Why read Querelle of Roberval?

Book cover of Querelle of Roberval

Book description

Shortlisted for the Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize

Homage to Jean Genet's antihero and a brilliant reimagining of the ancient form of tragedy, Querelle of Roberval, winner of the Marquis de Sade Prize, is a wildly imaginative story of justice, passion, and murderous revenge.

As a millworkers' strike in…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Querelle of Roberval as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Rachel A. Rosen

Author

A dark, queer psychosexual journey through a strike in a Quebec logging town. The prose manages to be spectacular even in translation, and the transposition of the hopeless struggle of man against the gods to the hopeless struggle of man against capitalism is as moving and validating as it is tragic.

From Rachel's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Shastri Akella

Author

Originally written in French, and translated by Donald Winkler, Querelle of Roberval is set in working-class Quebec, it has as its hero a young gay man, Querelle, who moves into the lumber town of Roberval.

The social dynamic of the town is upended as men both out and closeted are drawn to his Adonis-like beauty—so well-described that I fell in love with him. Meanwhile, as a mill strike causes the interclass tensions to rise. Winner of the Marquis de Sade Prize, this gem is an ode to Jean Genet, male beauty, and the literary form of the tragedy.

From Shastri's list on international queer heroes.