Posted at 8:00 a.m.
The whisper of the hakapiks
Roxanne Bouchard
Free expression
“ I met Roxanne Bouchard about a month ago. She is a literature professor at Cégep de Joliette. She had written several novels, but there she started detective novels. It’s a series of three books and I’ve made it to the second. In the next few weeks, I will surely go through the second and then the third. The first is called We were the salt of the seathe second is The Coral Brideand the third is The whisper of the hakapiks — it is the stick for hunting sea wolves. What I find special is that, first, the first two take place in Gaspésie and the third takes place in the Magdalen Islands. At the same time, it allows you to see the landscapes in Gaspésie, the difficulties of fishermen, too, with the moratoriums. Obviously, it’s a detective story, so there’s someone who dies, then there’s the famous investigator, whose name is Joaquin Moralès, who arrives. In addition, in the second, there is a story with his son who leaves Montreal, so there is the whole son-father relationship. I really liked the first, I really like the second and I want to read the third. »
Splendor and Infamy
Erik Larson, translated from English by Hubert Tézenas
The Cherche Midi
“It’s a book I’ve had on my bedside table since the Salon du livre de Québec, which was recommended to me. It’s about the year 1940 of Winston Churchill. I’ve read Churchill’s biographies before, but now what I’m told is that it’s really more personal — all the little difficulties he had with his family, but also how to keep his spirits up of his people in 1940, how to convince Roosevelt to go to war… I am told that it is very good, that it is exciting, so I want to read it. »
state of terror
Louise Penny and Hillary Clinton, translated from English by Lori Saint-Martin and Paul Gagné
Flammarion Quebec
“I admit that I haven’t bought it yet, but I want to. I often read Louise Penny’s detective novels, I like that. In addition, we have in common that we often go to the Manoir Hovey [à North Hatley, en Estrie]. Hillary Clinton also went there with her husband. There’s even one of Louise Penny’s books set at Manoir Hovey. But there, with Hillary Clinton, it’s still special. I liked it very much For nothing in the world, by Ken Follett, who spoke of a risk of world war. It was just before what happened between Russia and Ukraine, but it was just about China. There, what I understand from the book, first, we have an insider, Hillary Clinton, who can credibly pose a danger to the world order. I find it interesting, what’s going on geopolitically in the world, and I’m sure Louise Penny added a bit of romance in there, human relations. I like it, the thrillers and detective novels. I really liked Henning Mankell, I think I read all his books because the character of the investigator is so endearing. I understand that Hillary Clinton reads Louise Penny too. Me, I read half an hour, an hour before going to bed every night, so it mustn’t be too heavy, I have to get on board and allow me to get out of my day to go to sleep. It really helps me move on. I remember hearing Jean Chrétien — even though I’m not particularly a fan [rires] – say to Everybody talks about it : “I don’t listen to the news, I sleep better.” I think there’s a grain of truth in that in my case, when you’re in politics. And going to a good novel — there are good biographies, too — I like that. »