Praise for May Our Joy Endure

Baroque and philosophical May Our Joy Endure captures the sensibilities and excesses of the elite A novel about the housing crisis told from the perspective of those causing it Lambert captures how the ultrawealthy justify their actions and sing their own praises while the population is crushed beneath their eloquent tapestry of lies Lamberts writing is lyrical and rapturous In this book he proves himself a satirical and whimsical Robespierre hailing from small town Quebec

Heather ONeill author of When We Lost Our Heads

Awardwinning Canadian novelist Lambert weaves a hypnotic narrative smoothly translated from French by Winkler about greed and inequality hypocrisy and not least a dangerous notion of purity An astute critique of entrenched power

Kirkus Reviews starred review

Lamberts latest novela finalist for the Prix Goncourtis a social satire about an architect who faces extreme blowback for her plans for a major Montreal public works project

Globe and MailThe Globe 100

Febrile provocative and incendiary are among the breathless adjectives used to describe the novels of this young writer from Chicoutimi May Our Joy Endure a Prix Goncourt finalist is a social satire involving an architect who faces extreme unanticipated blowback for her plans for a major Montreal public works project

Emily Donaldson Globe and Mail

At a time when many fiction writers feel pressure to write socially useful literature Lamberts refusal to deal in solutions feels like an invigorating slap in the face

Andr Forget The Walrus

An icy cerebral social novel that unfurls during the pandemic as the housing crisis in Montreal tips into catastrophe Equal parts Proust Woolf and Gossip Girl the novels intimate perspective roves between Cline and her employees confidantes and antagonists like a canny eavesdropper at a party showcasing Lamberts gimlet eye for the delusions and designer preferences of the one percent

Michelle Cyca The Walrus

Writing in the April issue of the Literary Review of Canada Amanda Perry called the awardwinning original Que notre joie demeure stylistically adventurous That also rings true for the seamless translation by Donald Winkler who renders Lamberts shifting aesthetic modes and formal experimentation with verve

Emily Mernin Literary Review of Canadas Bookworm

Like Bruegel and Blais Lambert uses a large cast of characters to depict societys complexities His gaze is oceanic homing in on individuals and zooming out to the systems within which they operate

Marisa Grizenko Montreal Review of Books

Like his previous works including Querelle of Roberval Kevin Lamberts new novel has garnered acclaim and won multiple awards in the original French A philosophical critique of the ultraprivileged it tells of a famous architect who returns to her hometown and creates a furor with a widely condemned Montreal megaproject

Attila Berki Quill amp Quire

Abrasive funny critical spirited and above all the showstopping output of a unparalleled literary talent its a challenging novel whose every page offers something to savour and value

Brett Josef Grubisic The Miramichi Reader

A translation that masterfully captures the quality of the original text As a reminder May Our Joy Endure brilliantly explores and satirizes the world of the ultrarich the galloping gentrification of neighborhoods and the incestuous and parasitic links between political and economic circles

Benoit Migneault Fugues

A truly unique and contemporary literary contribution to an important issue

Thalia Stopa Scout Magazine

Supremely cunning Between the cracks of its shifting perspective the books darkness seeps through and creates a narrative landslide the powerful come what may will remain in their ivory towers untouchable A novel that turns asphyxiation into a readers delight as long as we are willing to take the plunge

Juliette Einhorn Le Monde Paris

Its a very Proustian novel set in the age of reality TV Its a chilling portrait of our discourse around social justice today and it points out that sooner or later we might find ourselves on the wrong side of it

lisabeth Philippe Lobs Paris

Kevin Lambert gives us a pointillist painting of the ultrarich and their world even if they are rich and powerful they are nonetheless human beings with complexities paradoxes and contradictions in which they pickle as if in their own brine

Laurence Houot France Tlvision Paris

This book reminds us that literature doesnt have to look for culprits but that it should strive to point out the forces that weaken our solidarities

Dominic Tardif La Presse Montreal

Kevin Lamberts finely crafted literary edifice is intellectually brilliant forcing us to think about the privilege of some and the suffering of others

LouiseMaude Rioux Soucy Le Devoir Montral

Were talking about an architect and the metaphor seems obvious May Our Joy Endure is a multistory novel where we move from a balcony overlooking the world down to whats buried in the basement of our innermost thoughts

Jose Boileau Journal de Montral

Kevin Lambert offers a nuanced clearsighted critique of the selfrighteous elite in this dense novel that never falls into the trap of condemnation

AnneFrdrique HbertDolbec Chtelaine Montral

Praise for Querelle of Roberval

It has finally arrived the erotic Qubcois novel about labor conflict that weve all been waiting for The book is written in an icy style Try to find a surplus adjectiveI dare you It is not for the squeamish but or rather and is easily one of the best novels Ive read this year

Molly Young New York Times

As this offputting yet attractively written novel explores both meanings of the word union sex and domination are presented as conjoined compulsions that can lead to brutal forms of ecstasy

Sam Sacks Wall Street Journal

Structured as a reimagining of Greek tragedy Querelle of Roberval is a book that reads like a swift vivid dream The language is direct and cuts straight to the bone while dealing with passions both personal and professional Brutal and beautiful by turns this novel will grip readers from the first sentence all the way to its shocking conclusion

David Vogel Buzzfeed

Lamberts fearless novel is a profane funny bleak touching playful and outrageous satire of sexual politics labour and capitalism The book is brash beautiful quasimythic and tragic Most improbably for all its daring and provocation Querelle of Roberval is lyrically even tenderly written

Atwood Gibson Writers Trust Fiction Prize Judges Citation