David Ménard has plenty of ideas. After rust doll, where he gave a human face to Corriveau, here he is giving voice to the monstrous stepmother of Aurore Gagnon, Marie-Anne Houde, who was herself the victim of abuse in her youth. “I am not testifying at my own trial. I am reminded that my word as a woman would harm my fate. Using the formula of the fiery love letter, the Franco-Ontarian writer in no way seeks to excuse the actions of the woman who escaped the gallows. On the strength of his research, the novelist allows himself a few liberties with reality and presents this appalling figure from the little history of crime as a sensual woman, a freedom-lover, ardent in love with Télesphore Gagnon, her second husband. While certain puns and numerous religious references sometimes turn out to be cumbersome (“Insidious. / Thus God.”), Ménard’s language proves to be pleasantly inventive (“J’avalanche and crush me in my tears”).
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