The text from Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain is from H. T. Lowe-Porter’s 1927 translation, as printed in the 1999 Vintage Classics edition. Simone Weil’s quote comes from Arthur Willis’s 1952 translation of Weil’s Gravity & Grace, as printed in the 1997 Bison Books edition.
I would like to express my profound appreciation to Jennifer Lambert and Noelle Zitzer at HarperCollins Canada, and Nicholas Pearson at 4th Estate, for so skilfully midwifing this book into being; to Jane Finigan for seeing potential in me and this story, and pushing me to realize it; to Imogen Sarre and Elinor Burns for their wisdom and steadfastness; to Brian Lobel for his friendship, and for inspiring the character Shawn; to Deborah Pearson for lending this story her voice more than once; to Patrick Eakin Young and Alice Kentridge for providing a home away from home while writing; to Emily McLaughlin and the New Work Department at the National Theatre for nurturing an early version of this story; and to the Canada Council for the Arts for vital support in completing a first draft. I am grateful for all that public arts funding makes possible, and to live in a society in which it exists.
My enduring love and gratitude to my mother and father, my brother, and my grandmother. To my boyo, Alistair. And my extraordinary friends, especially Jennifer Warren, whose voice I hear throughout this novel.
Finally, and above all, I offer my heartfelt thanks to James, for sustaining me through every stage of this book, for reading draft after draft, and proffering so many insights. Thank you for always believing in this story and these characters. This book would not exist without you. And I would not be the writer, nor the person, I am without the years of love, wonder, and adventure we shared.