“In Brûler debout, Mathieu Blais raises the voice of an insurrection, of a need to awaken consciences and put an end to enslavement. Underpinned by a frank language, as raw and free as the characters, the story wipes the slate clean, shaking the slumbering consciences of the “semi-civilized” – Marie Fradette, Le Devoir

“I devoured this book. It’s written with such charge, such power.” – Evelyne Charuest, Moteur de recherche (Ici Première)

“Mathieu Blais occupies a unique and discreet place in the Quebec literary landscape of the 21st century. Although he receives little media attention, he nonetheless stands out for his fundamentally sociological approach, skillfully using fiction to sublimate issues that transcend it, making him an essential author for understanding the tensions of our times.” – Philippe Fortin, Les Libraires

“But with Brûler debout, trouble gives way to discomfort. Here, we plunge into a murderous madness that makes no apologies and leads to no redemption. The story’s protagonists don’t even inspire empathy. And yet, Blais ties us to his novel! We find ourselves both carried away and stunned by the power of the words, the ardor of the subject matter, the social and political charge, and the curiosity to know where these five characters on the run will end up.” – Josée Boileau, Le Journal de Montréal

An incendiary blend of thriller, political diatribe and Nordic western. A tale of tabula rasa halfway between Natural Born Killers and the work of Edward Abbey.

A violent anarchist fable featuring a band of insurgents who decide to live outside of society and its laws.

Told through the memories of François d’Octobre, a rebel deserter who is hiding deep in the woods, the story follows the uprising of a group of modern outlaws who resort to violence in their quest to end capitalism. To free their foot from the trap, they’ll learn to cut it off.

A band of larger-than-life renegades escape from the Concessions, where they work at a lackluster industrial reforestation outfit that feeds extractive capitalism. Leading forward this raging convoy of desperados is la Mélisse, a grimmy, charismatic, explosive, tormented woman who won’t stop at nothing to get their message across. Setting fire to a non country filled with smug suburbanites, crooked bosses and “yellow-bellied sheeps” satisfied with their lot in life becomes the only way of life.

From injustice to revolt, brutality to insurrection, order to chaos: one after the other, the characters threatening fire and brimstone see it turned on themselves—and neither time nor place has much of a say in the matter.