Nausea

The "Nausea" cover focuses on the important role of music as a shelter from Roquentin’s existential crisis. On several occasions in the book, Roquentin finds peace and order while listening to the café recording of “Some of These Days” after being overwhelmed by an unsettling sense of absurdity. At the end of the book, hearing the song again leads him to a transcendent moment of realization: he regains hope in the possibilities of life and entertains the thought of creating his own work of art. At first glance, the title, stylized tonearm, and concentric circles form the image of a record player. Yet the circles are also designed to subtly resemble water ripples, symbolizing the engulfing undertow of nausea that pulls at Roquentin’s world. The violet highlight reinforces the uncanniness of this psychological experience.