How Should a Person Be?

From the universally acclaimed creator of The Center Stories and Ticknor comes an intense cross examination into the chance of a wonderful life. In what capacity Should an Individual Be? is a novel of numerous personalities: a life account of the brain, a postmodern self improvement guide, and a fictionalized picture of the craftsman as a young lady — of two such craftsmen, truth be told.

For reasons different and baffling, Sheila ends up in a situation of self-question, addressing how an individual ought to be on the planet. Motivated by her companion Margaux, a painter, and her apparently untortured capacity to live and make, Sheila gives Margaux a role as material, setting out on a progression of accounts wherein nothing is excessively close to home, excessively appalling, or too worn-out to be in any way transformed into workmanship. En route, Sheila goes up against a cast of painters who are similarly hindered during a time where the sensual caress is a definitive fine art. She starts scrutinizing her longing to be Significant, her journey to be both a pioneer and an understudy, and her reluctance to forfeit herself.

Looking, solid but severely entertaining, In what manner Should an Individual Be? is a splendid picture of workmanship making and companionship from the mystic underground of Canada's most furiously unique essayist.