Code Noir

Winner of the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction * Finalist for the Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize * A Globe and Mail Best Book of 2024

'A revelation... Lubrin is one of the finest writers and thinkers of our time.' Maaza Mengiste

'Code Noir is storytelling at its deepest and most intimate.' Dionne Brand

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A dazzling political tour de force from multi-award-winning author Canisia Lubrin

The original Code Noir was an infamous set of fifty-nine decrees passed by King Louis XIV. The Code enforced strict rules governing the lives of slaves in the French colonies for over a hundred years. Canisia Lubrin's stunning debut brings together fifty-nine linked fictions, riffing on the historical to take an electrifying new look at the present day.

Interspersed with original black-and-white drawings by acclaimed visual artist Torkwase Dyson, this inventive, shape-shifting braid of narratives ranges from contemporary reality to unexpected dystopia, futuristic fantasy to historical adventure. Linked by the determination of individuals to look beyond official decrees, beyond the ruins of the past, and to create meaning – and freedom – for themselves, the fictions of Code Noir combine immense literary and political force in unforgettable, multi-layered fragments.