Very recently, with several people who love to read, I went to Saint-Antoine for the launch of Andréa Richard LeBlanc’s first book. The crowd was large and his book was purchased by a large number of people with a passion for reading.
During my long life, I have gotten into the habit of twice reading books that have greatly impressed, amazed and enlightened me.
Andréa Richard LeBlanc is a magnificent example of this with her recent book: La mer à bouère.
Obviously, there are many others who have earned praise such as Carolle Arsenault who won the France-Acadie prize a few years ago; Antonine Maillet, the only one in Canada to have won the Prix Goncourt.
I did the same with several other writers who won the Nobel Prize for Literature or others who could have deserved it, had they been alive during the period of this prestigious prize, such as Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Balzac , Zola, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and many others.
To end this short letter, Ms. Richard’s book addresses very well the painful and great misfortunes experienced by our Acadian ancestors. They showed courage and resilience.
Let’s dare to walk with our heads held high, speak French as often as possible, let’s show our colors in our own language.
Watching on television the very brutal and tragic events taking place almost everywhere on our planet, in Ukraine, in Palestine, in Israel, in the United States or elsewhere in the world, makes me relive what happened to our people : exile, famine, death, destroyed houses, stolen lands.
This book greatly amazed me and will be able to do the same with its readers.
Alcide F. LeBlanc
Moncton
