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À l'abri des hommes et des choses
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À l'abri des hommes et des choses

by Stéphanie Boulay
  • critically-acclaimed
  • debut
  • french-from-quebec
  • literary
  • women-s

She lives outside the village, in the woods, near the river, with her sister. Or her mother. She doesn’t really know. Her life is simple, but nothing ever stays the same. Her body is changing; life around her is changing, too. And there aren’t many people around who can explain to her what’s happening.

A story with a sombre offbeat mood, guided along by a narrator using unique and colourful language.

EXCERPT: I’m asked: Who is your mother? Who is your father? I don’t know. . . I have Titi and that’s about all. Together we decorate windows with tree branches that wither, fall and become dry shrouds that we don’t sweep. And some nights, I feel my heart swell and try to talk to me, to say hello, something bad has happened and it’s not over. Olé.

Contributors

Stéphanie Boulay, author

Stéphanie Boulay is often called “the blonde half of ’the Boulay sisters’ ”, but she is an accomplished human being in her own right. She has been writing stories since the age of 8, studied creative writing at the Université du Québec à Montréal and knows her grammar rules better than her guitar chords. Some might call her a singer who writes, but in fact, she is mainly a writer who sings; it’s just the chronology of events that has confused things.

Reviews

  • “Stéphanie Boulay has found a style that suits her, striking the right tone, candid, coloured, clear and very close to the emotions.” - Le Journal de Québec
  • “Stéphanie Boulay’s poetry is stunning. She seems to love playing with words to make them more beautiful.” - Ton Petit Look, Blog
  • “All sustained by naive and poetic writing, unusual phrasing, convoluted meanings and revamped expressions, in a quasi-invented language.” - La Presse
  • “Her unique voice, deconstructed phrasing and metaphors as gentle as caresses have taken Stéphanie Boulay’s imagination by storm.” - Le Huffington Post Québec

Rights Holder

Rights Holder: Québec Amérique

email: avaliquette@quebec-amerique.com

website: www.quebec-amerique.com

rights sold: French audio (World)

rights available: World, excl. French audio

Additional Information

number of pages: 160

publication date: 09/07/2016

Original language of pub: French | Français

Materials Available: finished book