A small flat sits unoccupied above Henry’s café. When a woman comes to rent the room, Henry’s world begins an unusual transformation. As they grow closer the city itself is affected, changed, and slowly dismantled. Unsure if he is a victim of his own senility, the chaos inches closer and Henry suspects it may have something to do with the woman upstairs and the stranger she is hiding from.

“A haunting novella.”—Bookgaga

“Read this magical tale for beauty, pure and simple.”—The Coast

Known for weirdly seductive, sharply rendered prose which has earned him comparisons to Michael Ondaatje and Leonard Cohen, Ian Orti was born and raised in Canada by immigrant parents from Ireland and Ecuador. He is the author of The Olive and the Dawn, and L (and things come apart) and his work has been published in journals and magazines across the United States, Canada, and Europe in English, French, and German. He is the recipient of multiple grants and small awards including a CBC bookclub award and the award for ‘Best Book’ at Expozine in Montreal in 2009. He currently lives in Berlin.

Ian Orti's profile page

• Winner, CBC Bookie Award (Best Relationship)

“This strange city and its lost souls don’t easily leave the mind.”—The Globe and Mail

“Orti writes with a grace that... ensures his brief novel is consistently engaging.”—Quill & Quire

“Read this magical tale for beauty, pure and simple.”—The Coast

“A haunting novella…Orti has constructed a dark, enticingly murky tale that might or might not be a romance. The book is deceptively rich and complex in form and imagery despite its comparative brevity.”—Bookgaga

Bookgaga