Born spontaneously on social networks 10 years ago, the movement “August 12, I buy a Quebec book” has become an essential summer event celebrating Quebec literature.The Duty » asked four of the best-selling authors of August 12 to recommend a few titles to set your sights on Monday.
David Goudreault’s suggestions
The best way to pay tribute to a deceased writer is to go back and read him or her.
Cataonia, François Blais, The very moment, Quebec, 2015, 120 pages
Collection of short stories bringing together six adventures of the same upstart narrator protagonist, Monsieur B.
“It’s really very funny! It’s rare, and a sign of a certain virtuosity, to be able to be funny in writing. His book is full of self-mockery and well-delivered social criticism, without moralizing. François Blais is someone I admire a lot for his artistic approach and the tone he was able to find. He had a very raw and very true view of the world. His death upset me.”
Who do I think I am?, Lori Saint-Martin, Boréal, Montreal, 2020, 192 pages
With this intimate story, the author draws inspiration from her personal history to reflect on the notion of identity.
“It’s a very well-written story, flirting with poetry at times. It’s a declaration of love to the French language and to Quebec. Through her story, we discover that Lori Saint-Martin dreamed of living in Paris. She didn’t live there, but she died there, an unjust and premature death. There’s something heartbreaking about that.”
My end of the world, Simon Roy, Boréal, Montreal, 2022, 136 pages
A novel between reality and fiction in which the author questions the meaning of fear, hope and the gift of happiness.
“Simon Roy knew he was writing his last book, he was preparing for his death. It’s something powerful, it creates an incredible intimacy with the reader. It’s also a sad privilege to be able to accompany the writer in his last words, his last thoughts. […] He is the teacher I would have liked to have, a truly beautiful human being that I had the chance to meet.”
Line Richard’s suggestions
The joke of the century, Jean-Christophe Réhel, Del Busso, Montreal, 2023, 256 pages
A novel that speaks of brotherly love, but also of precariousness and mourning.
“We discover in this book a deeply human writing that exploits the daily life of less fortunate people. Jean-Christophe’s pen is poetic. He describes ethical situations that make us laugh and cry at the same time, making us experience a whole range of emotions. The character of Guillaume, who is schizophrenic, really touched me.”
And when we reach the end we will take root, Kristina Gauthier-Landry, La Peuplade, Saguenay, 2020, 128 pages
A collection of poetry that talks about childhood and nostalgia.
“Kristina Gauthier-Landry’s poems are sober and touching, inspired by her North Shore childhood. This is poetry that is accessible to everyone. She takes us on a journey through the simple joys of wide open spaces, makes us want to eat berries in the peat bog and take Route 138.”
Novel without anything, Antoine Charbonneau-Demers, VLB publisher, Montreal, 2024, 376 pages
A novel filled with travel, encounters, introspection and reflections on writing.
“I devoured this book in two days, it grabbed me. It has two registers: the first part is an autofiction written without any avoidance; the second part is a fictional story where the truth is disguised, in an offbeat version of the first story. I saw in this book a feeling of distress and a good dose of derision.”
Eric Chacour’s suggestions
Secondary roots, Vincent Fortier, Del Busso publisher, Montreal, 2022, 192 pages
A novel that pays tribute to the resilient Montreal gay community in the face of multiple persecutions.
“It’s a thought-provoking read, but it’s not without emotion. There are moments of grace, like Philippe’s visit to his father, who has been weakened by illness, when he starts putting make-up on him because he finds him pale. […] It is very well documented, sometimes raw. It is necessary, too. Vincent writes “by avoiding the subject, we sometimes give it even more relief”, that sums up his writing well.”
Glass People, Catherine Leroux, Alto, Quebec, 2024, 288 pages
A social and philosophical novel that explores the notions of freedom from the perspective of the “unhoused”.
“This glass people is us. Our fragilities, our contradictions, our renunciations as a society. […] I find in this book everything I love about Catherine Leroux: a crazy intelligence, a certain poetry and the ability to create worlds that are almost ours. This one is populated with souls and bodies (which struggle, collapse, fuck, wear out, bleed, and, sometimes, straighten up), hope can be guessed like the light between the fences. It is captivating like a stormy evening.
The night Laurier Gaudreault woke up, Michel Marc Bouchard, Leméac, Quebec, 2019, 96 pages
A play telling a family drama against a backdrop of questions about our relationship with death.
“I have boundless admiration for Michel Marc Bouchard, the way he constructs his plays, of leading the audience down false trails, of injecting humor, even at the heart of the drama. [Dans cette pièce] It’s about secrets, homosexuality and family tensions, what Michel Marc Bouchard calls his palette and which he uses to paint us masterpieces.”
Dominique Scali’s suggestions
At home, Myriam Vincent, Bush Poets, Montreal, 2022, 326 pages
A disturbing novel that encourages reflection on motherhood and mental burden.
“It’s a real page turner, It’s very difficult to put this book down. There’s this kind of suspense that you get when you’re caught up in a haunted house story. But you feel that there’s a second level of reading, a reflection behind the story. Personally, I saw it as a metaphor for a dynamic of domestic violence.
The account is correct, Louis-Daniel Godin, La Peuplade, Chicoutimi, 2023, 272 pages
A novel that takes the form of autofiction inspired by psychoanalysis.
“The author asks himself: do we owe a debt to our parents when we were adopted? It’s a book that I found both very profound and very funny. It’s very psychological because we try to quantify the unquantifiable. But there is also a lot of humor in Louis-Daniel Godin’s writing, it made me smile a lot.”
Lourdes, Catherine Lemieux, Boréal, Montreal, 2023, 368 pages
A novel that turns into a satire of academia by staging a feminist conference devoted to a little-known Russian poet.
“It’s a really atypical novel, which surprised me. It’s crazy but full of flashes of lucidity. I found myself writing down lots of quotes that I found very clear-sighted and well-turned. The author uses clichés in her way of describing the characters, whom we have certainly already encountered in our lives.”