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Mirror Lake
Robert Moreau ne pouvait se douter, le jour où il a débarqué à Mirror Lake, que les forces du destin s'étaient mises en branle pour transformer son rêve en cauchemar et lui faire perdre ses dernières illusions quant à la possibilité de trouver un havre de paix sur cette planète surpeuplée. N'aspirant qu'à reprendre contact avec la virginité de la nature, Moreau apprendra rapidement, avec l'aide de Bob Winslow, son voisin d'en face, que la virginité est une notion d'un autre siècle.
Traversé par le thème du double, ce roman ne pouvait se passer ailleurs que sur les rives de Mirror Lake, lieu enchanteur où Robert Moreau, le narrateur de cette fable tragi-comique, n'a d'autre choix que de regarder droit dans les yeux celui qu'il est devenu, puis de voir, à travers les miroitements de l'eau claire, celui qu'il aurait pu être.
Traversé par le thème du double, ce roman ne pouvait se passer ailleurs que sur les rives de Mirror Lake, lieu enchanteur où Robert Moreau, le narrateur de cette fable tragi-comique, n'a d'autre choix que de regarder droit dans les yeux celui qu'il est devenu, puis de voir, à travers les miroitements de l'eau claire, celui qu'il aurait pu être.
384 pages, Paperback
First published October 28, 2006
About the author
Andrée A. Michaud
27 books113 followersDeux fois lauréate du Prix littéraire du Gouverneur général (Le Ravissement, 2001, et Bondrée, 2014), récipiendaire du prix Arthur Ellis et du prix Saint-Pacôme du roman policier pour Bondrée, ainsi que du prix Ringuet en 2006 pour Mirror Lake (adapté au cinéma en 2013), Andrée A. Michaud construit une œuvre éminemment personnelle qui ne cesse, depuis son premier roman, de susciter les éloges de la critique et des lecteurs avides de mystère. Son polar Lazy Bird, porté par des airs de jazz, est paru en 2010 au Seuil, en France, dans la collection Point noir.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 25, 2021
Under its Arachnide translation imprint, the House of Anansi is launching this spring Mirror Lake, a widely acclaimed work of fiction by Quebec’s award-winning novelist Andrée A. Michaud. They are pitching the novel as “a playfully genre-mixing psycho-thriller that explores our mysterious existence and the bottomless self.” Umm, not really, at least not for the English translation.
Robert Moreau begins his retirement on the shores of Mirror Lake, a seemingly peaceful lake in Maine. He hopes to leave behind his disillusionment with society and his generation, and embark on a new life in communion with nature. Before long, there are cracks in this Thoreau-like existence; the principal of which is his intrusive neighbour, Bob Winslow. Our protagonist soon learns that even a sledgeammer won’t keep his pestering neighbour at bay. But Winslow is only one of the annoying characters who invite themselves into Moreau’s new world.
When a very dead Joe Doe surfaces from the lake, Moreau must contend with the inquiries of the local constabulary: the Tim-Robbins-lookalike sheriff and his Indiana-Jones sidekick. With the tranquility of Mirror Lake now shattered, Moreau seeks distraction in the arms of a local call girl, Jeanne Picard—Lolita for her clients. Deciding that Jeanne Picard is more an Anita Ekberg with some aspects of a Gloria Swanson, Moreau renames his object of affection Anita Swanson. When a second person goes missing, and the sheriff calls on Moreau more frequently, our protagonist proportionally increases his visits to Anita to forget his worries.
Naturally, or perhaps unnaturally, Moreau decides to rescue Anita from her abusive boyfriend/pimp, except the abuse stems from a very different direction. As Moreau and Anita settle into a semblance of domesticity at Mirror Lake, Moreau discovers that Anita’s boyfriend is no other than his nemesis, the sheriff, and that the abuse originates from a certain Jacques. Together with Winslow, who has now wormed his way as a permanent feature into his life, Moreau attempts to hide Anita from the sheriff.
Enter Jacques Picard, Anita’s real abuser, distant relative and escaped convict. Picard coerces Moreau into procuring a gun for him by holding hostage Winslow and Moreau’s dog, Jeff. Winslow is expendable but not Moreau’s beloved Jeff, so our protagonist heads to a Bangor bar in search of another Jacques who is holding a gun and money for Picard. For a few laudable pages, Michaud treats her readers to a fairly well-written, humourous brush with Maine’s underworld before turning the novel into a metaphorical fantasy. Falling against a four-hundred-million-year-old rock, Moreau suffers a concussion, goes into a coma, and several months later wakes up in Winslow’s body. Our protagonist’s new challenge is to regain his own body, which the real Winslow has apparently taken over, although the latter adamantly denies this transmigration. The novel’s other characters carry on, but now with our protagonist forced to watch them and his own mirrored image through Winslow’s eyes.
First published in French in 2006, Mirror Lake is Andrée A. Michaud’s seventh novel. The original French text was widely acclaimed by critics and it won the Prix Ringuet, Quebec’s most prestigious award for fiction. It then went on to be adapted as a feature film. On a technical level, the English translation by J. C. Sutcliffe appears adequate, but the twisting and turning of the protagonist’s mind is at times labouriously rendered. While the intent is obviously to depict Moreau as a tortured, somewhat demented individual, the translation lacks the finesse to achieve this. Particularly irksome is the extensive use of Latin expressions, a reflection of Moreau’s education in a Quebec collège classique. Many of these expressions could have easily been changed by the translator to their more commonly used English equivalents, recognizing that Latin fell out of usage by North America's anglophone elite decades before it finally disappeared among educated Québécois.
Besides the translator’s possible lack of dexterity in adapting the novel to an anglophone North American audience, I found the novel fell quite short of a work of fiction that has earned so many accolades in its original edition. The plot is skeletal and could probably have been written in two or three pages. In the first half of the novel, the actions of the main characters are extremely repetitive and do very little to advance the story. One is left with the impression of unneeded words employed just to fill the pages. While the protagonist’s circular thinking is clearly intended to demonstrate a fragile state of mind, his obsessions with a four-hundred-million-year-old rock and whether Humpty-Dumpty is an egg or a potato are really overdone. The French original was applauded as a critique of contemporary society; the English translation does not convey this in any meaningful way. Of course, society has evolved since the novel was published in French in 2006 and North American anglophone society is not contemporary francophone Quebec society. Overall, this translation is hardly a work of significant literary merit. Instead, it comes over as a tedious crime novel slash psychological unthriller, which here and there is redeemed by strokes of humour.
The above review was originally published in the February issue of the Ottawa Review of Books.
Robert Moreau begins his retirement on the shores of Mirror Lake, a seemingly peaceful lake in Maine. He hopes to leave behind his disillusionment with society and his generation, and embark on a new life in communion with nature. Before long, there are cracks in this Thoreau-like existence; the principal of which is his intrusive neighbour, Bob Winslow. Our protagonist soon learns that even a sledgeammer won’t keep his pestering neighbour at bay. But Winslow is only one of the annoying characters who invite themselves into Moreau’s new world.
When a very dead Joe Doe surfaces from the lake, Moreau must contend with the inquiries of the local constabulary: the Tim-Robbins-lookalike sheriff and his Indiana-Jones sidekick. With the tranquility of Mirror Lake now shattered, Moreau seeks distraction in the arms of a local call girl, Jeanne Picard—Lolita for her clients. Deciding that Jeanne Picard is more an Anita Ekberg with some aspects of a Gloria Swanson, Moreau renames his object of affection Anita Swanson. When a second person goes missing, and the sheriff calls on Moreau more frequently, our protagonist proportionally increases his visits to Anita to forget his worries.
Naturally, or perhaps unnaturally, Moreau decides to rescue Anita from her abusive boyfriend/pimp, except the abuse stems from a very different direction. As Moreau and Anita settle into a semblance of domesticity at Mirror Lake, Moreau discovers that Anita’s boyfriend is no other than his nemesis, the sheriff, and that the abuse originates from a certain Jacques. Together with Winslow, who has now wormed his way as a permanent feature into his life, Moreau attempts to hide Anita from the sheriff.
Enter Jacques Picard, Anita’s real abuser, distant relative and escaped convict. Picard coerces Moreau into procuring a gun for him by holding hostage Winslow and Moreau’s dog, Jeff. Winslow is expendable but not Moreau’s beloved Jeff, so our protagonist heads to a Bangor bar in search of another Jacques who is holding a gun and money for Picard. For a few laudable pages, Michaud treats her readers to a fairly well-written, humourous brush with Maine’s underworld before turning the novel into a metaphorical fantasy. Falling against a four-hundred-million-year-old rock, Moreau suffers a concussion, goes into a coma, and several months later wakes up in Winslow’s body. Our protagonist’s new challenge is to regain his own body, which the real Winslow has apparently taken over, although the latter adamantly denies this transmigration. The novel’s other characters carry on, but now with our protagonist forced to watch them and his own mirrored image through Winslow’s eyes.
First published in French in 2006, Mirror Lake is Andrée A. Michaud’s seventh novel. The original French text was widely acclaimed by critics and it won the Prix Ringuet, Quebec’s most prestigious award for fiction. It then went on to be adapted as a feature film. On a technical level, the English translation by J. C. Sutcliffe appears adequate, but the twisting and turning of the protagonist’s mind is at times labouriously rendered. While the intent is obviously to depict Moreau as a tortured, somewhat demented individual, the translation lacks the finesse to achieve this. Particularly irksome is the extensive use of Latin expressions, a reflection of Moreau’s education in a Quebec collège classique. Many of these expressions could have easily been changed by the translator to their more commonly used English equivalents, recognizing that Latin fell out of usage by North America's anglophone elite decades before it finally disappeared among educated Québécois.
Besides the translator’s possible lack of dexterity in adapting the novel to an anglophone North American audience, I found the novel fell quite short of a work of fiction that has earned so many accolades in its original edition. The plot is skeletal and could probably have been written in two or three pages. In the first half of the novel, the actions of the main characters are extremely repetitive and do very little to advance the story. One is left with the impression of unneeded words employed just to fill the pages. While the protagonist’s circular thinking is clearly intended to demonstrate a fragile state of mind, his obsessions with a four-hundred-million-year-old rock and whether Humpty-Dumpty is an egg or a potato are really overdone. The French original was applauded as a critique of contemporary society; the English translation does not convey this in any meaningful way. Of course, society has evolved since the novel was published in French in 2006 and North American anglophone society is not contemporary francophone Quebec society. Overall, this translation is hardly a work of significant literary merit. Instead, it comes over as a tedious crime novel slash psychological unthriller, which here and there is redeemed by strokes of humour.
The above review was originally published in the February issue of the Ottawa Review of Books.
February 26, 2026
un bon roman de Michaud! J'ai retrouvé l'écrire du low burner que j'aime des dernières oeuvres de cette autrice ! des bouts un peu long, mais j'ai apprecié dans l'ensemble 😁 vouélà!
November 27, 2021
This is not a thriller.
This is not a murder mystery. Yeah, there's a dead body. But nobody seems to care and there's certainly no effort put into figuring out what happened.
There is no suspense.
The last quarter would have made a vaguely interesting short story. The first three quarters are just tedious. An antisocial old grump goes to the country (near a lake) and wants people to leave him alone. Except the hooker he hooks up with. Yay. I think a book about the hooker would have been more interesting.
I have no idea why this was on the "recommended" shelf at the library. I wouldn't subject anyone to it. And it doesn't even slightly match the description on the jacket, so the target audience is never going to find it.
This is not a murder mystery. Yeah, there's a dead body. But nobody seems to care and there's certainly no effort put into figuring out what happened.
There is no suspense.
The last quarter would have made a vaguely interesting short story. The first three quarters are just tedious. An antisocial old grump goes to the country (near a lake) and wants people to leave him alone. Except the hooker he hooks up with. Yay. I think a book about the hooker would have been more interesting.
I have no idea why this was on the "recommended" shelf at the library. I wouldn't subject anyone to it. And it doesn't even slightly match the description on the jacket, so the target audience is never going to find it.
March 2, 2021
Mirror Lake, by French-Canadian internationally acclaimed crime writer Andrée A. Michaud, is an arresting, surrealist thriller that is propelled by a deeply relatable yet comically unlikable protagonist. Robert Moreau is a fifty-something retiree who abruptly left behind his family and friends, with only his loyal dog Jeff as company, to start anew in what he imagined would be a Walden-like tranquility. To his misfortune, the titular lake proves to be anything but tranquil, instead seeming to be the source of the tragicomic antics that follow.
Moreau’s self-professed misanthropic nature has a modicum of comedy, reminiscent of Fredrik Backman’s Ove, that is largely characterized by his stinging commentary, such as his description upon meeting his new neighbor Bob Winslow:
“...the man who’d just soiled the virginity I’d been a bit too quick to assign to Mirror Lake ascended onto my porch without an invitation, moving with the joviality of a simple man who fails to see the world is a place of suffering and that he is one of the principal elements fanning the flames of this hell.”
Yet it is Moreau’s intellect that makes his words all the more biting. He is a cinephile, a bookworm, and also clearly a lover of music as shown by his heavy use of, oftentimes obscure, cultural references. As his faultfinder tendencies might suggest, Moreau is extremely particular about his word choice, which fortunately for the reader, means the use of rich, sensory language that appeals to the ears through descriptive imagery (“a set of bells gently chimed its bittersweet melody, a loon began its lament, an oar sliced through the water’s clear surface with a shushing sound that evoked the indifference of slowness”) as much as through the rhythmic nature of the words themselves (“turbulence, turpitude, and tribulation”).
Through this impeccable use of language, courtesy of author Michaud and translator J. C. Sutcliffe, Mirror Lake creates a satisfying balance between a psychological thriller and comedy. The novel provides the same driving sensation felt when reading a quickly unraveling mystery, yet the punctuated comedic anecdotes, such as the throughline of Moreau’s love for an onion affectionately named Ping, provides levity that suggests the book doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Through the absurdity, Mirror Lake still manages to provide a reflection on society (pun intended), asking the reader to consider what forms a person’s identity: Their physical likeness? Their relationships with others? Their internal constitution?
This book left me with questions but also with an appetite for discussion, making it an ideal book for group reading (I would love to hear the thoughts of others!). I found it thoroughly enjoyable though my enjoyment came primarily from my love of language and for the depth of Moreau’s character rather than a strict appreciation for the plot. That being said, I must admit that I do not often read, let alone review, either thrillers or books veering into the absurd, so what was a fresh change of pace for me could actually be paramount for readers more attuned with the genre. For anyone, regardless of genre preferences, seeking an equally lovable and hateable narrator or a light-hearted read that still packs a literary punch, Mirror Lake has you covered.
Thank you to Edelweiss+ by Above the Treeline and House of Anansi Press Inc. for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Moreau’s self-professed misanthropic nature has a modicum of comedy, reminiscent of Fredrik Backman’s Ove, that is largely characterized by his stinging commentary, such as his description upon meeting his new neighbor Bob Winslow:
“...the man who’d just soiled the virginity I’d been a bit too quick to assign to Mirror Lake ascended onto my porch without an invitation, moving with the joviality of a simple man who fails to see the world is a place of suffering and that he is one of the principal elements fanning the flames of this hell.”
Yet it is Moreau’s intellect that makes his words all the more biting. He is a cinephile, a bookworm, and also clearly a lover of music as shown by his heavy use of, oftentimes obscure, cultural references. As his faultfinder tendencies might suggest, Moreau is extremely particular about his word choice, which fortunately for the reader, means the use of rich, sensory language that appeals to the ears through descriptive imagery (“a set of bells gently chimed its bittersweet melody, a loon began its lament, an oar sliced through the water’s clear surface with a shushing sound that evoked the indifference of slowness”) as much as through the rhythmic nature of the words themselves (“turbulence, turpitude, and tribulation”).
Through this impeccable use of language, courtesy of author Michaud and translator J. C. Sutcliffe, Mirror Lake creates a satisfying balance between a psychological thriller and comedy. The novel provides the same driving sensation felt when reading a quickly unraveling mystery, yet the punctuated comedic anecdotes, such as the throughline of Moreau’s love for an onion affectionately named Ping, provides levity that suggests the book doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Through the absurdity, Mirror Lake still manages to provide a reflection on society (pun intended), asking the reader to consider what forms a person’s identity: Their physical likeness? Their relationships with others? Their internal constitution?
This book left me with questions but also with an appetite for discussion, making it an ideal book for group reading (I would love to hear the thoughts of others!). I found it thoroughly enjoyable though my enjoyment came primarily from my love of language and for the depth of Moreau’s character rather than a strict appreciation for the plot. That being said, I must admit that I do not often read, let alone review, either thrillers or books veering into the absurd, so what was a fresh change of pace for me could actually be paramount for readers more attuned with the genre. For anyone, regardless of genre preferences, seeking an equally lovable and hateable narrator or a light-hearted read that still packs a literary punch, Mirror Lake has you covered.
Thank you to Edelweiss+ by Above the Treeline and House of Anansi Press Inc. for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 1, 2022
I wanted to love this one, I really did. When I read that the cover said "Stephen king with a touch of deliverance", I was excited. However, it is nothing like that. The first half was boring, repetitive and filled with unnecessary adjectives and little plot. The second half was a lot better and I started to enjoy it untill the ending. It is definitely unique.
April 25, 2021
I found this one of the best written, funniest reads in quite some time. I must admit I grew frustrated during his the coma which went on far too long and somehow moved my rating for the entire novel down a couple of notches.
May 22, 2020
J'ai trouvé la lecture un peu ardue. Je ne suis pas sûre d'avoir bien saisi toutes les subtilités du texte.
October 9, 2022
I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. If you love a good mystery/drama this is a good read for you.
February 21, 2021
I just finished " Mirror Lake ", by Andree' A. Michaud, and to be honest I don't really know how to review this one. I am afraid that anything I say trying to write a synopsis of this novel will be filled with spoilers and that is simply not acceptable with this one. Anyone beginning Robert's story must do with a clean, open frame of mind. So, I feel, without any forewarning, and a good sense of humor the reader can truly enjoy this macabre tale. This story delving into one man's madness is written brilliantly, weaving between what is real and delusion, as Robert, in trying to escape the constraints of society, seeking a peace that is illusive as catching the wind in your hand, falls deeper into the realm of madness.
The author takes us into this madness with a delightful, quirky sense of humor that had me laughing out loud despite the underneath darkness permeating Robert's story. A wild literary journey into the dark world of the psyche, you won't regret reading "Mirror Lake".
5 stars, excellent concept, storyline and fantastic, quirky characters. Brilliant composition and prose. This novel has it all!
I recommend to everyone. This is one that isn't easily to compartmentalize, it must be experienced. Make sure to grab a copy March 2nd when it publishes.
Thank you to the publishers at House of Anansi Press Inc. for the advanced reader e-book, and to NetGalley, in exchange I am freely leaving my honest review.
The author takes us into this madness with a delightful, quirky sense of humor that had me laughing out loud despite the underneath darkness permeating Robert's story. A wild literary journey into the dark world of the psyche, you won't regret reading "Mirror Lake".
5 stars, excellent concept, storyline and fantastic, quirky characters. Brilliant composition and prose. This novel has it all!
I recommend to everyone. This is one that isn't easily to compartmentalize, it must be experienced. Make sure to grab a copy March 2nd when it publishes.
Thank you to the publishers at House of Anansi Press Inc. for the advanced reader e-book, and to NetGalley, in exchange I am freely leaving my honest review.
March 12, 2025
Je viens de découvrir une autre facette de cette autrice. Je retrouve sa plume absolument parfaite. Cependant, je suis moins convaincue par cette histoire. En fait, j'ai adoré la première moitié, les personnages me faisaient rire, ils avaient un côté pathétique "drôle".
La deuxième moitié m'a un peu perdue. C'était absurde et délirant... je ne sais pas trop quoi en penser!
La deuxième moitié m'a un peu perdue. C'était absurde et délirant... je ne sais pas trop quoi en penser!
August 7, 2021
J'adore tout ce qu'écrit Andrée A. Michaud. Par contre je dois avouer que celui-ci m'a un peu déçu. L'histoire tirée par les cheveux a fait en sorte que j'ai quitté ce livre avec un sentiment d'insatisfaction.
Désolé.
Désolé.
June 8, 2024
I’m sure the English translation doesn’t do it as much justice but what a nutty mystery story.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews