{"product_id":"shroud-9780375725302","title":"Shroud","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom the Booker Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eThe Sea \u003c\/i\u003ecomes a splendidly moving, \"hypnotic\" exploration (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e) of identity, duplicity, and desire, starring a very old, recently widowed man with secrets and the mysterious young woman destined to either destroy or save him. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne part Nietzsche, one part Humbert Humbert, and a soupcon of Milton's Lucifer, Axel Vander, the dizzyingly unreliable narrator of John Banville's masterful new novel, is the bearer of a fearsome reputation as a literary dandy and bully. A product of the Old World, he is also an escapee from its conflagrations, with the wounds to prove it. And everything about him is a lie. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Now those lies have been unraveled by a mysterious young woman whom Vander calls \"Miss Nemesis.\" They are to meet in Turin, a city best known for its enigmatic shroud. Is her purpose to destroy Vander or to save him--or simply to show him what lies beneath the shroud in which he has wrapped his life?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945. His first book, \u003cb\u003eLong Lankin\u003c\/b\u003e, was published in 1970. His other books are \u003cb\u003eNightspawn\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eBirchwood\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eDoctor\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eCopernicus\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eKepler\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eThe Newton Letter\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eMefisto\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eThe Book of Evidence\u003c\/b\u003e (which was shortlisted for the 1989 Booker Prize), \u003cb\u003eGhosts\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eAthena\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eThe Untouchable\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003eEclipse\u003c\/b\u003e. He lives in Dublin.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50904306942226,"sku":"9780375725302","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_7aa53122-f750-468c-a0a6-f67bddc20806.jpg?v=1738513808","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/shroud-9780375725302","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}