Reading suggestions for November

Hugs by Anne Micheals translation Dominique Fortier, Viola

Canadian author Anne Micheals has been writing poetry and novels for over 35 years. In Hugspublished by Éditions Alto in September, it offers us the story of love in times of war and love in all its tenderness and memories over several generations. The story begins with John and Helena, a love story whose existence will be felt beyond wars and times. A journey through landscapes that intertwine with memories of meetings and embraces sometimes lost. An intoxicatingly beautiful writing. A novel of great literary power.

Recipient of numerous literary prizes, Anne Micheals won the Transfuge prize for best Anglo-Saxon novel for Held (Hugs) and is shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Giller Prize.

Terraces or our long kiss so long delayed by Laurent Gaudé, Actes Sud/Leméac

November 13, 2015 is a pivotal date in the history of contemporary France. The feeling of security of the citizens of Paris has been profoundly shaken. In this short 144-page story, Laurent Gaudé plunges us into the psyche of those who were direct or indirect victims of the attacks that shook Paris. Who were these women and men who were preparing to go to a terrace or a concert in complete innocence? A long-desired first meeting, the joy of finding her sister, the mother who fears the worst, the noises, the shock and the incomprehension. A story so as not to forget the victims and their loved ones. So as not to forget the carefree nature of life.

Houris, Kamel Daoud, Gallimard

Kamel Daoud won the prestigious Goncourt Prize on November 4 for his novel Houris which recounts the ravages of the Algerian civil war in the 1990s. Praised in France and reviled in Algeria, the author wrote about this dark period which he knows well since at the time, he worked as a journalist at Quotidien d ‘Oran. In 10 years, the violence has left nearly 200,000 dead. It is through the voices of women and particularly that of Aube that we will return to the place where massacres took place. Aube, aged 26 and pregnant, carries the scars of this violence with her. A violence that the author describes in all its ugliness and brutality. A sometimes unbearable read, but necessary.

On the roads. A strange journey from Chicago to Alamogordo by Catherine Mavrikakis, Heliotrope

With the American elections taking place this month, this story by Catherine Mavrikakis is ideal for diving into the heart of a divided America. The author recounts the crossing of the United States that she made last summer. We travel with her the roads and paths that lead to characters and places that are different from each other. An America that she knows well from having lived there, but which continues to surprise and which remains elusive in several respects. Art, literature, cafes, museums are landmarks in the vastness of the country. A journey down the road of memories and an uncertain future.