| ||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Synopsis
Douglas likes women - quiet women; the kind he deals with at the mortuary where he works. Douglas meets Marjorie, unemployed, gaining weight and losing confidence. She talks and laughs a lot to cover up her shyness, but what Douglas really needs is a lover who'll stay still - perfectly still. Perhaps he can put Marjorie into a state of limbo and use her to feed his growing sexual hunger. Douglas studies his textbooks to find a way...
From the Author
Explores how various cultures deal with their dead
SHROUDED should give hope to many would-be novelists. It was rejected by most of the major publishing conglomerates yet when The Do-Not Press published the novel it was voted as `debut of the year' by four separate reviewers and received numerous good reviews. The novel looks at the making of a necrophile, a repressed funeral director called Douglas. I went into the mortuary to research it and learned how the bodies were prepared for the crematorium or for the grave. I also look at the way different cultures come to terms with their loved ones dying and how they dispose of their dead. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
SHROUDED should give hope to many would-be novelists. It was rejected by most of the major publishing conglomerates yet when The Do-Not Press published the novel it was voted as `debut of the year' by four separate reviewers and received numerous good reviews. The novel looks at the making of a necrophile, a repressed funeral director called Douglas. I went into the mortuary to research it and learned how the bodies were prepared for the crematorium or for the grave. I also look at the way different cultures come to terms with their loved ones dying and how they dispose of their dead. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'Shrouded' is the first novel from Carol Anne Davis at the Do-Not Press, and is as assured a debut as you're likely to read. The plot, a particularly taut beast in this instance, follows the fortunes of Douglas, a smothered, mothered sort of chap, as he takes his first steps to independence, leaving home at 28. The world is suddenly his oyster, with all the myriad possibilities open to a young man moving into a new bedsit. Unfortunately, the steps Douglas takes are all downhill, as he discovers the power of sex for the first time. If only all women would lie as sweetly still as the girls he looks after at the funeral parlour. If only they wouldn't scream, and writhe, and spoil things... What makes the novel so unpleasant is how likeable Douglas actually is. There is enormous sympathy for him as he attempts to set up his life beyond the confines of his mother's grasp, and his initial attempts into fishkeeping as a hobby are really very sweet. As his descent progresses, we're obviously appalled by the murders he commits, are shocked by his self-justifications. Nevertheless, I still found myself hoping that he'd wake up and create the world he really wants for himself. The characters are deftly drawn, with the primary triumvirate a particularly compelling crowd. As well as Douglas we have his ultimate victim, the hapless Marjorie, all neuroses and hope. Her own plight, the social prison she creates for herself, is saddening in it's fundamental truth. Her concerned flatmate, Simon, is also well handled and convincing in his worries and needs. The world Carol Anne Davis creates is particularly disturbing, because it is fundamentally our world, with none of the twisted new rules dark fiction often asks us to accept. In many ways, the novel addresses parenting, and it's ultimate effects, through the cast of socially maladjusted characters, all of whom are remarkable in their psychological realism. You know these people. You probably poke fun at them when they aren't in the room. 'Shrouded' will make you think twice about that, and more.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Corpses, Corpes Everywhere - a wild suspense novel ride
15 Nov 1998
Format:Paperback
Shrouded opens with a graphic scene of childhood abuse directed against young Douglas Tate. Douglas' step-father is a brutal man, and his mother is unwilling to advocate for her child's safety. Just as soon as we meet young Douglas, the novel jumps forward twenty years and we meet him again as an adult. To say that Douglas has grown up to become a disturbed and dangerous man would be an understatement.
Douglas has only recently moved away from his parents' home. We quickly ascertain that Douglas has no social skills, no friends, and far too much interest in the corpses he encounters in his job as an undertaker. Douglas remains tormented by his childhood abuse memories, and his new independent lifestyle has unleashed thoughts of sex and violence that quickly turn to obsession.
As we see Douglas' grip on reality loosen, we follow this character on what becomes a quest to find the perfect mate -- one forever silent, still, and sexually welcoming: one shrouded in death.
When Douglas meets shy and insecure Marjorie at a local fish store, he wonders if she might be the woman to satisfy his increasing sexual needs. After a few encounters at the local Fish Are Fun club exchanging thoughts about fish and aquariums, Douglas seems convinced that Marjorie just might be the right girl for him. And while this troubled girl fantasizes about a life with a man who actually seems interested in her, Douglas hatches an unthinkable plot to turn Marjorie into the girl of his dreams. From his initial introduction as an abused boy desperate for tenderness and parental love to his evolution into a sexual predator, Douglas is an unforgettable character.
If you're looking for a fast-reading, tightly and very well-written suspense book, try Shrouded. Sex, violence, tropical fish, plenty of tea and sweets, and corpes everywhere - what more do you want in a suspense novel? Read it. You may be creeped out ... you may be downright scared ... but you definitely won't be disappointed.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Creepy and Unusual
24 July 1999
Format:Paperback
Creepy story about two socially maladjusted people whose lives intersect with nasty consequences. Douglas is a mortician with no interpersonal skills, making lists on his computer, and approaching each task in life analytically. Physically abused as a child, he finally moves out of his mother's house as an adult and slowly unravels mentally, turning into a quiet homicidal maniac. Marjorie is an asthmatic, overmothered wallflower who craves attention. Her timid involvement with a fish owner's club brings her into contact with Douglas. The book is convincing in showing how minor personality problems can either mask a dangerous psyche or get one in a lot of trouble. Could make a very good film.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
