Exit Paperback – June 15, 2011

It would be disingenuous of me to not admit to a morbid curiousity motivating me to read this book. It was included by the Globe and Mail in a list of 100 must-read books (mostly Canadian, of course) written in 2011. The very brief blurb mentioned the subject matter (which didn't overwhelm me with interest)--suicide--with the added punch that the author, Nelly Arcan, committed suicide a short time after completing the book. Who could resist the compulsion to read what could be thought of as a possible suicide note?We read how Antoinette Beauchamp, a denizen of a not-too-remote-future Montreal, has always felt different. Due to the influence of a relative with a similarly vague, but intense discomfort with life, she realizes a compulsion to end hers. Eventually a chance is presented by a clandestine group that offers personalized, aided suicide. Her ironic choice of self destruction doesn't succeed, leaving her an invalid who renders a narrative laden with poignant commentary and slightly menacing otherworldliness.The resulting emotions for me after reading this book were akin to those I felt after watching the movie "The Crow," a profound regret that a great artist with huge potential was lost. I nearly gave this book a 5-star rating, and in truth feel that it deserved at the very least a 4 and three-quarters (but that is not an option on Goodreads). In fact, I can hardly remember a true flaw in the book, and perhaps rated it slightly below a perfect score because the main theme is likely to narrow the range of people interested in reading. This is a pity, as this book is--due in large part to the eloquence of the writing--far more than the sum of its parts. I would love to read this book in its original Quebecois.