Last Night in Montreal (2009) was Mandel’s first book.
Great writer. I’m now reading all her books after having quite enjoyed two others:
- The Glass Hotel (2020)
- Station Eleven (2014)
Montreal, like those other two, employ a time-jumping narrative. Mandel does that well.
Montreal is weirdly compelling.
The life story of young woman who was kidnapped by her father at a young age. All she knows is leaving. Staying on the move.
When Lilia was a child, her father appeared on the doorstep of her mother’s house and took her away.
Now, haunted by an inability to remember much about her early childhood, Lilia moves restlessly from city to city, abandoning lovers and eluding the private detective who has dedicated a career to following close behind.
Then comes Eli. When Lilia goes out for a paper and fails to return to their Brooklyn apartment, he follows her to Montreal, not knowing whether he wants to disappear, too, or help her find her way home. But what he discovers is a deeper mystery …
Actually, I was even more interested in the story of the second major character, Michaela. A student and circus acrobat often abandoned by her parents.
Rick McCharles 