Критик из Монреаля Кевин Ягерноут представил дебютный роман «Длиннейшая смерть»

Ottawa-born Kevin Jagernauth is a Montreal-based film critic who has written for The Film Verdict, Ioncinema and The Playlist. His debut novel, “The Longest Death,” was released in June by Spiderline, House of Anansi’s crime fiction imprint. Giller Prize winner Sean Michaels called the queer heist novel “a sly love-letter to the Golden Age of hard-boiled fiction.” In it, unassuming clerk Richard Cobson begins his life of crime innocently enough. He pockets four quarters and a $1 bill out of the petty cash from his employer, the Eddy & Dowd Safe Deposit Company. Over time, the amounts he skims increase, and buying steak dinners as a reward for his intrepidity lose their appeal. Closeted and hoping to assimilate into postwar life in small-town Riverton, Richard soon begins to yearn for things that his meagre salary and station fail to provide. “Out there,” Jagernauth writes, “he could pretend Riverton’s munificence was enough, he could pretend he was just like the rest of them, stroll and wave and give the performance of the easygoing neighbour, the gracious local. But in here, the stage makeup came off, and the stranger’s disguise fell away. In here was every reminder that staying in Riverton meant he couldn’t truly live the way he wanted.” Possibility and freedom come to Richard in the form of Marlon Montgomery, an outsider who has just started working at Eddy & Dowd. Their innocent office flirtation soon blooms into the most dangerous of possibilities: true love. “Marlon started weaving this tapestry by gently touching Richard’s arm and not being brushed away,” Jagernauth writes. “It stirred in Richard the courage to do the same, and together they slowly built an unspoken language between them, a terminology of touch so rich that when they let their fingers linger, they could’ve sworn they heard the thunder of the other’s heart beating in their ears. After Richard and Marlon hatch a plan to rob Eddy & Dowd’s vault, others catch on to the lovers’ scheme and decide they deserve a cut. What did you last read and what made you read it? I’m someone who religiously reads books in my to-read pile in order. Last up was “People Who Eat Darkness” by Richard Lloyd Parry. The non-fiction book is not just an investigative look into the life and death of Lucie Blackman, a woman from the U.K. who travelled to Tokyo to work as a hostess and was murdered. It’s also an exploration of grief as a force of nature … and at the heart of it all, a killer who refused to follow any conventions of the Japanese legal system. It’s a terrific work of reportage and a page-turning read. What book would your readers be shocked to find in your collection? Perhaps the biggest curio/treasure on my shelf is Aline Bernstein’s “Three Blue Suits.” She’s probably more known as being Thomas Wolfe’s mistress and muse. She also wrote as well, and this old, very much out-of-print paperback collection of her short stories was a lovely gift from a former partner. When was the last time you devoured a book in one, or very few, sittings? Claire Keegan’s “Small Things Like These,” which I read in a single, wintry afternoon. Granted, it’s a novella, but her writing is so pinprick-precise it demands attention and just as much indulgence as a doorstop. Who’s the one author or what’s the one book you’ll never understand, despite the praise? As a debut author, I’m not out here looking to make enemies. But I will say that for the longest time, I put off reading Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet because the covers of the North American editions are just awful. I hadn’t known much about the series except for the buzz and popularity they had spurred. From the covers, I assumed it was a lot of treacle. Thankfully, I got over myself, bought each of those books with the disagreeable covers, and discovered a truly outstanding read. What’s the one book that has not garnered the success that it deserves? I’m not particularly plugged into the scene, so maybe it got its roses, but I really thought Francis Spufford’s “Golden Hill” should’ve been a much bigger deal. It won some awards and landed on some shortlists, but it’s the kind of historical fiction that makes you feel the dirt on its hands. It’s a charming, inventive, wholly enjoyable story and I’m genuinely surprised Hollywood hasn’t yet optioned it for a film or series. What book would you give anything to read again for the first time? “Middlemarch.” There’s before you read it, and after — it truly defines “masterpiece.” When you were 10 years old, what was your favourite book? I was probably really diving into Stephen King at that age, borrowing his books at a prodigious rate from the library. I’m not sure I had a particular favourite book around that time, but it was definitely an era when I was open to everything and going through anything I could get my hands on. What fictional character would you like to be friends with? With my first book I’ve learned that long after you’ve stopped typing, the characters are still revealing themselves to you. Either from thoughts from readers, or just finally having a moment to be at a distance from the work, characters take on new shapes and dimensions. Gloria from my own novel continues to intrigue me with her hard-earned worldliness coupled with an occasional innocence. I think she would be a devoted friend, with a penchant for well-intentioned mischief, even if I might not always agree with her choices. Do you have a comfort read that you revisit? I don’t generally reread books — there’s still so many I have to get to! What was the last book that made you laugh or cry? Miriam Toews’ “Women Talking.” There is a passage by August in the story’s conclusion about Ona that has stuck with me as one of the most beautiful and wrenching confessions of devotion. What is the one book you wish you had written? “Lonesome Dove.” It carves a storytelling path between beautiful and brutal with unforgettable characters, humour, wisdom and a setting as wide as the horizon. What three authors living or dead would you like to have a coffee with? First up would be Thomas Wolfe of “Look Homeward, Angel” fame. That novel was seminal for me and both Wolfe, and his fictional stand-in Oliver Gant, are known for their huge appetites. I would want to watch him eat and consume gallons of coffee. Next would be Thomas Hardy, for what I would imagine would be a gentle, pastoral setting. And going contemporary, I feel Ottessa Moshfegh or Katie Kitamura would be delightful hangs. Come to Montreal! Let’s get a drink! What does your definition of personal literary success look like? For me, making it this far is more than I could’ve ever imagined. After I had a manuscript that I felt was polished enough, I spent months trying to find an agent, only to receive precisely zero offers of representation. It was a blow, but I made my peace and was ready to put “The Longest Death” in a drawer. That’s when I heard about an open call from House of Anansi. And thankfully, my editor Doug Richmond and the entire team believed in the book. That this all happened just as I was ready to sunset the manuscript feels like a miracle. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. 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