Arts & Culture

Content curated by Roxanne Dubois.

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Vous recevrez un bulletin hebdomadaire rempli de bouchées de culture en français, dont du contenu original et du contenu d’ailleurs.

Classique parmi les classiques : Les liaisons dangereuses de Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Classique parmi les classiques : Les liaisons dangereuses de Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Il s'agit d'un exploit non négligeable que celui d'écrire un roman épistolaire où la trame narrative se développe entièrement au fil de lettres écrites d'un personnage à l'autre. Sur les quelque 600 pages du livre Les liaisons dangereuses, plus de 175 lettres tracent le portrait de relations troubles entre membres de la bourgeoisie française du 18e siècle. Rusé, malveillant et éperdument délicieux, ce roman occupe une place bien méritée parmi les rangs de la grande littérature française.

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Lectures d'hiver

Lectures d'hiver

Le printemps tarde à réchauffer ma ville, et j'en profite pour partager mes lectures francophones des derniers mois. Je vous souhaite de trouver ici quelques suggestions pour vos lectures printanières – le beau temps se pointera bien un jour ou l'autre.

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Book review: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Book review: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

For the first time in what feels like a long while, I finished a recent and popular book. Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere came out in September 2017 and an announcement earlier this month confirmed its TV adaptation in the near future. Set in Shaker Heights, Ohio, this novel tells the story of one suburban family confronted with the arrival of a mother and daughter to their rental unit. Nostalgic children of the '90s, be warned: this book hits all the right notes.

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Book Review: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

Book Review: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver was published almost 10 years ago, but that's no reason to leave it unread. In this epic novel, a young writer grows up in Mexico City, takes a job as a cook and dreams of becoming a writer. The historical context and characters give this book an intrigue worth pursuing.

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Book Review: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Book Review: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Arundhati Roy's second novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, was much anticipated in 2017. I kept hearing about the author, peeking into her non-fiction work, and I decided to read her first, well-known novel before diving into the current one. I began 2018 by reading The God of Small Things, a book published in 1996 and winner of the Booker prize in 1997. It's an epic story about twins growing up in India, and the bits of life that change their course.

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Freethinker: The Life and Works of Éva Circé-Côté

Freethinker: The Life and Works of Éva Circé-Côté

'Éva Circé-Côté was a diehard Montrealer,” writes Andrée Lévesque in her account of a woman whose impact has been, for too long, underestimated. As it turns out, this Montrealer was also a skilled journalist, a prolific writer, a provocative columnist, a lifelong librarian and an independent thinker who occupied a prominent place in the city. Yet her name is barely remembered. And without Freethinker, references to Circé-Côté would be limited to a handful of historical documents from the early 1900s.

Reading my way through 2017

Reading my way through 2017

January 2017 was somewhat of a low point. Living in the wake of Donald Trump's election as the president of the United States had a chilling effect not just on me, but on everything and everyone around me. Reading the news became more depressing than before, and I was uninspired to write—my usual remedy to seasonal blues.

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Book Review: Brother by David Chariandy

Book Review: Brother by David Chariandy

David Chariandy's second novel is set in Scarborough, Ontario in the '90s: a backdrop that turns out to be a brilliant soundtrack for the story of a teenage boy. Raised by a single mother who came from Trinidad, Michael grows up in a large residential complex called The Park. Brother is an impressive story about family, struggle, grief and violence.

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L'amour aux temps du choléra de Gabriel Garcia Márquez

L'amour aux temps du choléra de Gabriel Garcia Márquez

Il était grand temps de s'attaquer à l'œuvre de Garcia Márquez, dont les échos résonnent dans tous les recoins de la littérature. L'auteur prolifique honoré du Prix Nobel de la littérature en 1982 a atteint le statut de légende. Et pourtant, L'amour aux temps du choléra était mon premier voyage dans son univers. Il faut prendre le titre au pied de la lettre : ce roman est résolument un grand et magnifique roman d'amour.

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Book review: The Past by Tessa Hadley

Book review: The Past by Tessa Hadley

I struggled to find a good book to usher me along the dreary, grey weeks of November until I heard of the Past by Tessa Hadley. It was described to me as a skillfully written tale where very little happens, to the point where it might even be boring—but in a beautiful way. I started it right away, and it turned out that this excursion into the English countryside where grown-up family members get back together in their grandparent's home was the perfect antidote for this time of year.

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