AtD: US vs. UK editions (no spoilers)

[Tore Rye Andersen]

So, I managed to get my hands on both the US and UK edition of AtD. Got the 
US edition last Wednesday (I'm presently on p. 398) and the UK edition today 
- both through Danish booksellers who couldn't really give a damn about 
official publication dates. It does indeed have its advantages to live in a 
small, insignificant corner of the world.

I won't comment on the contents yet - let that wait until we all have a copy 
- but I'll briefly comment on the differences between the two editions. Not 
that there are that many differences: most importantly, they have the same 
pagination (1085 numbered pages), so we should be able to carry on a 
transatlantic group read without any obstacles of that nature. That being 
said, I'd have to say that the US edition is nicer than the UK edition, as 
was the case with M&D. The differences this time are not that significant, 
though. Whereas the American M&D was much fatter than its British 
counterpart, this time the British edition is the fattest one. The British 
edition is also lighter than the American one, though, and it's my 
impression that the paper of the American edition is of a slightly better 
quality. Cape's printing job is much better than with M&D, though. The 
printing of the first UK edition of M&D was almost as blurry as the big 
letters on the dustjacket, but the Cape edition of AtD is printed just as 
sharply as the US version.
Both editions have glued bindings and papercovered cardboard (as opposed to 
the halfcloth of the first US edition of M&D), so not much difference there. 
The biggest difference between the two editions is the dustjacket. Both 
editions have the same motive, of course, but the US dj is really a work of 
art, with the seal slightly raised, and with a shiny white border around the 
matte, yellowish  reproduction of a worn book-cover. The UK dustjacket seems 
very flimsy in comparison and it's all matte (and extremely susceptible to 
smudges), without the varied texture of the US jacket. The US dustjacket 
seems almost threedimensional, whereas the British dj is decidedly 
twodimensional.
To sum up: if you have the choice, and if you care about these matters, I'd 
definitely recommend the US edition, but the UK edition is still a very 
decent alternative (and much better than the UK edition of M&D).

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