13 essential works published in recent months to read this summer

With the frenzy of everyday life, it is sometimes difficult to be on the lookout for the novels and essays that thrilled readers during the winter and spring. As the hot season approaches, The duty has listed 13 essential works published in recent months, to be devoured without reservation this summer.

The version that interests no one

Few books have captured as much public attention this year as Emmanuelle Pierrot’s first novel. Set in the heart of a punk community in the Yukon, the story follows Sacha and his best friend, Tom, who experience the freedom to which they have always aspired. When the young woman falls in love, however, the dream turns into a nightmare for her. Sacha then comes up against everyone’s judgment, pushing her to an exclusion that is as cruel as it is sudden. Impactful.

The unsightly

In her new book, journalist and presenter Claudia Larochelle took part in the collection III of QuébecAmérique by drawing on three of her memories, to which she added an element of fiction. From her years at college to her quest for love, through her beginnings in journalism, the narrator accumulates scars, without ever giving up living fully. An ode to sorority, both sensitive and necessary.

Before burning

Virginie DeChamplain’s second novel features two survivors in the forest, determined to make a nest in a world turned upside down by tidal waves, floods and fires. What Anne-Frédérique Hébert-Dolbec said about it : “The mutilated, altered and resilient landscapes in which the characters evolve find an echo in the fiery and raw language of the writer. »

Rue Duplessis

Radio show host Think out loud, on Radio-Canada, Jean-Philippe Pleau recounts in this work his childhood in Drummondville, where he grew up with an illiterate father and a mother with little education. He tells the story of his “internal migration” which led him to move from this modest environment to a “bourgeois world”, in which he now lives.

King Ovide XIX followed by Floating Thoughts

With King Ovid XIX, the illustrious writer Antonine Maillet delivers a learning story where the characters let themselves be carried away by the adventures. In the second part of the work, Floating thoughtsthe 95-year-old author discusses the need to write and the love she has for her native Acadia. What Marie Fradette said about it: “A collection for ears big and small, for those thirsty for words, for life, for all the blissful fools who cannot imagine the future without drawing from the source. »

I ask you to close your eyes and imagine a quiet place

In her second novel, Michelle Lapierre-Dallaire explores, among other things, her queer identity, her relationship with the male gaze, as well as her close relationship with her mother. What Anne-Frédérique Hébert-Dolbec said about it : “She anchors her writing in the body to push her thinking to its smallest limits, unearthing the intertwined roots of her desires, her fantasies, her aversions and her fears. »

Luxury

Laurence Provencher’s debut novel addresses the world of appearances and performance anxiety through the character of Cleopatra, who studies at a college where failure is not an option. The protagonist, however, struggles with the strange feeling of having forgotten moments of her life. What Marie Fradette said about it : “Sensitive and strong novel which bears witness with lucidity, humor – and overall a bit of lightness – to an important societal evil. »

This desire points me

In her autobiographical essay, writer Claire Legendre, a Montrealer of French origin, deals with the two facets of fantasy: lack and vital force. What Anne-Frédérique Hébert-Dolbec said about it: “Based on a decade’s experience of involuntary celibacy, the author dissects the complex avenues of desire, including sexual desire, the desire to please, the desire to possess and the desire to influence, which manifest in the absence and expectation of love. »

The knife. Reflections following an assassination attempt

After being the victim of an attempted murder in 2022, the British-American writer of Indian origin Salman Rushdie wrote down on paper his thoughts arising from this event, as well as the story of his convalescence. What Christian Desmeules said about it: “A story that is sometimes lively, sometimes unbearable, often shot through with the humor that characterizes it. »

Fantastic love story

Halfway between a thriller and a love story, the latest book by French writer Sophie Divry tells the story of the relationship between a man and a woman who should not have met. What Christian Desmeules said about it : ” In Fantastic love story, […] these are two solitudes that brush against each other and find each other. Which is in itself a kind of miracle, a supernatural and somewhat fantastic coincidence. A fantastically paced novel that is difficult to put down. »

The details

In The detailsthe narrator reviews the significant moments of her life, such as the love story she experienced with a woman named Johanna in the early 1990s. What Christian Desmeules said about it: “In prose that is captivating, falsely spontaneous, and reminiscent of Deborah Levy, Ia Genberg, a Swedish journalist and novelist born in 1967, resurrects an era of landline telephones, postcards and suspended time. »

On the wild side

To write this new thriller, American author Tiffany McDaniel was inspired by a news story that took place between 2014 and 2015 in Ohio, where six women disappeared. What Sonia Sarfati said about it: “In this cruel and intense tale, the only magic is that of a writing which, like the omnipresent river here, dazzles with its beauty as much as with the muck that it brings to the surface of things and people. »

Ama

In the pages ofAmaAndré-Philippe Côté creates the character of Amanda Duval, a visual arts artist, feminist and non-conformist, who lives in the Quebec of Great Darkness. What François Lemay said about it: “A strong character, an erudite and sensitive work, this is a mixture which allows us, as far back as the 1930s, to talk about what we are today. »

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