“Writing is not living, it’s surviving,” Blaise Cendrars once said. This desire to move forward, to get back in the saddle, to brave the hourglass which is inexorably emptying is what pushed Yves Beauchemin, now 82 years old, to publish his ninth novel.
Almost 50 years later The enfirouapéa novel which propelled him into the restricted galaxy of successful authors, Yves Beauchemin launches A stormy nighta story built around the improbable meeting of a young man, Philippe, who leaves his hometown, Joliette, to settle in Vieux-Longueuil, a place that the author knows well having lived there since 1976.
This boy, blessed with “lively eyes” and a “mouth that would make girls want to kiss him,” finds himself in the hospital after a bad fall on an icy sidewalk. When he sees him, emergency doctor Romain Bellerose is petrified: this Philippe looks in every way the brother he lost as a teenager.
“It all started with an image: I saw a young man, in winter, on rue Saint-Charles in Longueuil, who slipped and injured himself quite seriously. He goes to the emergency room, which brings the other character. After that, you just have to write the novel,” Yves Beauchemin confided to me quite simply during a very warm conversation.
Someone who has sold books by the thousands is not the type to spend hours dissecting his approach. He has this quality that has always characterized him: knowing how to create strong characters that he plants in a gripping story.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Yves Beauchemin
For my first novels, I made precise plans. I got tired of this, because there is a risk of mechanical writing. I wrote my last books like one launches into the sea to swim. It puts more tension.
Yves Beauchemin
As is often the case with Yves Beauchemin, this story is driven by human kindness. I mentioned this to the author, who seemed surprised by my observation. “You make me realize that there is indeed in my stories a desire to help others… This is the case in The coffee seller And Juliette Pomerleau. »
This new novel by Beauchemin, some of whose works have been adapted for cinema or television, has the appearance of a real screenplay. We move from one scene to another a bit as if we were watching a series. Moreover, it is surprising to see that this outstanding storyteller has never been entrusted with screenplay projects.
“People from Radio-Canada once invited me to eat during the Cat. They wanted me to write a TV novel. My experience at Télé-Québec allowed me to see that the writers always had someone over their shoulder. For me, writing is a work that is done alone. I refused this offer. »
When Yves Beauchemin began writing a novel, he rented an office where he went every morning at 9 a.m. For this project, he did not do it and he regrets it. However, he was able to enjoy the calm of his chalet. “My method is as follows: I reread what I did the day before, I correct it and that allows me to enter the story again. I’m moving forward at three pages a day. When I make four and a half pages, I’m very happy. »
After 18 works, if we bring together the various volumes of his works, his children’s novels and his other books, Yves Beauchemin has never tried to be different from what he has always been. And the enormous success he has had is not a burden. ” I consider that The Tomcat And Juliette Pomerleau were extraordinary opportunities. My other novels were very successful. If they had repeated that of Cat, I would have been unhappy, because it would have become an obsession for me. »
The writing ofA stormy night, which took place over two years, was made possible thanks to a grant from the Conseil des arts de Longueuil. When Yves Beauchemin told me that, both my arms fell off. How can an author who has sold a million copies of Cata novel that has been translated into 17 languages, could it need financial support?
“Contrary to what you may believe, I am not a millionaire. Let’s say that publishers make a lot more money than authors,” he notes.
Tell yourself that when a book is published in South America, it is very difficult to recover the copyright. It costs more for lawyers to take these steps than the rights themselves.
Yves Beauchemin
The distribution of his books in France, however, was more lucrative. “That said, when you go through France Loisirs, it brings in around 50 cents per book. There aren’t many writers who are rich in Quebec. I’m lucky enough to be able to make a living from my writing, it’s an extraordinary privilege. I would have a hard time complaining about my life. »
Yves Beauchemin states that he applied for this scholarship to “kick himself in the butt”. “When you have a commitment, you have to respect it. »
It is said of this novel that it “could be” the author’s last. Before leaving him, I asked him what would determine whether this will be the case or not. “What would help a lot is if I didn’t die. From a certain age, the idea of death becomes part of our daily life. I think that’s why I wrote A stormy night. If you notice, this idea is not present in the book. These are characters who live and who live fully. »
In bookstores September 26
A stormy night
Quebec America
304 pages