Kevin Lambert’s last novel, Querelle of Roberval, ended with infanticide, necrophilia, cannibalism, and the ritualistic, livestreamed suicides of three teen delinquents suffering from HIV/AIDS. Readers familiar with it (and its only slightly less violent predecessor, You Will Love What You Have Killed ) may be anxious to know how, in his latest novel, the ante can possibly be upped.
In May Our Joy Endure, the Québécois writer shifts his attention from the factory-town horrors of the Saguenay (where he was born and raised) to the more subtle monstrosities that lurk in Montreal West mansions. The book opens with a virtuosic party scene that carries on uninterrupted for sixty-two pages, in which Montreal luminaries gather in “a ravishing apartment, high ceilings, wood mouldings, white marble floors.” One of the guests is Céline Wachowski. As the narrative flits between the consciousnesses of the guests, we discover that Céline is many things: a feminist pioneer, a shrewd businesswoman, a television personality with her own Netflix show, and a celebrity architect whose company, Atelier C/W, has created stunning buildings in cities around the world, from San Francisco to Abu Dhabi. Céline is also suffering premonitions of disaster.
