The Unknown Huntsman [Paperback]

A strange and anonymous narrator, an unnamed village, an unsolved murder, a mysterious huntsman, and a wisdom tooth extraction gone terribly wrong. There’s no shortage of intrigue in this offbeat debut novel by Jean-Michel Fortier. A bewitching story full of dark humor and laugh-out-loud absurdity,The Unknown Huntsmanis full of gossipy run-on sentences and snide remarks from the narrator. It reads like an allegory or dark adult fairy tale, and its motto could be: "If you don’t want answers, don’t ask questions."

"A thoroughly enjoyable read . . . If you like offbeat, avant-garde humour with a little darkness, thenThe Unknown Huntsmanwill appeal . . . translator Katherine Hastings has performed a worthy service to English readers, for I cannot imagine this book being any more humorous in its original language." —James Fisher, miramichireader.ca

“A debut novel that deserves a place alongside the best, The Unknown Huntsman breaks with traditional conventions of genre and narration, its avant-garde style bringing an exciting new perspective to Quebec literature. A must for readers for whom literature is a weapon of mass instruction.” —Émilie Pilote, Les Méconnus

"A surreal, offbeat look at life in a small, unnamed village . . . This is an intriguing and original novel, the ending of which does not wrap things up neatly so much as introduce an entirely new level of absurdity." —Publishers Weekly

"An absurdist fable bringing to mind Pirandello, Fortier’s debut is a dark commentary on community and intolerance." —Jade Colbert,Globe & Mail

"The absurdity, irony, and dark humour make this an exuberant novel and a compelling read.The Unknown Huntsmanis . . . highly original, shifting between levity and darkness with a masterful hand."lƒ½