The Future

Synopsis

In an alternate version of Detroit, the city was never surrendered by the French to the United States. Now struggling with pollution, poverty, and the remnants of a damaged industrial landscape, it is also a place where strange things happen: burned houses regenerate themselves, nature pushes back against the ruins, and abandoned children have created a hidden society among the trees.

Gloria arrives in the city searching for her missing granddaughters after the murder of her daughter. Her search draws her toward Parc Rouge, a dense wilderness where the city's orphaned children are rumoured to live by their own rules. The Future is an imaginative work of alternate history and speculative fiction about grief, resilience, community, and the possibility of rebuilding after catastrophe. Translated from the French by Susan Ouriou.

About the Author

Catherine Leroux is a Quebec novelist, translator, and editor based in Montreal. Her novels include The Party Wall, which was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and The Future, originally published in French as L'avenir. Her work moves between literary fiction and the speculative, often exploring memory, community, and alternative possibilities for the world around us. The Future won Canada Reads 2024 and is translated from the French by Susan Ouriou.

Publisher

Biblioasis

Publication Date

September 5, 2023

Format

Paperback

Pages

288

Subjects

Literary Fiction · Fiction in Translation · Speculative Fiction · Alternate History · Canadian Literature

ISBN

9781771965606