May Our Joy Endure

A thrillingly stylish and ambitious social novel about the downfall of a mega-rich architect by a provocative new voice in international fiction 'Sharp, provocative... Embeds ever-timely themes - greed, hypocrisy, privilege - in a narrative that blends satire and lyricism, whimsy and voyeurism' Observer 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 '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

About the Author :
Kev Lambert (b. 1992) grew up in Chicoutimi, Quebec. May Our Joy Endure won the Prix Médicis, Prix Décembre, and Prix Ringuet, and was a finalist for the Prix Goncourt. Their second novel, Querelle de Roberval, was acclaimed in Quebec, where it was nominated for four literary prizes; in France, where it was a finalist for the Prix Médicis and Prix Le Monde and won the Prix Sade; and Canada, where it was shortlisted for the Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. Lambert lives in Montreal. Donald Winkler is a translator of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. He is a three-time winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for French-to-English translation. He lives in Montreal.

Review :
'Award-winning Canadian novelist Lambert weaves a hypnotic narrative, smoothly translated from French by Winkler, about greed and inequality, hypocrisy, and, not least, a dangerous notion of purity... An astute critique of entrenched power' - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) 'May Our Joy Endure captures the sensibilities and excesses of the elite. A novel about the housing crisis told from the perspective of those causing it... Lamberts writing is lyrical and rapturous. In this book, he proves himself a satirical and whimsical Robespierre, hailing from small town Quebec' - Heather O'Neill, author of 'When We Lost Our Heads' 'Merciless... Between the cracks of its shifting perspective, the books darkness seeps through and creates a narrative landslide: the powerful, come what may, will remain in their ivory towers, untouchable. A novel that turns asphyxiation into a readers delight, as long as we are willing to take the plunge' - Le Monde 'A cruel and brilliant fresco... a Proustian novel set in the age of reality TV' - L'Obs 'Virtuosic... One of our most subtle and perceptive novelists... Elegant and vicious... At a time when many fiction writers feel pressure to write socially useful literature, Lamberts refusal to deal in solutions feels like an invigorating slap in the face' - Andre Forget