Praise forMay Our Joy Endure

Baroque and philosophicalMay Our Joy Endurecaptures 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 ofWhen 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 Reviewsstarred 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 ChicoutimiMay Our Joy Endurea 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 DonaldsonGlobe 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 ForgetThe Walrus

An icy cerebral social novel that unfurls during the pandemic as the housing crisis in Montreal tips into catastrophe Equal parts Proust Woolf andGossip Girlthe 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 CycaThe Walrus

Writing in the April issue of theLiterary Review of CanadaAmanda Perry called the awardwinning originalQue notre joie demeurestylistically adventurous That also rings true for the seamless translation by Donald Winkler who renders Lamberts shifting aesthetic modes and formal experimentation with verve

Emily MerninLiterary 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 GrizenkoMontreal Review of Books

May Our Joy Endureis a timely cultural interventiona scathing yet beautifully crafted critique of Qubecs elite and the forces of gentrification

Perspectives Journal

From its opening pages the novel offers a trenchant social critique in a chaotic unspooling of wordsLamberts prose is relentless as perspectives shift rapidly with scant stops for respite

Marcie McCauleyRain Taxi Review

Like his previous works includingQuerelle of RobervalKevin 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 BerkiQuill 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 GrubisicThe Miramichi Reader

A translation that masterfully captures the quality of the original text As a reminderMay Our Joy Endurebrilliantly 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 MigneaultFugues

Lamberts long and almost circular sentences spin and wrap around their characters while giving the book a stately Proustian air

Ancillary Review of Books

A truly unique and contemporary literary contribution to an important issue

Thalia StopaScout Magazine

Winner of the Prix Mdicis Lamberts sharp provocative third novel embeds evertimely themesgreed hypocrisy and privilegein a narrative that blends satire and lyricism whimsy and voyeurism

Hephzibah AndersonThe Observer

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 EinhornLe MondeParis

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 PhilippeLobsParis

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 TardifLa PresseMontreal

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 SoucyLe DevoirMontral

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

Jose BoileauJournal 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 HbertDolbecChtelaineMontral

Praise forQuerelle 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 YoungNew 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 SacksWall Street Journal

Structured as a reimagining of Greek tragedyQuerelle of Robervalis 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 VogelBuzzfeed

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 provocationQuerelle of Robervalis lyrically even tenderly written

Atwood Gibson Writers Trust Fiction Prize Judges Citation