One morning in May, 1984, a young man is settling scores with his conscience. Victim of a family curse, he knows that he is destined to die soon. Indeed, since childhood, his life has been overshadowed by the figure of a doppelganger: his uncle and godfather who died young. The young man is convinced that he is a replica of this deceased relative, whose fate he is destined to imitate. Not wishing to receive death from anyone else besides himself, he decides to end his own days on the day he turns 20. Major and minor incidents on that commemorative day get woven into a manuscript he is writing to explain his act. Memories, his fiancée stopping by, his parents coming to visit, a friend or a pretty neighbor dropping in unexpectedly all constitute occasions for him to settle his debts, and to proceed to liquidate his past. Nevertheless, as the clock ticks, ever more violent emotions assail him, and his tale becomes more precise, one question haunts him with growing insistence: is he really the master of his own fate? Or is he no more than its plaything?
The novel counts 24 chapters, one for each of the 24 hours of this fateful day. Since it is about someone writing, the story is shadowed with a reflection on the nature of writing itself. In stylistic terms, the roots of Self-Portrait with Can-Opener can be found in the flamboyant and brutal black humor of Barbey d’Aurevilly, Villiers de l’Isle-Adam and Léon Bloy.