Affairs of Art

Marguerite Andersen is a professor of French studies at the University
of Guelph.

This exquisitely crafted novel by Lise Bis-sonnette, publisher of Le
Devoir, begins with the funeral of the protagonist, Franзois Dubeau, an
art critic who has died of AIDS. Later Dubeau’s mother and seven other
characters gather in his apartment for the reading of a document.
Instead of the document, a letter surfaces. Written by Dubeau to a
former lover, it speaks of the men and women that he has loved; it also
relates the intellectual and artistic development of this passionate
man. Interwoven into the narrative are vivid evocations of the European
and Quebec art scenes.

Ultimately, this challenging book is about imposture: about cultural
impostors who play at being critics, about lovers who are unable to
love.