There is the writer who is stranded in an airport of the South Island, he is held captive because of a delayed flight. And a teenage musician, a former child prodigy living on the streets with his dog, wonders where he will get his next meal. Then there is Petites Cendres, who no longer dances or sings and refuses to get out of bed to attend the coronation of the new Queen of Night.
By superimposing these three worlds, Blais continues her ambitious, compelling exploration of life in contemporary North America
MARIE-CLAIRE BLAIS (1939-2001) was the internationally revered author of more than twenty-five books, many of which have been published around the world. In addition to the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction, which she won four times, Blais was awarded the Gilles-Corbeil Prize, the Médicis Prize, the Molson Prize, and Guggenheim Fellowships. She divided her time between Key West, Florida, and Quebec.
Nigel Spencer is Marie-Claire Blais’ longtime translator and a three-time Governor General's Literary Award winner. He lives in Montreal, Quebec.