''The Quincunx Cycle'' is a series of novels written by Trinidadian-Canadian author

André Alexis André Alexis is a Canadian writer who was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, grew up in Ottawa, and now lives in Toronto, Ontario.

. While loosely interconnected with various characters and places recurring in various novels each novel is written as a stand alone piece and is based on one of the themes of faith, place, love, power and hatred. All take place in and around

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a Region, primary region of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada, with approximately 13.5 million people, approximately 36% o ...

with '' Fifteen Dogs'' and '' The Hidden Keys'' both set in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Alexis Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946– ...

began the series in 2014 with ''

Pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

'' and completed it in 2021 with the publication of ''Ring''. The series was highly acclaimed: the second novel in the series, '' Fifteen Dogs'', was the recipient of the 2015

Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried co ...

. '' Fifteen Dogs'', ''

Days by Moonlight ''Days by Moonlight'' is a Canadian novel by writer André Alexis. It is the fifth novel in his planned Quincunx Cycle, a thematically linked series that examines faith, place, love, power and hatred which began with his 2014 novel ''Pastoral''. ...

'' and ''

'' were also all shortlisted for the

Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, formerly known as the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, is a Canadian literary award presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition of works submitted by publishers ...

. '' Fifteen Dogs'' and ''

'' would go on to win the award. Alexis conceived of the project as a response to

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist ...

's 1968 film ''

Teorema ''Teorema'', known as ''Theorem'' in the United Kingdom, is a 1968 Italian surrealist psychological drama film written and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini and starring Silvana Mangano, Terence Stamp and Massimo Girotti, with Anne Wiazemsky, La ...

''. Alexis completed ''

'', the first novel in the cycle, in 2009 but was unable to find a publisher for years. In 2019, while promoting ''

'' Alexis suggested that when the final novel in the cycle was published he would re-edit the entire series for cohesion.

Novels

''
Pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...
''

Quincunx 1 ''Pastoral'' was published in 2014 and examines faith.

'' Fifteen Dogs''

Quincunx 2, ''Fifteen Dogs'', deals with the theme of place. The novel was nominated for, and won, two of the highest prizes available to literature in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

: the 2015

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried c ...

and the 2015

''
Ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...
''

While labelled the third in the series, Quincunx 3 was the last novel sequentially and in order of publication. While promoting ''

'' Alexis revealed that the final novel would be called ''Ring'' and also suggested that, while characters from each series have cameos in other books, ''Ring'' would more clearly link the works together. Ring was finally published in 2021 and, while featuring characters in all of the previous Quincunx series, mostly heavily featured Tancred Palmieri, the lead character from Alexis' novel '' The Hidden Keys''.

'' The Hidden Keys''

Quincunx 4, was published in 2016. The novel deals with the theme of power.

''
Days by Moonlight ''Days by Moonlight'' is a Canadian novel by writer André Alexis. It is the fifth novel in his planned Quincunx Cycle, a thematically linked series that examines faith, place, love, power and hatred which began with his 2014 novel ''Pastoral''. ...
''

Quincunx 5 was published in 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quincunx Cycle, The Book series introduced in 2014 Novels by André Alexis Novel series Novel sequences