My Face in the Light

Justine feels uneasy in her marriage, her theatre career and her relationship with her estranged mother, a famous painter. An intuitive and uncanny mimic, distinguished by a pronounced scar across her forehead (the result of a childhood accident), Justine has made acting the centre of her life since she was a teenager, but lately her seemingly charmed off-stage life in Toronto has begun to ring false. After a disastrous audition in London, England, a chance encounter with a stranger leads to an unorthodox business proposition thatwould allow Justine to abandon Toronto indefinitely. She begins to toy with the idea of throwing away the life she is expected to want for the allure of something she can't quite grasp. As the contradictions and complications of leaving one's life behind swell to the point of crisis, Justine must confront the collateral damage of a traumatic past she has long repressed.

In psychologically astute prose full of provocative insights and gem-like sentences,My Face in the Lightis a moving exploration of truth in art and identity. It's the story of a young woman owning up to the lies she's fallen in love with, and figuring out if she can still recognize herself when she finally lets them go. (From Penguin Random House Canada)

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Martha Schabas is a novelist and critic based in Toronto. Her first novel,Various Positions,was shortlisted for an Evergreen Fiction Award. She wasthe Globe and Mail's dance critic from 2015 to 2020, where she also wrote about theatre and books.

Interviews with Martha Schabas

The Next Chapter53:59June 16, 2014

Kate Pullinger on "Landing Gear" - Christopher DiRaddo on "The Geography of Pluto" - Martha Schabas on her day job - Our Mystery Book Panel recommends great summer reads - Julian Porter on "149 Paintings You Really Need to See in Europe"

The Next Chapter53:59August 4, 2012 (February 2012 Encore)

Michele Landsberg on "Writing the Revolution" * Martha Schabas on "Various Positions" - Sonia Rodriguez on "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond and "Open: An Autobiography" by Andre Agassi - Douglas Coupland on "Highly Inappropriate Tales for Young People" - Jonathan Ball on "Clockfire"