The Electric Baths

A surprise return home triggers a chain of events, their strands weaving together a sinister web of dreams and reality, lies and truth, secrets and spells. Jean-Michel Fortier’s chilling second novel features a cast of memorable characters, including Renee, who never dreams (or does she?), and the oft-widowed Bella, who signs her personal ads “Come, and be prepared to stay forever.” Following in the tradition of Fortier’s absurdist first novel, The Unknown Huntsman, this is a dark and offbeat tale about lost love, lost dreams, and one lost limb.

Jean-Michel Fortier completed a master’s degree in literature at Université Laval before moving to Montreal, where he currently works as a copy editor. The Electric Baths is his second novel. After immigrating to Canada from the U.K., Katherine Hastings spent ten years in Ontario before moving to Montreal, where she completed a degree in modern languages at McGill University. She has worked as a Quebec-based translator and copy editor since 1995. Her previous literary translation was The Unknown Huntsman, also by Jean-Michel Fortier.