SOUVENIR DE NIGHT

Which city was it? BKK, NRT, HKG, FCO or ICN? Which initials did it have? It was a big city in Asia that she often visited on business trips. She was in one of those hotels that sparked a strange feeling of being grounded despite being nowhere in particular. It's always the same. She meets a man in a bar. This one's name is Night. Tall, broad-shouldered, straight-hipped. White skin, chiselled features, clearly quite young. She will get thirsty for him, his body, the muscles rippling under his soft skin, his breath steaming the crook of her shoulder. There will be money. Requested, given, rejected. There will be the emptiness, the pain in the gut and the soul, the forlorn quest for true intimacy. The author's crisp prose captures every nuance of the first light of dawn, the smell of pavement after rain, the abyss of the night sky.

Born in 1989, Mathieu Rolland studied translation at Concordia University. There, he obtained a Master's degree in translation studies for his research on Yukio Mishima. Souvenir de Night is his first published novel.

“At the confluence of the Éditions de Minuit and Mishima, there is this first chilling book by Mathieu Rolland. A powerful novel that recalls the atmospheres of the works of Jean-Philippe Toussaint, with a fascination for cruelty in addition.” Librairie Gallimard (Montréal)
“A suggestive and impressionist writing which skillfully restores raw facts transfigured by a dreamlike blur. A first story with a remarkable atmosphere.” La Presse
“A refined writing that keeps us going.” 24h Montréal
“This first novel imbued with sensuality and fabricated with atmosphere destabilizes as much as it bewitches.” Les libraires
“A story of desire and power.” patwhite.com
“A unique style.” Le Journal de Montréal