Not Everybody Lives the Same Way

A Novel

By: Jean-Paul Dubois, David Homel - translator

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER AND WINNER OF THE PRIX GONCOURT FOR FICTION

Paul Hansen is in prison. He's been in this prison on the outskirts of Montreal for a couple of years, sharing a cell with a murderous Hells Angel who often reminds Paul that he could kill him at any moment. What did Paul do to end up here? And why does he jeopardize his life and release by refusing to show remorse? Before prison, there were his parents. There were his friends at the Excelsior, the luxury apartment complex where Paul worked as caretaker as well as restorer of souls and comforter of the afflicted. And there was his partner, Winona, an intrepid seaplane pilot, and their beloved dog, Nouk. Many of those closest to him are gone now, but Paul still talks to them; they appear in his dreams and as ghosts in his cell.

Jean-Paul Dubois's extraordinary novel and winner of the Prix Goncourt Not Everybody Lives the Same Way, follows this man as he reviews his life. A life of equilibrium, it has given Paul both tragedy and gifts. Not Everybody Lives the Same Way is a powerfully original and unusual novel. Masterfully translated by David Homel and brilliantly animated by Jean-Paul Dubois's keen feeling for humanity and intense revolt against all forms of injustice, it asks the question: What does it takes to live a dignified life?

©2019 Jean-Paul Dubois (P)2024 Tantor

the pain of living

my attention was captured for hours at a time. Unexpected kindnesses. Winona was so mysterious, and more descriptions would have kept her from being a bag of bones.