Acknowledgements

First of all, my warmest thanks to P., for P. M., with whom I wandered my back roads with a glass of wine. A particular thank you to Y., an old friend who, unbeknownst to him, was my inspiration for the character of Vince.

I would also like to express my sincerest gratitude to the whole Éditions Québec Amérique team for their support and patience. A big thank you to Jacques Fortin, Caroline Fortin, Marie-Noëlle Gagnon, Mylaine Lemire, Nathalie Caron, and everyone else who worked behind the scenes to produce this novel.

Thanks also to the members of the Arachnide team for their own impeccable work. In particular, I would like to thank Noah Richler, who provided me such a warm welcome to the press. Many thanks, also, to Gemma Wain, Maria Golikova, and Joshua Greenspon. Deepest gratitude, at last, to J. C. Sutcliffe, for translating this novel without getting lost in any one of the paths less travelled I explore in it.

And finally, thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts for its financial support.