Paper Trail

By (author): Arleen Paré

Frances, a manager for a large corporation, appears to be very successful. But Frances finds her piece of mind unravelling as she becomes overwhelmed by the destructive bureaucratic nature of the work world she lives in. Frances starts to lose small body parts, hears mysterious Leider music booming throughout her workplace at random times during the day, and obsesses over the caymans that guard her office building. Meanwhile, her alter-ego has regular conversations with the ghost of Kafka, who is writing the manuscript which Frances appears in. Written halfway between poetry and prose, Paper Trail questions the rat race work ethic many of us adhere to, more often out of necessity than choice. Through the thoughts and deeds of Frances and her alter-ego, author Arleen Par&eacute demonstrates the stress and loneliness of modern society, and the profound impact this can have on a person’s sanity.

AUTHOR

Arleen Paré

Arleen Paré is the author of seven collections of poetry, including Paper Trail (NeWest Press, 2007), Lake of Two Mountains (Brick Books, 2014), He Leaves His Face in the Funeral Car (Caitlin Press, 2015), and First (Brick Books, 2021). Her work has been short-listed for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize and has won the American Golden Crown Award for Poetry, the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize, a CBC Bookie Award, and a Governor Generals’ Award for Poetry. She lives in Victoria, BC, with her wife, Chris.


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Frances, a manager for a large corporation, appears to be very successful. But Frances finds her piece of mind unravelling as she becomes overwhelmed by the destructive bureaucratic nature of the work world she lives in. Frances starts to lose small body parts, hears mysterious Leider music booming throughout her workplace at random times during the day, and obsesses over the caymans that guard her office building. Meanwhile, her alter-ego has regular conversations with the ghost of Kafka, who is writing the manuscript which Frances appears in. Written halfway between poetry and prose, Paper Trail questions the rat race work ethic many of us adhere to, more often out of necessity than choice. Through the thoughts and deeds of Frances and her alter-ego, author Arleen Par&eacute demonstrates the stress and loneliness of modern society, and the profound impact this can have on a person’s sanity.

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Details

Dimensions:

176 Pages
8.5in * 5.5in * 1in
1lb

Published:

May 01, 2007

Country of Publication:

CA

Publisher:

NeWest Press

ISBN:

9781897126134

Book Subjects:

FICTION / General

Featured In:

All Books

Language:

eng

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