So, by the 5 star rating its pretty clear I liked this book, I like it a lot... I mean a lot. The story itself it really good and interesting but the writing style of Nancy Huston was the cherry on top. The dialogue is fast paced and there was no filler. In a 260 page book there was more character development, more creativity, and more complex intertwining plot than books of almost twice the amount of pages that I've read. Masterful storytelling.

Each chapter is divided into three parts, each part follows a different character (Milo, Milo's grandfather Neil, and Milo's mother Awinita... did I spell Awinita right? Let me check... Yes, yes I did, awesome). Every one of these characters has a pretty intense story, Awinita is a prostitute dealing with two pregnancies and her leech of a boyfriend (Declan), Neil the lawyer and political activist who can't seem to write his "classic", and the main main (super main if you will) character Milo who is just hit with every tragedy life can throw at him. I think the author does an amazing job not only telling each individual's story but connecting them at various points.

All this is being told from Milo's lover's/friend's point of view, who is telling the story like he is directing a movie, mentioning camera angles and how the scene is set up. I've seen in the reviews a couple people didn't like that but I found it refreshing and creative.

I don't really have an negatives for this book, the only thing I can think of is that there is some French that is sometimes translated (two or three times) but for the most part isn't translated, personally I'm currently trying to learn French so I can just add this to my daily practice but for other people I can see that being a bit frustrating. Also, if you get uncomfortable with reading about child abuse, rape, incest, and homosexuality then I wouldn't recommend this for you, since they do go into some detail with each of those.

I absolutely love this book and I am very interested in reading more from this author. I received this book from a Good Reads First Reads giveaway. ( )

L'évocation alternée de trois générations, entre Irlande et Canada, poésie et cinéma, guerre, viol et prostitution, orphelinat et fin de vie. Un roman violent que magnifie la langue visuelle et sensuelle d'une des toutes grandes auteurs contemporaines. ( )