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The City's Gates
What lurks in the shadow of the 99%?
Montreal is gearing up for the World Economic Forum. On one side are those preparing to welcome the policymakers and moneylenders alike; on the other are groups ready to protest the evils of capitalism and globalization.
Caught in the middle is Lee Atwater, who is tasked with investigating a string of bizarre incidents connected to the Economic Forum. His journey introduces him to "the disaffected but affectionate": groups like CARP (Coalition Against Rapacious Profiteering); The Mals, who fetishize style to protect their substance; and The Band, worshippers of conflict and violence in the purest sense.
The more time Lee spends with these remarkable and frightening people, the more his own seemingly directionless life comes into focus.
Montreal is gearing up for the World Economic Forum. On one side are those preparing to welcome the policymakers and moneylenders alike; on the other are groups ready to protest the evils of capitalism and globalization.
Caught in the middle is Lee Atwater, who is tasked with investigating a string of bizarre incidents connected to the Economic Forum. His journey introduces him to "the disaffected but affectionate": groups like CARP (Coalition Against Rapacious Profiteering); The Mals, who fetishize style to protect their substance; and The Band, worshippers of conflict and violence in the purest sense.
The more time Lee spends with these remarkable and frightening people, the more his own seemingly directionless life comes into focus.
327 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 29, 2012
Based on real life political events, the author personalizes the story to make the reader think about their own actions in modern life.
Page 288
. . . I wondered about its truth and realized I have no trust left. The last months have taken it from me. Now I know that lies don't need to be malicious to be deliberate. I know that intimacy can share space with falsehood and have learned that hurtfulness iteself is not always the child of spite or cruelty. Deep down, in blood vessels and bones, I know that falsehood is not foreign to conviviality; that it can grow in the wet, damp soil of affection. I have care for and deceived the same person over and over again. I am love's liar, the fraud of friendship. How much greater than mine, the capacity to damage when one lies without the leavening of care?"
Page 288
. . . I wondered about its truth and realized I have no trust left. The last months have taken it from me. Now I know that lies don't need to be malicious to be deliberate. I know that intimacy can share space with falsehood and have learned that hurtfulness iteself is not always the child of spite or cruelty. Deep down, in blood vessels and bones, I know that falsehood is not foreign to conviviality; that it can grow in the wet, damp soil of affection. I have care for and deceived the same person over and over again. I am love's liar, the fraud of friendship. How much greater than mine, the capacity to damage when one lies without the leavening of care?"
August 28, 2016
I really love the concept, and am a fan of Dubé's short stories; I feel pretty bad I'm not enjoying this more. It's a bit slow. I know the protagonist is supposed to be an unhip intruder mole reporting on various activist/counter-culture groups, but Lee is so gauche and uncool and asks such nosy questions, I'm surprised they didn't already accuse him of being an informant and kicked him out.
December 4, 2016
Too much description, too many oblique references and little character development for my taste in reading. I did not finish this book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews