[Critique] “Yesterday for nothing”, Alain Raimbault

“What a strange situation to know what is going to happen, to know in advance the tenor of the conversations. I feel like a thief. Very uncomfortable. At fault. Holder of a truth, forbidden, taboo”, writes in his diary the narrator ofYesterday for nothingthe day of his 44e anniversary. Rather the day when he lives a second time his 44e anniversary. Drawing inspiration from his experience as a volunteer in a CHSLD at the height of the pandemic, Alain Raimbault, a French writer established in Quebec since 2011, offers a story that, despite a few digressions, would make the producers of the series jubilant. black-mirror. In the running for the Europe 1-GMF literary prize (a first for a Quebec publisher), this short novel, in which the author draws parallels with Don Quixote in addition to sketching touching portraits of seniors and immigrants, tackles with originality the failures and shortcomings of the health system in order to highlight the impacts of loneliness, isolation and bereavement.

Yesterday for nothing

★★★ 1/2

Alain Raimbault, The very moment, Longueuil, 2023, 184 pages

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