Cirrus Lewis loves Lupa, who dreams of becoming a great actress. While he works in a print shop, she binge-watches reality shows and gobbles down Professor Trompeloeil’s pills as though they were candies, believing their promise of instant success.

 

It’s an odd twist of fate that has brought these two together. She’s convinced that a picture is worth a thousand words; he’s certain that the opposite is true. But who can overcome the paradox? Surely not their friend Caligo, a psychiatrist who declares that his tongue should be cut out with shears if he tells a lie.

 

L’effet placebo is a dark, fanciful novel that depicts the extravagant tribulations of three residents of Cploeba. Since a placebo can take many forms, each of the three tries in a different way to cure the distress that afflicts them.