Cover Review: Party Boy by Breton Dukes, Te Herenga Waka University Press.

It’s no great secret…or it should be no great secret…that the reason book covers exist is to coax potential buyers into picking a book up for closer inspection – the first step to a purchase.

True. Once upon a time a book’s cover was there to protect the leaves within. Bound in durable leather with an embossed gold title, covers were practical things designed and built to last.

But these days covers are all about marketing. Attracting. Drawing consumers in.

Which is a bloody hard thing to do because they’re all trying to do it. The modern bookshop is a really loud place. The competition is fierce. It’s hard for a book to stand out in a crowd.

Colours! Words! Images!

“Buy me! Pick me up! Have a feel! Go on! You know you want to!”

I’m attracted to new books AND bookshops. I love the cacophony. The chaos. The begging.

And the smell! I like to sniff a nice new book. The fresh paper…mmmm…is fresh…and unsullied by grubby humans. Like vanilla it’s a subtle smell…mmmmm…vanilla.

Actually, being a bookmaker, I like to smell a book to “see” if it’s printed on a real press. With real ink. Real ink. Passing the sniff test.

Mmmmmm.

But I digress.

While I love the overwhelming desperation of a book shop I’m fussy about the books that I’ll pick up. If a cover is awesome I’ll give it the time. If it’s a bit shit and I don’t know anything about what’s inside, I’ll ignore it. 

By “cover” I mean the whole cover. This includes the title, the author and the imagery behind them. It all adds up in the battle for our attention.

But! A big but…it’s all about taste. What appeals to one person may turn another off.

It’s a delicate balance.

Which brings me to the cover of Party Boy. The reason you’re here.

The book may be by Breton Dukes. It may be published by Te Herenga Waka University Press. But the cover. The cover!

It’s designed by Dudley Benson.

It’s bold. It’s ballsy. It’s red. Yellow. Green. It’s hard to read.

Talia Marshall, in her Newsroom review, was confused:

“I thought the cover had a red marbled formica table as a design feature but now I think it is marbled beef.”

I’m pretty sure it’s raw meat of some sort. I’d be disappointed if it was formica – but the confusion is a nice touch.

It’s very early in a fast moving year but because of Breton’s fleshy cover – Party Boy’s is at the top of my 2026 Must Sniff List. 

It might not be to everyone’s taste, but thanks Te Herenga Waka. You’ve made my next trip to Bruce MacKenzie’s all the more worthwhile.

Will I buy the book? I am a damaged Dunedin male. I didn’t go to Otago Boys’…but I walked to and from plenty of parties back in the day. Talia’s review brought back many of the names and places from these times. Big Daddy’s. Moray Place. Cadbury’s. Wizards. The Octagon. The Savoy.

Perhaps it’s time I paid the place a paperback visit.

ISBN:9781776923038
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Dimensions: 210mm x 138mm
Publication Date: 12 February 2026

Regular price $38.00 NZD