Ravished, subtitled A Series of Reflections on Age, Sex, Death, and Judgement, is the second collection from Anna Vaught. These are peculiar tales, weird fiction, gothic, unusual, full of literary allusion, threaded through with classical and Welsh reference, occasionally starring the author's relatives and the Virgin Mary. Sometimes funny, morbid, potentially inspiring, Ravished is both revolting and pretty; both awful and yet optimistic in the stress it places on playful language and the abundance of the imagination. The stories explore revenge, angels, an encounter with faith, death and loss and are full of off-kilter experiences, such as a chat with the holy spirit on a bench, a love story in an embalming parlour, passing the time with the man who's going to bury you and why you should never underestimate the power of the landscape or the weird outcast you passed by.
Praise for Ravished
From West Wales to the Deep South of America, Vaught takes the reader on a remarkable journey where myriad voices speak of their lives and the end of lives. Intimate, chatty and confessional, folk tales lurk in the shadows and dark humour abounds. There is a genius and spirited juggling of language here - an inspired and inspiring collection which deserves to be savoured.
-Lucie McKnight Hardy, author of Water Shall Refuse Them and Dead Relatives
A rich, earthy collection of stories about death and desire, like sunlight on a dewy graveyard. Every voice is one to relish. Bold, eerie and melodic
-Kate Mascarenhas, author of Hokey Pokey
This collection of macabre little gems is a dazzling exploration of the ravishments of death. The sensation of the familiar being 'just a little off beam' stalks the stories, from the tale of Berenson who makes the mistake of looking behind him, to undertaker Evans the Bodies chatting happily to all his 'dead dears'. Fans of Flannery O'Connor will savour Vaught's relish for language and 'the Welsh plangency that loved the gob, or tang of death and what it yakked'. An uncanny and, yes, ravishing read.
-Kate Morrison, author of A Book of Secrets
Anna Vaught's stories are decidedly, delightfully odd. These teasing little vignettes venture towards the witchy and the weird, relish the lusciousness of outré language and take place in funeral parlours, embalming suites and strange houses which are home to mysterious people with second sight and unaccountable urges.
-Daily Mail
