Welcome to Litsy!

Remnants is an exploration of our relationships with family and perception, told through a profound investigation of a father's life and sudden death. With various voices and hybrid forms--including dialogues, questionnaires, photographs, and dream documentation--Huyghebaert builds a fragmented picture of a father-daughter relationship that has been shaped by silences and missed opportunities. The reader attempts to untangle fact from fiction: multiple versions of Huyghebaert's father are presented while remnants of his life disappear achingly quickly. What is left of someone who was not important enough to be archived? How do we talk about what no longer exists? Winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for French-language fiction, Remnants asks essential questions we often only peer at from the corner of an eye; questions about the value of life in its duration and passing. This is a transcendent work, ideal for readers of Annie Ernaux, Sophie Calle, and Maggie Nelson. Praise for Remnants: "Le drap blanc is a mausoleum... built from fragments and miscellaneous moments. Words and actions that could have been different, smells, dreams and daydreams; retellings and family dialogues recounted as though in shadow play--she has collected it all here... Céline Huyghebaert brings us a book that leaves a striking, lasting impression." --Xavier Houssin, Le Monde des Livres (Le Monde, France)