Jean lives in downtown Toronto with her husband and two kids. A peculiar collection of drug addicts, scam artists, philanthropists, philosophers and vagrants - the regulars of Bellevue Square. She's never seen her, but others* swear they have. Winner of the 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize Jean Mason has a doppelganger. But after two of her customers insist they've seen her double, Jean decides to investigate. The proud owner of a thriving bookstore, she doesn't rattle easily - not like she used to.

'All art is failed art.Winner of the 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize Jean Mason has a doppelganger.

Unless Jean stops her, she and everyone she cares about will face a fate stranger than death. A peculiar collection of drug addicts, scam artists, philanthropists, philosophers and vagrants - the regulars of Bellevue Square - are eager to contribute to Jean's investigation.īut when some of them start disappearing, it becomes apparent that her alleged double has a sinister agenda.

With the aid of a small army of locals who hang around in the market's only park, she expands her surveillance, making it known she'll pay for information or sightings. Before she knows it, she's spending an hour here, an afternoon there, watching, taking notes, obsessing and getting scared. The next day, she goes back to look again. Jean's curiosity quickly gets the better of her, and she visits the market, but sees no one who looks like her. why would two different strangers swear up and down they'd just seen her, with shorter hair furthermore? She certainly doesn't want to get involved in anything dubious, but still. She's a grown woman with a husband and two kids, as well as a thriving business and Toronto is a fresh start for the whole family. Jean doesn't rattle easy, not like she used to. Apparently it hangs out in Kensington Market, where it sometimes buys churros and shops for hats. Bellevue Square by Michael Redhill won the 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize.