The Original Face

A novel about the gig economy.

Twenty-nine-year-old Daniel is an under-employed internet artist who’s struggling as much with money and inspiration as he is in his relationship with Grace. Against a backdrop of a digital economy that rewards online platforms instead of content creators, with climate-change anxiety hanging in the air, the resolutely contemporary Morissette immerses readers into a year of modern love, as Daniel and Grace navigate their aspirations, insecurities and ambitions amidst a culture obsessed with selfies and identity.

A fresh and imaginative critical examination of work and life in the 21st century by the author of the “cultishly popular” New Tab.

Reviews

“More than anything else it’s the rhythm of the writing that takes over, and it’s impressive how assured Morissette is in this respect. His writing’s ease and transparency, its charm, topicality, informality and discontinuity, mimics the internet’s own narrative code.” -Alex Good, CNQ

“What makes Morissette’s novel different is how Daniel’s online life is the content of his real life, not its opposite, and how Morissette conveys this as worthy of the novel’s attention, without gimmicks. It’s also very, very funny.” -Jade Colbert, The Globe and Mail

“Alt-lit superstar Guillaume Morissette has an axe to grind. By the end of his latest opus, The Original Face, entire forests have been felled by it: from masculinity’s old-growth pines, to the whomping willows of baby-obsessed in-laws, to the wicked licking poison oaks of Silicon Valley… It’s an angry novel. It’s a dark novel. It’s also a deeply funny novel.” -Joe MacNeil, Cult Mtl

“Read The Original Face if you want to see sharp writing about the times we live in; don’t do it if you’re afraid to find out something about yourself.” – Jay Slayton-Joslin, Empty State

“The Original Face made me think a lot and there is plenty to unpack here. The novel portrays the lives of the young precariat, and examines how one individual makes meaning for himself in the twenty-first century. The Original Face is an ultra-contemporary reminder that life is always a work in progress.” -Jeff Miller, Montreal Review of Books
Advance Praise for The Original Face:

“The Original Face is a glorious clusterfuck of existentialism, sarcasm and humiliation. Morissette conquers the conflict of money, art and love in a way that resonated with me to my core.” –Chloe Caldwell, author of Women and I’ll Tell You in Person

“I laughed a lot while reading The Original Face. Guillaume Morissette’s perspective on Montreal, the internet and life in general feels fresh and relatable. Yes.” –Devon Welsh, singer/songwriter, formerly of Majical Cloudz

“Involving, sharp and very funny, The Original Face is a poisonously comic take on labour, ’emotional arthritis’ and the grand dystopia of being.” –Tamara Faith Berger, author of Maidenhead