In occupied Paris in 1940, Celia Rosenberg, a prostitute, discovers passion through Karl-Heinz Hausen, a Wehrmacht officer. Everything separates them. Nevertheless, she follows him to Germany and Poland, as she clings to this strange relationship. But, as a Jew, her fate catches up with her. Little by little, the implacable Nazi death machine eats away at her illusions, at her refusal to see the truth. She is drawn into another love which opens her to every dimension of consciousness. In this novel the author's masterly style renders the atmosphere of the times, eroticism, suffering and memory palpable.

Yolande Villemaire is one of Quebec’s most prolific writers, proficient in both poetry and prose. She has given poetry readings and performances around the world. Her novel La vie en prose won an award from the Journal de Montreal in 1980 and her poems, L’armoure received a Radio-Canada award in 2002. She also received a Quebec-Mexico poetry prize in 2008 and the Career Award from Quebec’s Council of Arts and Letters in 2009. Also in 2009, she was a guest of honor at the Festival de la Poésie de Montréal. She has published more than twenty-five books, four of which are available in English translation from Ekstasis Editions: Midnight Tides of Amsterdam, Poets & Centaurs, India, India and Little Red Berries. Yolande Villemaire lives in Montreal and is the director of TOTEMPOÉSIE.

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