In Montreal, when you step out of your home and open the door to your backyard, you often find yourself in an alley. And it is within this network of small streets connecting the backs of buildings that the daily lives of the city’s residents unfold. Every day, summer and winter alike, the alleys welcome children playing freely, adults socializing, busy workers, and passersby of all kinds. Amid scattered toys, greenery, and graffiti, beneath colorful pennants and clotheslines, people play, garden, meet, help one another, experiment, create, and dream... A book that chronicles the alleys from yesterday to today, offers several walking tours of the city to explore them, and, above all, serves as a vibrant tribute to Montreal’s labyrinthine alleys and the people who inhabit them.

Featuring interviews with Michel Tremblay, Pierre Huet, and Michel Rivard.