A Fine Ending

by Louis Rastelli

In his powerful debut novel, Louis Rastelli presents the story of a twentysomething struggling musician who drifts through Montreal's music scene. It's the end of the nineties, the end of the 20th century, and the end of an era in the city's Plateau / Mile End district. Rastelli spins spontaneous tales of the artists and musicians, drunks and junkies, and punks and yuppies made neighbours by gentrification. A calamitous ice storm and the looming Y2K are pondered between rounds at the local bar. An apartment is the scene of an impromptu cabaret one night and a church service the next. As the narrator races to save a friend's cats from appallingly casual human cruelties, he tests his faith in those around him, finding hints of solace in abandoned buildings and the home movies of strangers. In a voice that transcends the vernacular yet stays remarkably true to it, Rastelli captures the fin-de-siécle mood while remaining both wise to and untainted by the apathy and cynicism of the times. Singularly evocative.

328 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2007

Reviews

[krista dias · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cant believe more people haven’t read this and the reviews arent better! It may not be a riveting page turner but I really enjoyed my time with this book. Its so good and truly feels like a time capsule of the 90s in Montreal, a place I have never been and a time I wasn’t able to experience, but thanks to this book I was able to have a taste and drink from Louis’s glass. The writing/narrative style of the story was reminiscent to me of Kerouac, where the main character is the author and he is simply logging his story through time as his life weaves in and out with those around him. The story really touches on gentrification and how it was to experience that firsthand, which I found compelling considering the social/economic climate. Also, lots of cats and some of it is sad. 5/5 stars cant wait to read it again someday :)

[Kai M · Rating 3 out of 5]

WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK
I chose this book because the cover artwork really caught my attention when browsing through my teacher’s book library. The art style and color looked interesting and I am currently interested in reading more realistic-fiction books.

SUMMARY
Louis, a young man, has recently returned to his hometown of Montreal. Throughout the story, we follow Louis around as he tries to navigate re-kindling his relationships with past friends and work through other issues that have come with returning to Montreal. Louis takes a passion in the local music scene, a place where he can find comfort from the harsh streets. This gives him the opportunity to travel, realizing how other places in the U.S. treasure their culture and values, much different from Montreal. He also loves animals, and takes care of many cats throughout the book, this experience really moves him and softens his heart. However, Louis struggles in his battle against substance abuse throughout the story, he often finds himself out drinking at bars well into the morning, then waking up and smoking the next day. His friends don’t help out either as they encourage him to take mushrooms and other drugs. He also has difficulty settling in, as he finds himself moving apartments frequently, whether that be a falling out with the manager, or his roommates taking heroin and other drugs. Not only that, but he deals with multiple losses from people and things that he was the most close to. Louis has to endure all this while still dealing with the craziness of Montreal, riots in the streets, big winter storms, power outages, the hookup culture, and the drugs and junkies.

WHAT WORKS
Some things that I enjoyed about this novel are the harsh realism of the book. Rastelli does an incredible job in showing the narrators experience and struggles throughout the book. You really can create a clear picture of what Louis is experiencing, whether that be his struggles, thoughts, or emotions. You often get to experience how Louis feels high, drunk, or off shrooms. The problems that Louis faces throughout the book feel very realistic, and you could see how one might get themselves into a situation such as his. It also exposes the reader to a darker side of Montreal, revealing many of its issues and how someone could be affected by them. For example, a riot in the streets or a huge snowstorm, or a big bar fight. Another thing that works well is the sheer amount of struggles the narrator faces. It feels like Louis is constantly faced with a new problem or struggle, you can really tell how much of a toll it takes on Louis, almost overwhelming him. Again, adding to the realism of his situation as he is faced with multiple, difficult challenges, not a single trouble he has to iron out.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK
Sadly, there were many things that I was disappointed in about this book. The repetitiveness being the first one. There isn’t one chapter where Louis doesn’t go out to drink, smoke, or take mushrooms. I understand that this is a reality for many people, but it gets boring how much he’s out at a bar or smoking with friends. I just wish that this wasn’t such a main and important part of the book. Some of the plot points and struggles are also repeated throughout the story. His best friend, Liora, goes away multiple times, leaving him in charge of taking care of her pets. A second issue that gets repeated is moving apartments. He moves places at least 3 different times, all with different roommates, making it even harder to follow the plot. Another issue is how there isn’t a main conflict Louis is facing throughout the whole story. He’s faced with challenges, but they are small and insignificant, only lasting a few chapters at most. This takes away from the suspense and often makes it feel like what Louis is doing isn’t important. It feels like a show with multiple sub-plots, not one overarching issue. A third thing that doesn’t work is the amount of characters in the book. Louis meets a lot of new people in the book, making the story hard to follow because of the difficulty in remembering all the characters, especially if they aren’t in a couple of chapters. For example, Louis is in a relationship with 3 different girls throughout the story. The number of characters also takes away from the character building of many characters. It’s hard to feel any tension or emotional connection with many of the characters that aren’t in every chapter. For example, one of the side characters hangs himself towards the end of the story. He’s a childhood friend of Louis’s but since we only met him a chapter or two before, it’s hard to have any emotional attachment to him, and we barely even know him. I'm disappointed in how the book feels like a piece of his life. Although his life is interesting enough to make a book out of, the lack of a main problem makes the book feel tedious.

[Joe Bendigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming picaresque of anglo Plateau in the 90's

[Justin Jose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read the book b/c it was about a guy in his 20s living in Montreal during the late 90s. I thought it would be nice to recall some of my days at McGill and Montreal. Not really a great book.

[Louis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth it for the Montreal scenes, it reminded me of my undergraduate days walking up and down the Main in and out of bars and friend's apartments and climbing the Mountain at night. Interesting fellow.

[Golda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing is really good, and the plateau in the 90s, too real!!! Thank you Louis for writing this book.