Our best books of 2024

BalconiesMarianne Brisebois

Since its beginnings with Except Sam is deadMarianne Brisebois has always had a pen that is both deep, uninhibited, and poetic. She does not escape it in her latest novel, Balconieswhere she deconstructs the stereotypes of toxic masculinity with the birth of a friendship between two young men who will help each other get back on their feet and heal their long-standing wounds.

The accuracy of the words, the subjects addressed, the authenticity of the characters make this novel moving. To read for those who want something sweet, but also want to be stirred. Rosie St-André, The Nouvelliste

Haunt VillerayGabrielle Caron

Comedian and podcaster by trade, Gabrielle Caron published her first novel with Stanké in August. A young woman has died, doesn’t know why, and finds herself as a ghost in her apartment.

Tinted with humor, love, nostalgia and mourning, this book is the perfect example of a versatile pen. You can burst out laughing on one page and have tears in your eyes on another. Few authors do it in a natural and authentic way, especially for a first fiction. You have to believe that Gabrielle has it in her blood.

Perhaps the fact that she wrote it without pretension in order to have fun may have contributed to this success. Rosie St-André, The Nouvelliste

Fierce loves: 10 chiaroscuro views on motherhoodCollective led by Caroline Décoste

Motherhood. A subject that affects all women (yes, yes, even those who are not mothers or do not want to be) and whose facets must be approached from all angles, without filter. This is what this collective did. Whether funny, sad, heartbreaking, or vindictive, the stories are unique, authentic, and that is what makes this collection beautiful.

Each woman will be able to recognize a piece of herself or of one of her loved ones, of something she experienced or of which she had already heard briefly. A feminist collective that reminds us of the importance of asserting our rights (again) and raising our voices. Rosie St-André, The Nouvelliste

It’s all coming back to me nowJean-Michel Fortier

Quebec, early 2000s. MSN, shopping centers, tripping over Celine Dion, with a hint of LGBTQ+ representation. Published by La Mèche, this novel by Jean-Michel Fortier takes us through the twists and turns of adolescence, the quest for oneself, the discovery of one’s identity, first loves and the friendships that shape us.

It’s refreshing, nostalgic, it warms the heart. We recognize ourselves there, we dive back into our own secondary school. We smile, we want to cry (a little). A balm that feels good and that you have to read to discover all the subtleties. Rosie St-André, The Nouvelliste

Like a long tank crashJoël Martel

When they learned that Joël Martel was launching a first novel, those who follow him on the Web probably believed, like me, that it would be funny. And yet, we cry much more than we laugh when reading Like a Long Tank Accident, in which the Alma author takes a tour of all his dead.

These are his own bereavements, big and small, that are being discussed. And yet, we can’t help but recognize a little of our own in it. As if the book was actually a frank discussion, and the author our long-time friend.

In short, a book of beautiful and authentic simplicity. Who talks about death without being morbid. And reading it will do you a lot of good. Marc-Antoine Côté, The Daily

Before burningVirginie DeChamplain

What a striking, original and lively pen is that of Virginie DeChamplain! With one foot in poetry and the other in more conventional literature, the author from Rimouski offers us a novel at the end of the world, with Before burning.

And despite all the ugliness and desolation expressed throughout the pages, as a backdrop to a worn-out world, it is the beauty that emerges. It’s the beautiful that we remember. Like a happy contrast with all the imaginable crises, which are already combined in the present, in our reality.

With this second publication in La Peuplade, the author confirms the literary skills that she had shown us with The Cliffs – book awarded the Jovette-Bernier prize – in 2020. At the same time as it shows what can resist the flames, in the midst of an apocalypse. Marc-Antoine Côté, The Daily

Small TownMélikah Abdelmoumen

With Small TownMélikah Abdelmoumen had the ambition to captivate her readership with a good story, while provoking important reflections.

This is how the author balances between fantasy, suspense and drama. Taking advantage of the freedoms of fiction – and the literary background acquired over the course of his 11 previous books – to highlight real injustices. Both social and economic.

By plunging us into the heart of the mystery surrounding the death of Simon, a famous journalist with many enemies, Mélikah Abdelmoumen actually raises much broader questions. Particularly in French media, fertile in provocative columnists.

A nourishing read, certainly, but also entertaining! Marc-Antoine Côté, The Daily

The giftKristina Gauthier-Landry

This is a book that has the gift of reaching everyone. Even those who don’t necessarily like poetry.

After all, the work almost embraces the form of a novel, despite its assertive prose and large spaces between words.

It leads us along a clear narrative thread. Tells us a well-ordered story. From a childhood spent in Natashquan, with an omnipresent woman, holder of all gifts.

It is precisely about the relationship between Kristina Gauthier-Landry and her own mother. But any child, any parent, is likely to recognize themselves in it. Sign of a universal poetry, within the reach of anyone. Marc-Antoine Côté, The Daily

OrAndré-Philippe Côté

It’s hard to imagine how three little letters can hide an entire universe behind them. By turning the first page of Ama, however, we indeed open the door to a world in its own right, that of a young artist who wishes to complete her works without letting herself be stepped on. And this, even if, at the dawn of the Great Darkness, those close to her and society will try to put her in a cage. With this work of great beauty that he signs with intelligence and sensitivity, André-Philippe Côté speaks of feminism, love and history, but above all the need for freedom that comes with the act of creating. Lea Harvey, The Sun

Garbage!Simon Paré-Poupart

We no longer see our waste in the same way after reading this wonderful essay by Simon Paré-Poupart. And, just for that, we can call it a successful mission. The author, a drainer himself, could easily have fallen into criticism, forcing his readers to feel guilty. But, on the contrary, when reading the work, we have the impression that it takes us by the hand, opening our eyes to a system in which we participate on a weekly basis without really understanding how it works. A great discovery! Lea Harvey, The Sun

I work in noiseYannick Marcoux

It’s difficult to fully understand the atmosphere behind the counter of a bar when you’ve always been on the customer side. With I work in noise, Yannick Marcoux however gives his readers the opportunity to cross the border, to go behind the scenes alongside the waiters, managers and owners of bars or microbreweries who work hard for their thirsty guests. a good time in their establishment. With the precise pen of the author, we slip without difficulty into this festive universe where alcohol flows. Colorful characters and shadows included. Lea Harvey, The Sun

The ocean’s shareDominique Fortier

Each time she publishes a new book, Dominique Fortier examines a little more closely what the act of writing consists of. In The Ocean’s Part, it is this fine border – if there is one – between fiction and reality that she explores through the universe of Herman Melville and his giant of American literature , Moby-Dick. After having immersed his audience in the work of Emily Dickinson, Dominique Fortier this time plunges into the intimacy of Melville, into his mysterious letters left unanswered. Little bits of life and fiction that light up under the magnifying glass of his poetry. Lea Harvey, The Sun

DraculaBram Stoker

We know the story well. The one that has made us shiver for decades written by Bram Stoker. Dracula was published in 1897, so it has nothing to do with anything new. But a reissue appeared on booksellers’ shelves last month in a deluxe version, embellished with 32 illustrations by Quebec artist Christian Quesnel. And that is the whole point of this book which marks the quest for immortality of this tale from Transylvania. Quesnel’s illustrations are fascinating works of art which, at the same time, become an integral part of this epistolary novel. Callidor Editions hit hard with this reissue, the preface of which is signed by Stephen King and the afterword bears the signature of Dacre Stoker, the author’s great-grandnephew. In addition to diving back into this great classic, this is a very nice item to give as a gift! Mario Boulianne, The Law