Our editorial writers offer you three outstanding works of the past year.
state of terror
State of Terror
Louise Penny and Hillary Rodham Clinton (translated from English by Lori Saint-Martin and Paul Gagné)
Flammarion Quebec
480 pages
I’m not the greatest fan thrillers, but I devoured in one sitting state of terror. For the panting pen of Louise Penny who slips a Quebec touch into this story of an international terrorist plot. But a lot, too, for the political behind-the-scenes games that lead us from the secret corners of the Capitol to the mountains of Afghanistan, passing through… the Eastern Townships. On the trail of Secretary of State Ellen Adams, who flies from a meeting with the Grand Ayatollah of Iran to an interview with the Russian president, we feel all the experience of the one who was really head of American diplomacy .
Stephanie Grammond
To have and to be had
To have and to be had
Eula Biss, translated from English (United States) by Justine Augier
Shorelines
280 pages
From the purchase of her house, Biss – like her husband from an underprivileged background – wonders about the notion of privilege that comes with the status of owner. Each gesture, each expenditure triggers an original and stimulating reflection. I discovered a singular voice that I would classify in the same family as other writers that I adore: Deborah Levy, Joan Didion, Rebecca Solnit… I recommend this book to everyone, ex or future owner, and even to permanent tenants. It is a hyper accessible essay that makes you think.
Nathalie Collard
Of tyranny – Twenty lessons from the XXe century
Of tyranny – Twenty lessons from the XXe century
Timothy Snyder (translated from English by Pierre-Emmanuel Dauzat), illustrated by Nora Krug
Gallimard Editions
128 pages
The graphic adaptation of the essay of tyranny, by the American historian Timothy Snyder, brought this “guide to resistance” back to the fore. So much the better. It is one of the most brilliant works to have been published in recent years in response to the rise of authoritarian populism and the erosion of democracy. The book is divided into 20 lessons drawn from the European history of the XXe century, which taught us that “societies can fall apart, democracies can sink”. We can prevent history from repeating itself, believes the author of this invigorating book. His solution: immerse himself in history, draw warnings from it and learn from it.
Alexandre Sirois