In the Shape of a Man
by Paul Clayton
Rosemary’s Baby meets Revolutionary Road…
On the border between the necropolis of Colma, home to over two million dead souls and 1,794 somewhat live ones — and the gritty industrial working-class town of South City —
At 1015 Crestview, little seven-year-old Reynaldo cowers under the escalating abuse hurled by an adoptive mother who now sees him as a burden.
Allen, a workaholic Silicon Valley techie, seeks relief from domestic conflict by slipping away to sample the sweet brews at McCoy’s, a mysterious pub and Hell’s Angels hangout.
Up the street, young adults Rad and Tawny drift between the worlds of skateboarding and community activism, free love and commitment. Sampling Buddhism and squabbling with the relatives, they avoid thinking about the 15-foot Burmese python in their garage.
Does evil exist? Is it still with us? How would it manifest in modern life? This genre-bending novel of alienation and betrayal suggests that evil, as well as redemption, can come In the Shape of a Man.
Paul Clayton is the author of Carl Melcher Goes to Vietnam , which was short listed for a 2001 Frankfurt eBook Award, along with works by Joyce Carol Oates and David McCullough.
One Reviewer Notes
Paul Clayton is the author of a three-book historical series on the Spanish Conquest of the Floridas– Calling Crow, Flight of the Crow, and Calling Crow Nation (Putnam/Berkley), and a novel, Carl Melcher Goes to Vietnam (St. Martin’s Press), based on his own experiences in that war.
Carl Melcher Goes to Vietnam was a finalist at the 2001 Frankfurt eBook Awards, along with works by Joyce Carol Oates (Faithless) and David McCullough (John Adams).
Clayton’s latest book– White Seed: The Untold Story of the Lost Colony of Roanoke– is a work of historical fiction.
Paul currently lives in California, with his son and daughter.