A thrillingly stylish and ambitious social novel about the downfall of a mega-rich architect by a provocative new voice in international fiction
'A novel about the housing crisis told from the perspective of those causing it... Lambert's writing is lyrical and rapturous' Heather O'Neill, author of When We Lost Our Heads
Céline Wachowski is in free fall. The internationally renowned architect, host of a hit Netflix show and charismatic liberal icon, has just unveiled plans for a major project in her hometown of Montreal - the ravishing new headquarters for a multinational tech company. It should be the jewel in her glittering crown; but an initial spark of dissent ignites into a full-blown scandal, with Céline's firm excoriated for destroying fragile communities, ushering in a new wave of gentrification and even deadlier crimes. As furious protestors and critical media chip away at her empire, Céline tries to shore up her splendid world that once seemed so secure.
With flowing prose that glints with irony, Kev Lambert infiltrates the upper echelons of society to depict the dreams and anxieties on which skyscrapers are built. This is a dazzlingly stylish social novel about the ways wealth shapes our world - and the seductive fictions of the powerful.
_________________________
Winner ofthe Prix Médicis, Prix Décembre and Prix Ringuet, and longlised for the Prix Goncourt
'Equal parts Proust, Woolf, and Gossip Girl, the novel's intimate perspective roves between Céline and her employees, confidantes, and antagonists like a canny eavesdropper at a party' The Walrus
