With the caustic daring of Brett Easton Ellis and the offbeat, psychological insight of Douglas Coupland, You Crushed It is a captivating exploration of love and the corroding nature of power in creative industries.

Raph Massi is crushing it. A young up-and-coming comedian, he’s successfully navigating the internal cosmos of the stand-up industry and burying long-borne insecurities with each successful gig. He does so with the support of his girlfriend, Laurie, who narrates the book, sharing their sensual, mundane moments of new love and the creative collaborations that follow.

But, when Laurie dumps him, Raph’s heartbreak metastasizes into paranoia, cruelty, and a path that is as lonely as it is destructive. Baril Guérard shares an exacting portrayal of the innermost thoughts we hide from the world and from ourselves. The result is a devastating critique of the soft underbelly of toxic masculinity and the complicated ferocity of those who protect it.

You Crushed It is an eminently readable, witty reflection on artistic prowess, community, and the intoxication of success.

Born in Plessisville, Quebec, Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard has published two novels in French: Royal and Sports et divertissements (longlisted for the 2014 Prix des librairies). Guérard also co-authored the novel Les cicatrisés de Saint-Sauvignac, stories of water slides and Ménageries, a collection of illustrated tales--both published by Les Éditions de ta Mère. He has written a number of plays, including Quatre Contes Crades / La damné de Lachine and other crazed tales, and Baiseries, and wrote and directed Tranche-Cul/Cut-Throat, a play presented at Montreal's Théâtre Espace Libre in December 2014 and in London, UK, in 2016.[51 words] Newfoundland-native Aimee Wall is a writer and translator. Her essays, short fiction, and criticism have appeared in numerous publications, including Maisonneuve, Matrix Magazine, the Montreal Review of Books, and Lemon Hound. Wall's latest translation is of Vickie Gendreau's Testament (BookThug, 2016). She lives in Montreal. Connect with her on Twitter @aimeelouisewall.

Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard's profile page

A three-time nominee for the Journey Prize, Neil Smith published his debut collection, Bang Crunch, with Knopf Canada in 2007. It was later published in America, Britain, France, Germany, and India. It was chosen as a best Book of the year by the Washington Post and the Globe and Mail. His second book, a novel called Boo, was published in May 2015 with Vintage Books in the U.S., William Heinemann in Britain, and Knopf in Canada.

Neil Smith's profile page

“Caustic, sarcastic, and raw, You Crushed It shines a spotlight on the world of comedy and what it reveals isn’t pretty. An up-and-coming young comedian is totally shattered when he’s dumped by his girlfriend, who narrates their story in the second person and future tense (a daring choice). A captivating novel that gets under the skin where all our insecurities, pettiness, and contradictions lie.” —La Presse

“Beyond its fascinating premise, You Crushed It is a rare kind of love story, one that dissects the psyche of a man suffering through a painful breakup. The sympathy we at first feel for stand-up comic Raph Massi turns to pity, then impatience, as he clings to the paranoid belief that he’s the butt of a sick joke and tries to take everyone down with him.” —Le Devoir