Face/Mask

by Gabriel Boutros

Montreal in the year 2039. Like most major cities, the air is poisonous. On the other side of the planet, the war on terror rages with no end in sight. A devastating attack on Canadian soil leads to the installation of a militaristic administration. Civil rights are curtailed and the justice system is rife with corruption. In the middle of this decaying world lives Allen Janus: husband, father, bureaucrat and backstabber. In a moment of petty vindictiveness he will betray the people who love him, setting the lives of everyone in his family on a tragic course.
Gabriel Boutros, author of The Guilty, brings you a story about how lies can entrap both the deceiver and the deceived.

Genres: Dystopia

344 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 5, 2014

About the author

I spent 24 years working as a defence attorney in Montreal, but I've also been an avid reader and writer for most of my life. To date I've written two full-length novels and several shorter stories.
My first book was "The Guilty" which, I'm proud to say, received very positive reviews, both on GoodReads as well as Amazon.com. The story is loosely based on a multiple-murder that occurred in Montreal in the 1990s, and it takes the reader behind the scenes at a murder trial to reveal what one lawyer must do when he has to defend "The Guilty."
My latest novel is Face/Mask, a dystopian drama about our decaying world in the near future and how the poison in the air is mirrored in the poison in one man's soul. It's a bit dark and grim, but that's just a reflection of the possible future that's in front of us.
You can sample some of my writing here, and all of my short stories are posted on my website.

Reviews

[Brittany McCann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the concept of this book, and it was written very well. However, the only character that I really liked was Joe. The rest of the characters made it easy to dislike them, which made it hard for me to really connect with the book.

Some of the timeline jumps had me flipping back and forth on my Kindle to figure out the time difference and whether the story was continuing from where it left off. I did love the futuristic setting and the government conspiracy theories.

I would have liked to see more about how situations were in other countries as opposed to Canada/US snippets.

3 stars

[Cathrina Constantine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Gabriel Boutros paints a plausible, grim picture of the future in this dystopian tale. The air noxious due to terrorist bombings, whereas, face masks must be worn on most days. And the origin of pulmonary ailments that end in early deaths.
Mr. Boutros must've researched extensively or is quite knowledgable about the judicial system, and politics. Face Mask is littered with deception, bribery, injustice, and corruption. Many characters are depicted and come together in this thought-provoking book.
I disliked the MC, Allen Janus, and I assume that was the author's intent. I held no sympathy for the adulterous coward, but felt strongly for his family. (I loved the character, Joe)
Face Mask is not overly stuffed with dialogue, but an interesting and intriguing read that makes me wonder daily about the imminent future.

[Pearson Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Face/Mask
Author: Gabriel Boutros
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 120,000 words
Rating: 4 stars


Who Speaks for Decency?

In "Face/Mask" Gabriel Boutros has created a disturbing, thought-provoking dystopian extrapolation of present-day political, cultural, and sociological reality. No one is pure, no one seeks the Common Good, but neither does anyone act out of pure malice. Decency is served in the frail form of a tortured man, barely alive, delivered to his family on Christmas Day, 2039. The man is a metaphor, as are many players in this tightly-drawn but slow-to-start novel. If not for the disorganised first third of the story, this book could have become an instant classic. I recommend this novel to all Canadian readers, though I advise that the first part of the story may seem a bit clunky.

Who speaks for decency? The question is frequently asked north of the border, though more often framed with slightly different wording. No one in "Face/Mask" speaks for decency, and only one man embodies it. While there is a villain, of inevitable national identity, there are plenty of sub-villains and evil acolytes to go around, and no particular culture or group is singled out. When the architect of the major world-shaping event of 2018 is finally revealed late in the book, Boutros immediately portrays one of the lesser bogeymen designing and carrying out the same kind of vile act in miniature. The none-too-subtle lesson is that, as much as we might like to do so, we cannot blame idiotic, powerful foreigners for our troubles. One of the characters late in the book is denounced as 'two-faced'. The protagonist himself is given a name attesting to his dual nature: Allen *Janus*. Everyone wears a mask. Everyone shows multiple faces to the world.

Who speaks for Peace, Order, and Good Government? In the early 20th century, Canada could look to heroes like Sam Steele. But by the early 21st century, whatever cultural bonafides the RCMP had inherited from the 1920s Mounties had been destroyed by mismanagement and rather unsavory collusion in the clandestine acts of foreign agencies. The torture of Maher Arar, the deadly tasering of Robert Dziekanski, and other brazen abuses of police authority stand in stark contrast to Sam Steele's history of never having drawn his service revolver in the 50+ years he served as head of the Mounties. In "Face/Mask," the RCMP are now the "Re-Constituted Military Police," and they are the ugly spearhead of a Canada based in fear, oppression, and torture.

"Face/Mask" depicts the mosaic quilt that is Canada as having been irreversibly torn in half by the world-shaking event of 2018. Little remains of the Anglophone/Francophone tension that has long defined relations on either side of the Ottawa River. When one character accuses the protagonist of being an American, Janus insists, "No, I'm from Ontario." The character snorts, "C'est la même chose." ("That's the same thing.") One might envision a present-day Québécois using exactly these words, but in "Face/Mask" the character's words are like a ghost from a distant and irretrievable past. It was on reading this verbal slap in the face to Janus' cultural identity that the question "Who speaks for decency?" came to my mind.

Montréal, where the story takes place (and Mr. Boutros' hometown), is not only the second largest French-speaking city in the world, but it is physically located six hours from Toronto and three hours from Québec City; essentially, it is the hub between two cultures. The event of 2018 destroys the balance. The need to ensure security creates a political vacuum quickly filled by the most virulent strains of political extremism. But the real aim is cultural dominance, as proven by the antagonist's 'bank robbery' analogy at the end of the novel. "Our [bank] tellers weren't hurt," the bad guy says, meaning the people of *their* culture, not ours, were taken out. The antagonists' words grate because the man he's addressing, his Canadian subordinate, is of 'their' culture, not his.

Who speaks for decency? Rex Murphy, the famous political commentator, gave his opinion in 2004, in an hour-long piece that drew tears as well as sober appreciation of his man's many accomplishments as intellectual architect of the Just Society and primary advocate for bilingualism and multiculturalism. These have certainly come into acceptance as Canadian ideals, but I believe "Face/Mask" goes further, positing that multiculturalism is necessary to cultural and political survival. The nearly complete destruction of one cultural entity and the imprisonment of another, as depicted in the novel, creates an imbalance that destroys the very basis of Canada.

There are many ways to interpret the events of the novel. One could defend an Us versus Them interpretation. Readers could see in this story an allegory of human selfishness and self-destruction, or even metaphorical allusions to hope and redemption. The parallels to dystopian classics are strong, with both subtle and explicit references to "1984" and "Brave New World," among others. One need not be Canadian to enjoy the story, but probably the fullest appreciation will be gained by those with some fluency in Canadian history, politics, and culture.

If you enjoy stories that stimulate thought, and if you have the patience to make your way through the first hundred pages, I believe you will find this story rewarding, challenging, and immensely entertaining. I give two stars for the first third of the novel, but a full five stars for the middle and final thirds, an overall total of four stars.

I received a free copy of the ebook version of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Four stars.

[Bruno Goncalves · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hovered between giving this novel two or three star, and so decided to let a few hours pass by before writing this review. I’m glad that I did this, since it allowed me to evaluate the work more objectively.

Here are my final thoughts:

Despite being high on narrative and low on dialogue, and also excessively descriptive in the way it lays out a very smoggy future, Face/Mask nevertheless has a very elaborate back-story, one solid enough to act as a stable anchor for all the events taking place there. However, being highly descriptive, the reading was slow and difficult at first, since I was relegated to the passive role of soaking up articles of fact and back-story. At this point I can’t say I was enjoying myself and I would have stopped if not for the fact that I’d committed myself to finishing it.

I ended up giving it three stars: I can’t say I disliked the book, but I can’t say I really enjoyed it either. There is simply no humor, there’s an enormous amount of narrative and there are no heroes.

And yet the fact that there are no heroes is also its saving grace.
Where are the heroes of the future? Well, Face/Mask certainly isn’t a book about them. This work is a serious look into a possible future, one which stands as a warning to us all. The pace is slow and plodding, the mood bleak and depressing, the characters deeply flawed. Yet there are no stock characters here, each one has his or her own complexity, personal belief system and history. The plot doesn’t progress predictably or fall into well-established devices either. In sum, this is a serious, well-written work, and the hours after I finished reading it had me thinking a little about such a future and dreading it.

I suspect that, for hard-core dystopian fans at least, this work may be relevant.

However, there are simply too many points against it for me to award more than three stars. Face/Mask reminds me a bit of The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling in that way. In other words, the book is exceedingly well written and the characters are portrayed in a very realistic light, but I was left without much empathy for them because of this. Those that did attract my empathy are the unsuspecting victims of all the characters’ foolish/cruel decisions. A very bleak book indeed.

Another issue is that the increase in tension is sabotaged by the plodding pace and before I knew it, I was already shifting around the aftermath searching for the climax. For all effective purposes that climax had already happened; it was a fizzle, and all that I am left with is the mood. This was not enough in itself for me to enjoy the book.

A last issue I have is with the suddenness of perspective shifts. The action jumps a bit from one scene to another, or one perspective to another, without the slightest prompt or space as warning. This is a little jarring, since every once in a while I found that I was no longer in A but in B and already deep into it.

In all, I’d say that Face/Mask isn’t a book for everyone, not even for those who enjoy dystopian dramas, but I allow that it’ll probably leave most of you wondering…

I received a free copy of this book for an honest and objective, non-reciprocal review.

[David Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Face/Mask is a distopian future book in the tradition of 1984. A never ending war has slowly eroded freedoms and shadowy figures in the background manipulate events to maintain power. In the middle of all this one man finds himself lost in a land that demands people maintain the proprietaries.

Face/Mask makes some wonderful commentary on population control and current events. What is truly troubling is the fact that as I was reading I could see the events portrayed to be not that far off from a possible reality. I found myself wondering how the protagonist would inadvertently cause his world to spiral further out of control with morbid curiosity that kept me reading. After days of thinking about it I am still undecided on the ending. Gabriel Boutros is either a master of the ambiguous ending or the ending was forced into a realm that didn't seem to belong in this book. I'm still not sure and maybe that was the idea.

If you are a fan of the genre, you will enjoy Face/Mask.

[Fannin Callahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It is a dark ride, set against the backdrop of a near-future world, a world with an out of control political heirarchy, unbreathable air, and bigotry as the norm. The author, Gabriel Boutrous, did an excellent job in detailing what it would be like to live in such a society. Really, he gave much more detail than you typically find in this type of story. This is the kind of world building that is more commonly found in seriously good "high fantasy", so if these kind of details matter to you as a reader, you will appreciate the complex, yet very real future Mr. Boutrous has created for us.

Now about characters. You will find no cardboard cut-outs here. This is the kind of character building that makes you feel as if you are reading about people that you know, or could know.

It is a little slow to get started, but once it does, it really takes off. I highly recommend this novel.

[Brian Malbon · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Face/Mask, Gabriel Boutros has created a believable futuristic  world that feels as real and lived-in as any of the best of dystopian fiction. I'm a sucker for excellent world-building, and it's a delight to discover an author who takes an interest in filling in the little details that make the world come alive.
The perfectly conceived world in question is Montreal in the year 2039, where Beijing-like levels of pollution have left the air unbreathable to the point that air masks are required in order to go outside, Canada has been quietly and effectively annexed by the United States, the War on Terror is still in full swing after more than three decades and Muslims have been rounded up and interned in camps. It's a bleak picture, and a wholly believable one (I had one terrific chuckle when, in the middle of a standard jack boots - and - black - helicopters midnight raid to arrest an innocent man, a member of the military police takes a moment to apologize to the man's family. Of course, the Canadian Gestapo would be polite as hell), and the most eerily prophetic part of this terrible future is that NOBODY CARES about any of it. The worse things get in the world of Face/Mask, the more the attitude of "eh, but whattaya gonna do?" seems to prevail. And that is true of our own time as well.
Filling out the world are a kaleidoscope of interesting characters - Sahar, the beautiful Muslim prostitute/underground freedom fighter, Uncle Joe, a kindly old man whose efforts to make life better for all those around him put him unwittingly on the wrong side of the law, a corrupt cop, a slimy Muslim double agent and  pair of even slimier white enviroterrorists. There's also a missing microchip of Top Secret Information that the government is desperate to retrieve.
It all revolves around Allen Janus, the one common thread in all of these stories, a mid level government employee, husband, father of three and the most dispicable human being any of these unfortunate souls are ever likely to meet. So inured against the realities of the world around him that he literally does not realize he lives in a police state, Janus' only contributions to the plot consist of committing the most amazingly misguided acts of passive/aggressive douchebaggery, and then recoiling in horror when these terrible things he does have wider - reaching consequences than he had intended. I won't give away anything more, except to say that it's a very unpleasant head to spend time inside, and while that's entirely the point, I would have preferred less of him and more of Sahar and Uncle Joe.

[Winifred Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is great about this book isn’t just that its extrapolation of current political and military trends is so chilling, and plausible, but the complex web that it weaves of unintended consequences. It’s a character study of a man who deals with his boredom and powerlessness first by experimenting with risky vices, and then in an effort to cover up the results of that, or to deal with his guilt, he does something even more despicable—but still fairly harmless, he believes—which sets off more consequences he has to seek redemption for and cover up. I loved the way his actions kept connecting with other people’s actions in ways that he could have never guessed, because those other people were keeping secrets too. Just about everyone in this book has a secret. The world is one of rampant corruption. Even characters who are clearly disgusted with the political oppression just keep going along with the lies and collecting their bribes. But not everyone keeps a secret for selfish or expedient reasons. Janus’s wife, and eventually even Janus, keep secrets to protect other people too. The result, as I said, is a complex web of secrets and unintended consequences that hangs on basic human emotions: fear, jealousy, sexual desire, but also idealism. It’s this that raises Face/Mask above most dystopian novels.

That said, there are problems with the book. It was hard to get into it. There are long passages at the beginning where the author tells too much, shows too little, and jumps around in time so that I had to look back at the dates on the chapters to try to keep the story straight. Also, Janus comes off as very unlikeable, especially at the beginning, so I had a hard time caring what happened to him. And I think he could have been more of an everyman, a better husband and father, and still made all the mistakes he makes. I might have put the book down if I hadn’t been given a copy of it to review. So I soldiered on, and then I did become completely enthralled as the story settled into a more chronological flow, the connections began developing and expanding, and Janus grew into more of an everyman, as surprised as I by the perfection of the end.

So in spite of its flaws, I recommend this book for its portrayal of a terrifying future that nevertheless resonates with the realities of today and its exploration of the way many of the things we do don’t work out anything like we expected or planned.

[Bill Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dystopia
1.noun [dis-top-pee-uh], a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.
I’m interested when I see such divergent views about the very qualities of a book. This book has varied reviews sometimes 2 stars and as high as 5 stars. Whenever I see such disparity, I’m curious.
When I see some of the lower reviews on this, I’ve noticed people saying things like “I couldn’t identify with the characters” or “I couldn’t like the character”. Is liking the character what’s it’s all about? Isn’t the very fact that this creates controversy in peoples’ minds, the thing that makes this book better?
Misery. Every day people are reminded of their past excesses. Pollution is so bad that the weather report includes green, yellow or red warnings; everyone carries a mask to survive.
Oppression. Segregation has been carried to an extreme. The Muslim community of Montreal is a regulated community with security to keep the potential bad guys under control.
Disease. Heavy pollution and acid rain have led to many dying of breathing problems. Hence the development of dedicated Chest clinics.
Gabriel Boutros has painted this cynical view of a future Montreal in which we have our key character, Allen Janus, a man who can do no right.
Janus is a family man who needs some excitement in his life. And he gets his wish – over and over and over again. His greed, self-indulgence, and ultimately his corruption are simply a symptom of his environment. It surrounds him and almost destroys him.
I gave Boutros’ first book four stars, and it was more in his wheelhouse. Although Face/Mask is not an easier read, and the characters are not likeable, it’s ultimately a better read for me. A solid 9 out of 10.

I received the book free from the Goodreads 'For Love of a Book Group' and the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Felix Savage · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book bizarrely readable. Why bizarrely? I did not like a single thing about it. Not the adulterous, wizened-spirited protagonist who goes so far as to shop a family member to the authorities; not his boring family; not his mistress, who is the closest thing we have here to a "good" character; not even the saintly Uncle Joe (he was too saintly to feel like a real character at all). I certainly did not like the dystopian future setting, where the air in Canada is so filthy that all must wear masks outside, all the infrastructure is falling apart, and you can only get fresh food on the black market. There was a subplot about eco-terrorists, and I did not like that either. At this point you may be thinking this reviewer is the one with a wizened spirit :) However, hear me: this dystopia is like a stereotypical Daily Kos reader's nightmare. All this environmental destruction and totalitarian social control, you see, has come about as a result of an indefinitely extended war on terror and accompanying fossil fuel abuse. (All Muslims have been rounded up into ghettos! Rather tricky to implement, given that Islam is a religion not an ethnicity.) It's very North America-centric, and not in the least plausible.

But! But. I wanted to keep reading. This is one of those books which you just have to finish in order to find out whether any / all of these horrible people will get their comeuppance.

So. Three stars, for being toxically compulsive. Or should that be compulsively toxic?

Caveat: I am not a major dystopian-sf fan. Hardcore dystopian readers would enjoy this more than I did, I'm sure.

[Suzanne Steinberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is a somewhat superficial account of a man who is overly submissive without personal awareness to the impact it has on himself or those around him working for a government who is tightly controlling its’ citizens due to a destroyed environment. I felt that the book had some moments of interest however over all I felt as if the main character lacked a sense of likability and the book was in general cynical about the human race. I felt its' order in the justification of the continuation of a corrupt power structure created a very downward appearance of the good in humans in general and there was no sense of outer spirituality or an inner connection to emotions that were not self-serving in greed, envy, lust or just general discontent. All of the characters seemed to lack self-awareness and there is a loss of hope in humanity that is prevalent throughout this very doomsday anti-authority plot line. I think the side characters also at times felt stereotyped. I don’t believe there is anything wrong writing a book about a unlikable character, however to also create a society that has lost its’ soul and is no longer striving to protect humanity from evil, because it does not stand on any religion or moral structure, just creates a book that becomes overly logically and falls into the same vices of its' characters. The book was well written at parts, and I enjoyed some of the banter between characters, there was some interesting descriptions and if you skipped over the information dumping back stories it kept a certain suspense but the overarching themes of corruption and a lack of morality made the book a particularly painful and disappointing read. There was no real innocence or inner beauty in this book, outside of the lack of awareness of its characters. It is a quick paper back read but I wouldn't consider it something to hold on to, to find hope or insight about humanity, the only thing it offers is a loose validation for the lack of authenticity we often have in leadership.

[Theresa Needham fehse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Free book for honest review. juliesbookreview.blogspot.com


Face/Mask takes place in Montreal Canada, the year is 2039. People are forced to wear air filter mask, due the air not being safe to breathe. The world as we know it as changed to a time where there is really no day or night. The toxins beyond the atmosphere barely let any sunshine in through the day and reflects light from the sun at night. This is a dark time where fresh grown veggies are thing of the past and only read about in history books. How and why this happen ?? The war on terror which has never stopped.

Allen Jonus has spent 8 years of his life going to work as the dept head of Municipal Infrastructure, They monitor all of Montreal's electric grid. Him and his wife, Terry have been married 21 years and have three boys. Terry's uncle Joe recently came to live with them. Allen is one of those people who needs a reason to face the day in and day out of his ordinary dreary life. Unfortunately what he discovers is more than than he bargains for.

As Allen is out "discovering" himself, Uncle Joe is making sure the family is eating well off the "black market". Uncle Joe is getting along the boys and Allen seems jealous of it. When Allen decides to be vindictive,the entire family is affected.
This was one of the best dystopian novels I have read in a long time. The author paints a picture of what our world could be at any given moment. The characters are random ordinary people that could easily be your family member or your neighbor. Being ordinary makes it much easier to read them and understand them. The face mask they were for their protection for the poisonous air and the for many to hide the kind of lives they live.
5 Poisonous Stars
Wende

[Barb McKinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A SCARY LOOK AT A POSSIBLE FUTURE....

***I RECEIVED A COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM THE AUTHOR IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW***

This book made me really stop and think about consequences and degrees of separation. An amazing plot with one mans life in a world gone mad.

Author, Gabriel Boutros does a wonderful job of developing the characters with an eerie insight into the imperfections of humanity. This is not a simple book of good versus evil but rather a treatise of how anyone is subject to dark influence no matter their belief. While, at times, this book may drag (This made it a 4 instead of 5), it still keeps you reading to find out what will happen next?

A scary book that would be a good read for anyone who likes dystopian futures and some hard hitting real possibilities. Take the time to read FACE/MASK you will stop and think about government and what goes on without our knowledge. I am happy to recommend this book to anyone that enjoys futuristic fiction. KUDOES GABRIEL BOUTROS ON A TALE WELL TOLD.

[Deanna Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3 stars
Geek rating 4/5

Can you say bleak? I can, and that is exactly the picture of a futuristic Canada Mr. Boutros depicts in his novel, Face/Mask. It’s the near future. The air fluctuates from poisonous to more poisonous. People are advised or required to wear gas masks when outside. A powerful government rules with an iron fist, regulating everything from air to food to where people can live. Muslims are forced to live in communities where they are treated poorly and constantly watched for the slightest act of terrorism. The war on terror has progressed to an outrageous level.

The world Boutros has constructed is dark and intriguing. In a market dominated by dystopian societies with powerful governments where hope is the one shining light in everyone’s miserable lives, Face/Mask has entered, sat down, and done away with the notion of hope. It’s in the story, but it’s nowhere near as bright as it is in other tales. I was reminded of 1984 or Animal Farm, and as with those stories, Face/Mask drew me in.

The story cycles through many different point of view characters. This dark world is seen through the eyes of everyone from the top level of government to a Muslim who has lost everything. Most of the story, though, circles around Allen Janus, “husband, father, bureaucrat, and backstabber.” Unlike the righteous heroes that so often head dystopian novels today, Allen is out for himself. He lies, cheats, steals, and, as his description says, backstabs to get what he wants with little regard to how his actions will affect those around him. As a character, I find him interesting. As a reader, I had a difficult time relating to him. I couldn’t quite get behind his level of vindictiveness.

Aside from Allen, there are two other factors that made the book a tough read for me. One was the pacing. This is not a high action book, and that’s fine. I love political intrigue as much as the next person. Face/Mask just seemed to drag in some places. Most of the time, though, it held my attention easily. Second is the time jumps. I’m not great with dates in the middle of the text, so I kept getting confused as to what day or year it was. This, though, is a strictly me issue. Otherwise, I found this book to be a wonderfully sinister read.