{"product_id":"the-gasteropod-paperback","title":"The Gasteropod - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMaggie Ross\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA gasteropod is a mollusc or snail, like the specimens whose shimmering shells the narrator of this unusual novel keeps carefully organized in a special room in his gloomy mansion. He also collects photographs, thousands of them carefully preserved in albums in chronological order, recording with a perverse obsession each ephemeral moment of his wife's existence, every embrace with her lover, every wrinkle and mark of decay as she enters middle age.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe novel takes place over the course of a single afternoon, as the narrator gazes on the pictures in a portrait gallery while he waits for the arrival of a woman with whom he has made a mysterious assignation. Through a series of flashbacks, his strange story gradually unfolds, like the convolutions of a seashell, leading to the final revelation of his macabre plan to make her the prize specimen of his collection ...\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaggie Ross's first novel, \u003cem\u003eThe Gasteropod\u003c\/em\u003e (1968), was critically acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for the best British novel of the year. This \"chilling, delicate novel\" (\u003cem\u003ePittsburgh Press\u003c\/em\u003e) that \"cannot fail to terrify its readers\" (\u003cem\u003eThe Austin American\u003c\/em\u003e) is a mesmerizing reading experience that will linger in readers' minds long after they have finished the book.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'The novel cannot fail to terrify its readers.' - \u003cem\u003eThe Austin American\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A literary marvel . . . a sharp, clever and devastating novel.' - \u003cem\u003eEl Paso Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A chilling, delicate novel . . . a fascinating experience in psychology.' - \u003cem\u003ePittsburgh Press\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A first novel of many shades and subtleties. If it makes you feel a bit claustrophobic, you can be sure it was meant to.' - \u003cem\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A first novel of impressive originality and accomplishment.' - \u003cem\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Macabre, well-observed and elegantly constructed.' - \u003cem\u003eBirmingham Evening Mail\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'This is a dense and intelligent first novel, full of oddness and technical experiment and glittering with small, clever detail.' - \u003cem\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A clever, witty and marvellously well-written book.' - \u003cem\u003eListener\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'The most skilful first novel by a woman since Iris Murdoch's\u003cem\u003e Under the Net\u003c\/em\u003e.' - \u003cem\u003eSpectator\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 194\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.45 x 8 x 5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 01, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47264412139769,"sku":"9781960241474","price":30.76,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0789\/2782\/3097\/files\/w0dCrNJeft9781960241474.webp?v=1768828686","url":"https:\/\/bookscloud.io\/products\/the-gasteropod-paperback","provider":"BooksCloud Book Dropshipping","version":"1.0","type":"link"}