three interconnected sections, the first of which follows a young man on his automobile journey through the European mountains. The second is the tale of a pathologist obsessed with Agatha Christie mysteries, followed by the story of a grieving Ottawa senator who takes refuge in Portugal with his pet chimpanzee.
Here, Drummond shares a behind-the-scenes look at two early cover mock-ups and the final design.