Almost eight years separate Mélissa Verreault’s previous book from The Tarantula Nebula. Busy years during which the author taught, translated, raised her triplets, got involved at UNEQ… and also wrote an entire novel which remained in her drawers.
“The title was also The last wall, no joke! », says Mélissa Verreault during a rich telephone interview. “It was premonitory, I knew that I was going to get into it solid…” Sometimes you have to take long detours before finding the right route, and the author does not regret this “obligatory passage” of the abandoned book – a manuscript of 80,000 words, anyway!
“After a long period of doubt, this was the path I had to take to arrive today with something that suits me. Without this bifurcation, there would not have been The nebula. Not in the current state, not with all this complexity. »
It also helped her reconnect with the pleasure of writing, which she had “lost a little along the way”. But if she then undertook what would become The Tarantula Nebula without putting pressure on herself, she added a coefficient of difficulty by writing it… by hand. She thus established the foundations of her novel in 12 notebooks which, she believes, took her as close as possible to the essence of her subject, into the depths of emotions and memories.
“It became the raw material that allowed me to reach what was most burning, to beat around the bush less. Afterwards I retyped everything on my computer and I did like any writer in 2024, I used the copy and paste function, which is still practical! »
But what was burning like that? For the first time, Mélissa Verreault wanted to take inspiration from her own story to tell another, that of Mélisa, who strangely resembles her, but who is not her. She therefore drew on her youthful experiences, but it was not so much the soil of childhood that interested her as the interpretation and power of memories which differ depending on the emotions linked to them.
The true and the false
Mélissa therefore follows Mélisa, who meets by chance an old flame from high school, which leads her to dig into her memory which plays tricks on her. The author takes the opportunity to talk about the past which bursts into the present, about grieving even if it is painful, about small and big betrayals, and, obviously, about identity.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESS
According to Mélissa Verreault, her roles as a literature professor and translator have made her a better writer.
There are parts of me that are easily recognized if you type my name on the internet. My husband is Italian, I have triplets, I live on the south shore of Quebec. But what really makes up an identity? The person we are, what is he made of? That’s how I chose each scene in the book.
Melissa Verreault
Mélissa Verreault has always loved this thin line between true and false. And she deliberately maintains the blur between reality and fiction in this dense 400-page novel which wanders through different temporalities, often without warning, and sowing clues for those who want to have a little fun.
“I wanted it to be playful, not in the themes, but in the way, yes. So much so that in the end, we don’t really know! I wanted to make people doubt more than give answers. » For example, if she was very meticulous with her timeline, the order might have been different. “As if my structure was a proposal, and not something fixed. »
The author, who is convinced that both her role as a literature professor at Laval University and her work as a translator have made her a better author, is eager for the book to take off, and above all, to find readers again.
The reason why I like writing is that afterwards, we can start discussions. It allows for a real encounter and helps me move forward.
Melissa Verreault
Fantasy
In addition to her various projects, Mélissa Verreault was also part of the board of directors of the Union of Quebec Writers (UNEQ) for 10 years. She was even vice-president when a crisis shook the organization last year around the introduction of union dues, which led to the wholesale resignation of the board in March 2023.
She admits, the experience leaves her with wounds “that will heal with time”. “But we are all in post-traumatic shock! It played really hard. » However, she does not come away bitter, and above all she is proud of her journey. “I learned so much and met amazing people. Last year included, even if it was tough. I’m not ready to dive back right away, but one day, someone will see me again. For me, commitment is a way for the writer to exist in the world. »
Now that her book is out, the author hopes that it will find itself “in all kinds of hands”: even if it is an ambitious work, she still has the concern, as in her previous novels The anxiety of the goldfish And The paths of disappearance, to tell a story – or rather stories. “Everyone can benefit from it,” she believes.
She also dreams of buying the international rights to make a film. ” That would be wonderful ! It’s the writer’s fantasy. You cannot make a living from your pen any other way in Quebec. »
Of course, she doesn’t want to reduce writing to simple financial considerations. “Writing is much more than that for me. » But if she spent 10 years at UNEQ, it is because she deeply believes that writing is “a profession that deserves payment”.
“I wish for the book, and for me, that I would be less obliged to accept all kinds of contracts to survive, and more devote myself to my projects. This is my wishful thinking. »
The Tarantula Nebula
X Y Z
400 pages