The first English-language translation of a work by best-selling Quebec author Patrick Senécal, Against God is a thrilling, unrelenting novella. Right from the get-go, a terrible accident throws our nameless protagonist into a state of turmoil. Suddenly this seemingly happy, normal family man abandons all sense of propriety and decency and sets off aimlessly into the world.

Leaving his old life behind, he is unable – and, quite possibly, unwilling – to find solace. The closest he gets to consolation is with a woman named Mélanie, who has recently gone through some hardship of her own. Mélanie encourages the grief-stricken man to join her community group, led by Father Léo, in rebuilding a youth centre. But her well-meaning efforts are ultimately futile: as far as this man is concerned, God has given up on him, and he lashes out in a string of terrifyingly senseless, violent acts.

Part psychological horror story, part unlikely character study, Senécal’s awe-inspiring book poses an interesting question: after suffering breathtaking loss, can someone’s violent actions be in any way justified? As much as you want to sympathize with the protagonist and his plight, it is difficult to root for a character who abandons everything in favour of chaos. Yet Senécal’s canny use of second-person narration refuses to let the reader off the hook.

Against God is uncomfortable, frustrating, and horrifying, but also unstoppably addictive. Senécal’s taut narrative, combined with his audacious decision to craft his story as a single, 99-page sentence, make this slim volume impossible to put down from start to finish.