The Dishwasher

The Dishwasher is Stephane Larue’s debut novel. Published in French in 2016 by Le Quartanier, it won the 2017 Quebec Booksellers’ Prize, the 2017 Senghor Prize, was shortlisted for the 2017 Governor-General’s Award for French-language fiction and sold over 30,000 copies in Quebec. A hyperrealist bildungsroman for the the 21st century, this first-person narrative will resonate with thirty-something readers who grew up on the same music-in addition to the protagonist’s immersion in heavy metal, memories of his ‘90s adolescence are punctuated by observations about the decades popular music scene, making room for a range of musical references, from Third Eye Blind and Marcy Playground to Tupac and Nirvana. Larue’s style is vivid and gripping. His richly detailed portrayal of life in the dishpit will appeal to anyone who’s worked in a kitchen and his portrayal of gambling addiction is penetratingly accurate and sensitively rendered. Anthony Bourdain-meets-Dostoyevsky with metalhead appeal. To be adapted for screen by Quebec filmmaker.