So begins the imaginary interview that comprises this novel. Professor Y, the interviewing academic, asks questions that allow C矇line, a character in his own book, the chance to rail against
convention and defend his idiosyncratic methods. In the course of their outrageous interplay, C矇line comes closer to defining and justifying his poetics than in any of his other novels. But
this is more than just an interview. As the book moves forward, Professor Y reveals his real identity and the characters travel through the streets of Paris toward a bizarre climax that
parodies the author, the critic, and, most of all, the establishment.
