A Free Man

An unusual and remarkable dystopian novel

A Free Man is a satirical tall tale presented as the drug and alcohol fuelled conversation of two old friends getting reacquainted over one night. It’s also a boy-meets-girl story of the worst kind and a time travel story about a future where the world is ruled by robots and humans are vermin. When timelines cross, the world as we know it bends . . .

Skid Roe is completely self-absorbed and delusional. His struggle to exercise free will is constantly hampered by the physical manifestation of his inner demons and by the norms and rules of contemporary life. He’s both aided and hindered by Lem, a robot from the future whose good intentions leave Skid on the run from a shadowy state security agency.

A surreal, beautiful, and powerful literary mash-up, Basilières’ long-awaited sophomore effort is inventive and darkly funny.

Michel Basilières was born and raised in Montreal’s Milton Park neighbourhood and now lives with his son in Toronto. He is the author of Black Bird, a magic realist novel set during the October Crisis. Black Bird won the Books In Canada First Novel Award and was a finalist for both the Stephen Leacock Medal and the Commonwealth Writer's Prize.