Both touchingly comical and extremely provocative, thisnovel deals with ennui in Quebec and the intellectual alienation of a disenchanted hero, Herve Jodoin. Jodoin has come to Saint Joachim to work in the town s only bookstore. The proprietor, Leon Chicoine, is a seemingly respectable man who claims to be the secret agent of free thought and liberty, keeping a collection of books for specific customers only. However, when Jodoin sells a book by a well-known, subversive author, the resulting crisis within the town involves not only Chicoine, but also the town priest and our hero s lonely landlady. This revised edition contains both English and French versions of the critical bibliography, a list of related readings, and chapter-by-chapter questions for discussion and essays."