The Heart is an Involuntary Muscle

Monique Proulx's last novel, Invisible Man at the Window, was first published in English in 1994. Following that is this brilliant, complex, witty, moving book about writing and writers. It was nominated for a 2002 Governor General's award when it was first published in French.

Florence doesn't like writers -- they're so full of hang-ups -- and she likes their books even less, those corpulent things that aren't even true. She only likes Zeno, but she'll never admit it, even under pain of death. Zeno is her partner in their small website construction business, Mahone Inc., which has the brilliant idea of putting lesser-known artists and writers back in the limelight.

Zeno, on the other hand, loves writers, especially Pierre Lalibertï??, the mysterious and mythic novelist who lives like a recluse while awards and trophies tarnish and gather dust waiting for him. Because of Zeno, because of a stolen sentence, Florence finds herself following a trail that could lead her to Pierre Lalibertï??, this impostor who pillages other people's lives as inspiration for his novels.

Proulx plays with the mystery genre, to write about literature and those who create it. But above all this is a book whose engaging characters pull us into their lives.

Monique Proulx is one of Quebec’s most popular authors. A novelist, story writer and screenwriter, she has published six works of fiction, including Sex of the Stars, The Invisible Man at the Window, Aurora Montrealis, The Heart Is an Involuntary Muscle, which was a finalist for the 2002 Governor General’s Award for fiction (French language) and a selection for the 2004 CBC Canada Reads competition, and Wildlives. She also won the 1993 Prix Quï??bec-Paris, le Signet d’Or de Plaisir de lire, le Prix des libraires du Quï??bec and le Prix littï??raire Desjardins. She lives in Montreal, Quebec.

David Homel has translated over 30 books, many by Quebec authors. He won the Governor General's Literary Award in translation in 1995 for Why Must a Black Writer Write About Sex? by Dany Laferriï??re; his translation of Laferriï??re's How to Make Love to a Negro was nominated in 1988; and he won the prize in 2001 with fellow translator Fred A. Reed for Fairy Wing. His novels, which include Sonya & Jack, Electrical Storms, and The Speaking Cure have been published in several languages. Homel lives in Montreal, Quebec.

International journalist and award-winning literary translator Fred A. Reed is a respected specialist on politics in the Middle East. He has reported extensively on Middle Eastern affairs for La Presse, CBC Radio-Canada and Le Devoir. He currently resides in Quebec.