“With his first novel, Macnair seems to be exploring a dangerous idea — what if one were to write a novel that broke all the rules?“
Panegyric – a public speech or published text in praise of someone or something; a eulogy.
When aspiring writer and chronic underachiever Larry Mann is given the opportunity of his life to ghostwrite the memoirs of notorious businessman-turned-politician Maxime Montblanc, the two initiate a relationship, characterized initially by their stark differences, that seems to alternate freely between antagonism, servitude, fascination, trust, hostility, and understanding – all seemingly dependent on the volatile mood of the eccentric Montblanc.
Spectral late-night visions of hockey commentators, the birth of fire, the baptismal power of water, scattered prayers to the fertility deities of old, eternal reparations for sins past, ruminations on bathroom stall graffiti, a stuttering writer who loves words but can’t properly say them, and an erratic millionaire whose success obscures a tempestuous core – all examined under the omnipresent influence of the ghost of Leonard Cohen.
Panegyric is a proudly bizarre slice of Canadiana literary fiction that examines the nature of potential and legacy, the desire to be remembered, and the folly of those who would chase such desires above all else.
Released on April 15, 2020 by way of Now Or Never Publishing.
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Panegyric can be ordered directly from the publishers.
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