A neighborhood is worth a thousand words | Bringing the vanished Faubourg back to life

In Fancy MolassesFrancis Ouellette paints a raw portrait of his childhood in the Centre-Sud district in the 1980s, more precisely in the remains of the Faubourg à m’lasse. Through violence and casual friendships, precariousness and family, the novel tells the story of a community that sticks together and kicks each other. The Press retraced the steps and memories of the author, guided by the latter.

Social housing

My whole family lives in the same block, between Poupart, Maisonneuve, Dufresne and Ontario streets. Our HLM is right in the center.

Several urban legends attempt to explain the etymology of Faubourg à m’lasse, this French-speaking working-class neighborhood, but what is certain is that the proximity of the port of Montreal, which received barrels of molasses, played a role in its name.

Although the neighbourhood has not existed for decades, descendants of the people who lived there still have a sense of belonging to the “Faubourg”. This is particularly the case for the family of Francis Ouellette, three generations of whom have never lived outside its limits.

For the author, the heart of this small enclave is the HLM on Logan Street where he grew up. The apartment building, its backyard and the alley are transformed into an urban theatre, reminiscent of the work of Michel Tremblay. “But slightly more violent… quite a bit more violent,” jokes the writer. On the balconies, the neighbours are sometimes the observers, sometimes the actors, whether for scenes of fights, (very) drunken evenings, heartbreaks.

“That’s where you see your first vicissitudes,” explains Francis Ouellette. “That HLM was my contact with everything that constitutes human life and the paradoxes that go with it.”

Olivier-Robert Park

The play modules made of logs and tires that look like an obstacle course. The big metal slide that bakes in the sun. The big beam to balance on, way too high.

For Francis Ouellette, one of the places that has been most transformed in the area is Olivier-Robert Park, which reopened in 2023 after renovation work. The new modern facilities of the park, located a stone’s throw from the elementary school the author attended in the 1980s, have changed greatly and are now much safer. For the writer, this reflects the evolution of morals and the importance of children in society, a concept that was not widespread when he was younger.

“At that time, it was as if it was a prerequisite that children would become tough by breaking bones in that park,” he says.

While this thought may seem more associated with the era than the neighborhood, what stands out is the need to toughen up. Indeed, the streets of Faubourg, like the park, were not the safest.

While the park had its share of risks, it was also where local youth built solid friendships and fell in love. “It was the place of all the first passions for many people of that generation,” says Francis Ouellette.

The Caravelle repairer

Frigo leaves Garnotte alley and heads to the corner of Dufresne and Logan, just opposite the Caravelle convenience store.

In addition to the balcony, Francis Ouellette mentions that the local convenience store, the Caravelle, is another place where residents could attend the Faubourg “shows,” most of which were improvised by the neighborhood’s colorful characters, many of whom appear in Fancy MolassesFrigo, the itinerant man known by all the residents and helped by several when possible, is at the heart of the story.

Running a business in the area was not easy at the time, with the high crime rates, precariousness and dependencies affecting the population of the Faubourg. “The convenience store became an epicentre of all the activity in this quadrilateral,” explains the writer, visibly impressed by Caravelle’s perseverance after more than 40 years of service. “It’s the village of Asterix, this convenience store, which persists and resists absolutely everything.”

The Treasure Seeker Bookstore

One day, I’m going to write a book about it and it’s going to sit in the middle of the apothecary’s window. The launch will happen here and I’ll drink with Vanier while Gingras hands me some minced steak.

If you walk past 1339 Ontario Street, you will find the Chercheur de trésors bookstore, but it is impossible to get in. It unfortunately closed its doors in 2018, before the author could realize his dream.

A true vestige of the Centre-Sud, the place was a meeting place for the giants of local literature, such as the poet Josée Yvon, who was also born in the Faubourg à m’lasse. “The place that kept this culturally alive [quartier]in my opinion, it was the Treasure Hunter bookstore,” explains Francis Ouellette.

Although the business closed six years ago, the same books are displayed in the window as when it closed, the layer of dust and the colors faded by the sun are the only evidence of the years gone by. Like the Centre-Sud, this business is frozen in time, which is, according to the author, a particularity of the neighborhood.

“The bookstore is there, but it refuses to leave, it’s as if it is determined to stay in the neighborhood,” the writer says. “There is a kind of instinct to keep one’s environment as it is.”

Perhaps it is the specter of molasses that keeps the neighborhood tied to its past.

The sequel to the novel, Pole Syrupwill be published in April 2025, in collaboration with the magazine The Itinerary.

Fancy Molasses (2022)

Francis Ouellette

The Wick

159 pages