Who's really telling this story? That's the mystery at the heart of
Danielle Mémoire's novel, which opens with a writer on stage at a public
reading--a public reading that isn't one, because she never reads a
word, much to the audience's annoyance. When an audience member finally
heckles her, the writer's response sets off a chain reaction of nested
stories that tumble one after another like a row of dominoes.
Each storyteller in the series (most are writers at public readings)
builds on what's come before while often radically changing its meaning.
Along the way, we encounter fatal stepladders, a painter obsessed with a
transom window, a lovestruck dog-walker, and a lost cat restored to its
owners through divine intervention. Playful, thought-provoking, and
utterly unique, Public Reading Followed by Discussion defies
classification and invites every reader to join the game.