''Lost in September'' is the second novel by

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer

Kathleen Winter Kathleen Winter (born 1960) is an English-Canadian short story writer and novelist.
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, the novel centres on Jimmy Blanchard, a mysterious homeless man who believes himself to be the reincarnation of 18th-century British general

James Wolfe James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a Major-general (United Kingdom), major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the Kingdom of France, French ...

."Review: Kathleen Winter's Lost in September is evocative, humane and totally original"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', September 22, 2017. Possessed of an encyclopedic knowledge of Wolfe's life, he is particularly obsessed with an 11-day

furlough A furlough (; from nl, verlof, "leave of absence") is a temporary leave of employees due to special needs of a company or employer, which may be due to economic conditions of a specific employer or in society as a whole. These furloughs may be s ...

that Wolfe lost in 1752 when the British adoption of the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

resulted in his being summoned back to war earlier than planned, and believes his presence in contemporary Montreal to be a belated restoration of the furlough. The novel was shortlisted for the

Governor General's Award for English-language fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in English.2017 Governor General's Awards The shortlisted nominees for the 2017 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were announced on October 4, 2017,

. ''Onze jours en septembre'', a French translation of the novel by Sophie Voillot, was shortlisted for the

Governor General's Award for English to French translation This is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for English-to-French translation awarded by the Governor-General of Canada. Winners and nominees 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s References {{Governor General's Literar ...

at the 2019 Governor General's Awards."Three Nova Scotians among 2019 Governor General's Literary Awards finalists"
''Truro News'', October 2, 2019.

References

2017 Canadian novels Novels set in Montreal Novels by Kathleen Winter Fiction with unreliable narrators Knopf Canada books {{Canada-novel-stub