Not For Every Eye

Hervé Jodoin in this short novel – one of the absolute classics of modern rev- olutionary and comic Quebec literature – has come to the town of Saint Joachim to work in its only book shop. The proprietor, M. Leon Chicoine, is seemingly respectable, but he is in fact the secret agent for free thought and liberty. His special, cherished wares are not for every eye… The confidence that M. Chicoine places in Hervé, complicated by Hervé’s having an affair with his landlady, leads to a row that involves the town priest and everyone else in Saint Joachim. A book by the subversive Voltaire has caused the crisis that is both wonderful and touchingly comic.

Gérard Bessette, a classic of Canadian literature, in his lifetime published criticism, novels, poetry, and short stories. Previously published in translation by Exile Editions are Incubation (which won the Governor General’s Award) and The Cycle.