''Shroud'' is a 2002 novel by

John Banville William John Banville (born 8 December 1945) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, Literary adaptation, adapter of dramas and screenwriter. Though he has been described as "the heir to Marcel Proust, Proust, via Vladimir Nabokov, Nabokov", ...

. It is the second book in the Alexander and Cass Cleave Trilogy, which also contains the novels ''

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...

'' (2000) and ''

Ancient Light ''Ancient Light'' is a 2012 novel by John Banville. First published on 7 July 2012, the novel concludes a trilogy concerning Alexander Cleave and his daughter, Cass. ''Eclipse (Banville novel), Eclipse'' (2000) and ''Shroud (novel), Shroud'' (200 ...

'' (2012).

Plot summary

Axel Vander, famous man of letters and recently widowed, travels to Turin to meet a young woman called Cass Cleave. Cleave is a literary researcher who has discovered two secrets about Vander's early years in Antwerp. The first is that, in the years prior to World War Two, Vander contributed some anti-Semitic articles to a right-wing newspaper, and secondly, that he is not Axel Vander at all. He is Vander's childhood friend; he appropriated Vander's name and identity after the man disappeared and was presumed dead. Cleave is obsessed with him and is also suffering from a psychotic mental illness. After they meet in Turin, a claustrophobic relationship develops between them. Ultimately this leads to Cleave's tragic death.

Background

The novel is partly inspired by two scandals concerning eminent academics that occurred in the 1980s: the posthumous discovery of anti-Semitic texts written during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Yale school The Yale school is a colloquial name for an influential group of literary critics, theorists, and philosophers of literature that were influenced by Jacques Derrida's philosophy of deconstruction. Many of the theorists were affiliated with Yale ...

literary critic

Paul de Man Paul de Man (; ; December 6, 1919 – December 21, 1983), born Paul Adolph Michel Deman, was a Belgian-born American literary critic and literary theorist. He was known particularly for his importation of German and French philosophical approac ...

, who had an influential postwar career in the United States; and the murder by

Louis Althusser Louis Pierre Althusser (, ; ; 16 October 1918 – 22 October 1990) was a French Marxist philosopher who studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he eventually became Professor of Philosophy. Althusser was a long-time member an ...

of his wife Hélène Legotien. Althusser was a well-known Marxist philosopher.

Style

Banville has said that this is one of his favourite novels—"a dark, hard, cruel book", one in which he came closest to achieving what he set out to write at the start of the writing process. He also noted that "Everybody hated ''Shroud''—even, I think, the people who admired it. It was favourably reviewed, but it was not and is not a book a reader could readily love. ''Shroud'' is my monstrous child whom I cherish but who horrifies others." ''Shroud'' has been described as one of his most emotionally intense novels. Alex Clark in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

talks of "its immense, self-supporting power. ''Shroud'' certainly demonstrates (Banville's) ability to generate extreme tension and utterly uncanny atmospheres." Vander is arrogant and self-absorbed, and treats Cass Cleave with contempt. "Vander in old age is simultaneously demonic, monstrous and clownish". "For Vander, all of life has been a denial of his authentic self - in short, a performance".

Reception

Upon release, ''Shroud'' was generally well-received by critics, including starred review from ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' and ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

''. Globally, ''

Complete Review ''Complete Review'' (stylized ''complete review'') is a literary website founded in March 1999. It is best known for reviews of novels in English translation, in particular drawing attention to otherwise neglected contemporary works from around th ...

'' stated there was "no consensus" from critics, "with many varied opinions ranging from those completely in awe to those who had many issues with the text".

Colm Tóibín Colm Tóibín ( , ; born 30 May 1955) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright and poet. His first novel, ''The South (novel), The South'', was published in 1990. ''The Blackwater Lightship'' was short ...

has stated that the book ought to have won Banville the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

References

{{John Banville 2002 Irish novels Novels about writers Novels by John Banville Picador (imprint) books