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by Marianne Ackerman

Both a love story and a cri de coeur from Canada's most romantic city, caught, like Myra, in the throes of change.

380 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Born in Ontario, citizen of Montreal since the Eighties. Three published novels, 2 short story collections, and a dozen plays including Triplex Nervosa, to be published spring 2020 by Guernica Editions as Triplex Nervosa Trilogy, with an introduction about the slings and arrows of writing for theatre: Where do plays come from? Where do they go?

Reviews

[Margaret Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This poignant tale set in mid-'90's Montreal captures the spirit of the city and the angst of the times. The first part is the lead-in to the '95 referendum on independence, and the second part deals with the aftershock of the vote's hair's breadth 'non' outcome. A must-read for all Canadians - in particular, Montrealers. This is a fast-paced somewhat angst filled (though not without flip-side, tension-busting comedy,) third-person narrative; to have been first-person would have been the icing on the cake. But still - read it and see for yourself. And if you're a Montrealer, hang onto your hat: Ackerman is good!

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Her ex-husband's nervous breakdown triggers cascading events leading to freelance journalist Myra's own mid-life crisis as she loses control over her family, friends and finances and is tossed around in the political whirlwind that is the separatist referendum in Quebec. Myra has a very high tolerance for ambiguity, and the miracle is that she has managed to keep her life on track at all given the uncertainties and tensions of the freelance world. It is one identity crisis after another. The writer is witty and insightful and the cast is both believable and sympathetic.