The Shades: A Novel by Evgenia Citkowitz Presentation copy inscribed & signed by the author on the title page thus: "To Andrea, With best wishes, Evgenia Citkowitz"; W. W. Norton & Company USA 2018 1st ed/1st printing, 199pp., deckle-edged text sound, spine very slightly cocked & front board very slightly warped, slight bumping & rubbing to board corners, to the sides of both boards & to the top of the spine - heavier to the top & bottom of both boards & heavier still to the base of the spine, heavy bumping & rubbing to the front bottom left hand corner, elsewhere both boards a bit bumped & marked, the dust jacket is yellowed internally & externally, externally the jacket is rubbed & creased at the top of the front, rear & spine with slight scuffing to the corners & to the top & bottom of the spine, both the front & especially the rear are noticeably marked. Evgenia Citkowitz (born Eugenia Citkowitz; 1964) is an American playwright, author and journalist. Citkowitz's debut novel The Shades, a pyschological thriller, was published on 19 June 2018. The Shades covers the impact of a daughter's death on a family as they try to move on with their grief. Citkowitz stated that the purpose of the novel was to look into the "fragility of human existence" and the original story grew from the idea of "someone returning to their childhood home" that she then expanded upon. One of her primary focuses was to create characters that felt "authentic as people" in order to form empathy in the reader and also why she researched the intricacies of the fields and hobbies each of the characters practice in the novel, such as pottery. On 22 September 1990, Citkowitz married Julian Sands, an English actor; after being introduced by John Malkovich. Sands disappeared in January 2023 during a hiking trip. His skeletal remains were found and identified in June 2023. Will ship by Royal Mail 1st Class Signed for, well packaged. (£6.49/phyllida)