There are hundreds of books on my shelves, but the one that jumps out at me each time I’m scanning for something in particular is a mass market paperback for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. My eyes run right over the six-foot-long stretch of Modern Library classics, the complete Charles Dickens, and the stack of four fat, glossy Twilight books, and straight to this airport mystery, which has got a highlighter-yellow cover with safety-orange spots running up the spine.
Was it the release of the English-language translation of this book in 2008 that kickstarted the resurgence of neons? I’m old enough to remember the last time neons were in fashion – in the early 80’s, when we called them fluorescents – and foolish enough to want to wear them once again. There’s a little electric-pink shift from H+M in my closet right now, waiting for me to find the courage to actually put it on. What’s the fascination with these ungodly, unnatural hues? Quite simply, they’re impossible not to notice. If there’s a girl on the street sixty feet ahead of me with a screaming neon orange bag or blue pumps, I will very surely take a good look when she passes. These bright accessories are a perfect complement to the dark, fitted dress New Yorkers wear so much of the time. And other pieces that have been updated with neon accents, like running shoes, have a sharp, modern flash. But when used as a large field, or as a book cover, the colors are tawdry. They’re like a strong, sweet perfume.