As well tell you right away, I really enjoyed reading Royal family, an autobiographical story in which Stéphane Rousseau recounts himself with disconcerting frankness. Not for a second was I bored, letting my emotions alternate between laughter and tenderness.
Updated yesterday at 7:30 p.m.
For a long time, the popular comedian kept his memories of childhood and adolescence to himself. Then, one day, he started telling them to friends, including filmmaker Denys Arcand. The latter advised him not to scatter them to any wind and to make a book of them. “It was during the filming of Barbarian invasions. I told him bits of my story. He said to me, “Stop it. I could draw inspiration from it without wanting to. You have to write this story, otherwise you will squander it.” That’s what I did. »
His friends Louis Morissette and France Beaudoin (who wrote the preface) also encouraged him to recount the moments that marked his life. Stéphane Rousseau threw himself headlong into the tedious exercise of writing a book. To help him, he turned to author and columnist Rose-Aimée Automne T. Morin. “I first tried to do a classic biography, but I quickly realized that it didn’t work. The book then took the form of fragments gleaned here and there in its 56-year journey.
The title Royal family announces the colors of the book and these stand far from pretension. There was absolutely nothing royal about the Rousseaus.
For much of his childhood, young Stéphane lived with a sick mother who passed away when he was 12 years old. Berthe’s departure left a great void in the teenager’s life.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Stéphane Rousseau will be having his book launch at the Snowbird Tiki Bar this week.
The father, Gilles, a colorful character, made his son live green and not ripe. Even if a great mutual admiration united the two men, the father sometimes let the flesh take over, not hesitating to flirt with the girlfriends of son. “It is sure that when he disappointed me, I received it like stabs in the stomach. But I think that deep inside me, there was this ability to make me believe that nothing had happened. I was lying to myself. For a long time, I had difficulty accepting certain gestures from my father. But at the same time, I had so much love for him. »
And then there is Stéphane Rousseau’s sister, Louise, who is now missing. Their relationship was not rosy. Feeling that the father only cared for his son, Louise took her frustration out on her brother. “With my sister, it’s clear that there was a bond between her and my father. You know, we all have a history with our family. Sometimes there are unhealthy links. »
“I weighed every word”
Stéphane Rousseau has made the bet to deliver these snapshots borrowed from his life by trying to get as close as possible to the truth, even if it can sometimes look like provocation. The details surrounding the illness of his mother who had undergone a colostomy are both disturbing and imbued with great humanity. “I like to captivate the audience, on stage and in life. I wanted the book to be punchy, but I didn’t want to distort reality. I was ready to go far. However, I was afraid of hurting people who are still alive, my father’s friends or his ex. I polished my stories and weighed every word. »
Throughout the pages, we go from surprise to surprise. Rousseau obviously wants to have fun with the readers. “I liked to give the impression that we were heading towards lightness and that ultimately it was not that. Life is like that. And with us, there was a lot of self-mockery. »
The Rousseaus have long frequented a nudist campsite. This partly explains the fact that Stéphane discovered the pleasures of sexuality at a very young age. At age 13, he had his first sexual encounter on the campsite’s baseball field. While adolescence makes him a rather attractive young man, he will however want to accompany his conquests with a certain romanticism.
His debut in the entertainment world is one of the very good moments in the book. It was thanks to the hilarious Roméo Pérusse that he made his debut as a comedian in bars when he was in 1D secondary. With this master of the condensed joke, he learns the art of putting an audience in his pocket, no matter the conditions.
It is surprising to see that Stéphane Rousseau, despite several sordid experiences, never took the path of delinquency. Roméo Pérusse had worked out a completely arranged amateur talent contest with the guy from the views he presented in bars across Quebec. Stéphane Rousseau was an accomplice in this scam. But this gloomy universe ultimately had no impact on the young man.
It was my bitchy side that saved me. I was fearful. I had a sixth sense for danger. And since I never liked bickering, I moved away from this environment. I didn’t like when my buddies did a bad job, I didn’t like dope.
Stephane Rousseau
“My son is exactly like me. Quickly I imposed a lifestyle on myself. There was a time when I didn’t drink beer three days before a show to keep my mind sharp. »
At the risk of repeating myself, Stéphane Rousseau pushes hard on the cork. Some details might offend chaste readers. But it is thanks to this excess which plays on all the poles that a balance is made and that the emotion comes. It’s hard not to get misty-eyed when he recounts the time his father (who also had a colostomy) pulled his pants down in the kitchen and said, tearfully crying, “They sewed my butt up!” »
Another scene particularly touched me. It takes place on Christmas Eve when her son is in Ottawa and is with his mother’s family, with whom Stéphane Rousseau no longer lives. Without revealing anything, I’m just telling you that Stéphane Rousseau rented a splendid Santa Claus costume and that he borrowed the 417.
This son, who is now 13, had not yet read his father’s book at the time of our interview. “He’s going to find out things about me, that’s for sure. But at the same time, he knows very well that I am no ordinary dad. »
It often happens that authors, who lend themselves to an exercise in autofiction or autobiography, have the feeling of entrusting something to the public that will no longer be part of them. What about someone who has ever wanted to move after letting a television crew take pictures of their house?
“I confess that I have a certain vertigo in the face of this outing. But at the same time, I’m very proud of the book I’ve done. I could tell you more about it in a few months, but right now I’m thinking that this book might help me sort out some things. What is certain is that I needed to do it and I did it. I will bear the consequences. »
264 pagesRoyal family
Stephane Rousseau
KO Editions
264 pages
In bookstores on Wednesday