Élise Lagacé likes love stories and romantic comedies. Meeting with the author ofA chance that we love each other, 1. Dear Dolores, the first part of a trilogy about a woman who sees her life turned upside down. A perfect read, all in humor, for the beautiful days ahead.
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
The author also loves vaudeville, slamming doors, surprises and twists. This is what awaits us in Dear Doloresthe first part of a trilogy, which immerses us in the universe of Dolores, a woman who, in appearance, leads a perfect life.
Mother of three boys, Atlas, Orion and Hermès, she is in a relationship with Franck, an egocentric cinema superstar, and lives in a large and beautiful house. Her life changes when he tells her that he wants to reorient their couple to live an open relationship, with other women, and wants to separate. Dolorès then returns to her native village, which she left 20 years ago, and accepts the garage that her father bequeathed to her. This move causes an electric shock in the village which does not see with a good eye the return of Dolores from the big city. “Dolores is a very complete, intrusive woman, owner of a garage who wears velvet high heels while repairing cars”, exclaims the author Élise Lagacé whom we met.
Telling the quarantine
The themes explored by the author Élise Lagacé are numerous: the family we leave behind, the couple who are going badly, the midlife crisis, the responsibilities we flee and life in the countryside. “I grew up in the countryside and I live north of Joliette, in Lanaudière. There is a real community spirit, it’s very strong, we are all linked to each other, a bit like a big family. There is a mutual aid, a total acceptance of the other, which we find in my novel. We live in old houses, we all know each other. There are obviously love-hate relationships, jealousies and people who envy the lives of others, ”she explains.
This life, precisely, made up of unforeseen events, good and bad surprises, is sometimes painful, especially when difficult decisions have to be made. And when you enter your forties, you have three children and responsibilities, you sometimes want to give up everything.
I had this need to tell about my entry into forty, the age that I have always perceived as the expiry date for women. When I was younger, I remember a friend who was in his forties who told me that he didn’t like women of his age, because in the morning he thought they were hard… It marked me so much, it is awful.
Elise Lagace
“I thought to myself, this is going to happen to me, too. Whereas now I’m 42 and I’m so much better about myself than I was at 25. And women are so much more fulfilled. We free ourselves from everything, we know what we want, we have fun, we take responsibility. That’s what I did while writing this trilogy. A chance that we love each other, that’s the title! Can we stop tearing each other apart and love each other! »
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Élise Lagacé, author ofA chance that we love each other
Élise Lagacé worked for a long time in various publishing houses as an editor or in promotion. She admits that she has difficulty getting ahead. “It took me a long time. Writing has always been my goal, it’s my life, it’s who I am, it’s part of me. I like to tell stories, I am inhabited by my characters who sometimes surprise me. I have lots of ideas and that’s why it’s a trilogy. »
She promises that with this book, which is her second novel, the reader will have fun (we confirm!) and that the sequel is promising, her characters being out of control. “I like literature that entertains, that makes you think at the same time, I like that reading takes place in pleasure and joy! »
Dolores in songs
The music takes a special place in this novel since each chapter corresponds to the title of a song. The DJ Dollie profile was created on Spotify and Deezer, and we find on the Chère Dolorès list his 50 songs. A very varied choice that goes from Julien Clerc to Lionel Richie via Missy Elliott, The Beatles and Robert Charlebois. “It is a paraliterary element. I find it interesting to nourish the text with music, it’s a way of creating a real universe for the character of Dolores, who was a DJ. »
A chance that we love each other1. Dear Dolores
Elise Lagace
Editions Editorial
336 pages