In Charles Demers''s darkly comic debut novel, Daniel -- an East Vancouver obsessive-compulsive -- is forced to evaluate his self-absorption against the trials and traumas of others. As he tries to submerge himself in a solitary, Karl Marx-inspired research project in the basement archives of the medical library, Daniel watches his family flounder at the centre of a free-speech fight for a children''s book about a same-sex relationship--between turtles. Whether you read this book for Demers''s razor-sharp prose -- he is a master of observation and a deft purveyor of contemporary vernacular -- or simply to be dazzled by one hell of a story, prepare yourself: here''s a brave new voice that is both fresh and brash.