Rent Shroud

Synopsis

All his life, a rude, bad-tempered old man named Axel Vander has taken delight in telling lies--particularly about his true identity, which is a secret he refuses to divulge. Then a young woman named Cass, who may be mad, and who is undeniably brilliant, threatens to expose him for who he really is, and Vander is forced to travel back into the past he has so carefully hidden away. The character Cass Cleave appears in Banville's previous novel, ECLIPSE. The character of Axel Vander, Banville implies in his acknowledgements, is based loosely on that of Paul de Man. A New York Times Notable Book for 2003.

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