Longlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction 2015.
At birth, Nouschka forms a bond with her twin that can never be broken. At six, she's the child star daughter of Quebec's most famous musician. At sixteen, she's a high-school dropout kicking up with her beloved brother. At nineteen, she's the Beauty Queen of Boulevard Saint-Laurent. At twenty, she's back in night school. And falling for an ex-convict. And it's all being filmed by a documentary crew.
'An exuberantly written coming-of-age story ... Flashbulb-bright and memorable ... Nicolas and Nouschka are the beautiful, frozen, fetishised symbols of separatist Quebec. As they try to wrench themselves into being, their story is as entrancing and antic and sensual as a dream' Amity Gaige, Guardian
'Freewheeling novel strewn with whimsical details ... Nouschka's tough-talking vulnerability will make you want to stick by her side as she finds her way in life' Daily Mail
'Heather O'Neill does it again! O'Neill's voice is singular, brave, magical, and bursting with stark beauty Lisa Moore, author of February
'No one's depiction of the shady side of life is as luminous - or as heart-wrenching - as Heather O'Neill's Nancy Huston, author of Fault Lines
'Well-constructed book full of poetic quirks ... Her characters are personifications of Montreal and a dark mirror of celebrity culture Irish News
Author
About Heather O'neill
Heather O’Neill is a contributor to this American Life and her work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine. Her childhood was divided between Virginia with her mother, and Montreal with her father. She now lives in Montreal with her partner and her daughter.
