Montreal writer Sean Michaels isn’t one to be put off by ambitious themes. His first novel, Conductive bodies, tackled the unfathomable and fairy-tale paths of love. With The dice rolls, this time it offers an abundant and eccentric storytelling on fate, the lucky star and the limits of luck and chance.
In a fictional Montreal neighborhood that is both seedy and grandiose, peacocks strut around street corners, gamblers place bets on sunny days, and sanitized chains replace neighborhood businesses.
Grocer, gambler and humorist in his spare time, Théo Potiris never hesitates to put his fate in the hands of fate and its whims. Every Friday evening, he leaves it to chance to decide whether he will take the stage to test jokes that he makes a point of never repeating twice. However, in this springtime in Montreal when fate hits him hard, Theo has nothing more to do with fate.
Driven by the virtuosity and opulent imagination of its author, Théo’s quest for a more promising elsewhere takes him from surprise to surprise. He first tries to join La Patte de Lapin, an association of mathematicians who seek to predict the outcomes of sports betting. Then he discovers the Nameless Gang, a group of vigilantes who steal luck – a substance identical to sand – from those who have taken more than their fair share.
Joyful combination between the adventure and spy novel and the philosophical fiction, The dice rolls comes with infectious energy and refreshing humor. From comedy clubs from Montreal to the Taipei mansions, via a meditation retreat in the Moroccan desert, Sean Michaels takes the reader on a maze of narrative roller coasters.
Dizziness awaits those who enter with suspicion in this rich gallery of characters and this plethora of ideas as absurd as they are dazzling, superbly rendered by Catherine Leroux’s translation. By uniting form with substance, the writer takes a unique look at our desire to thwart the modalities of chance.
Extract from “Les coups de dés”