With so much published in a year, a reader have to take risks here and there when comes the time to buy a book. At the Salon du livre de Québec 2023, I tried my luck with a couple of books I hadn’t heard of. The one that surprised me the most was a little novel by the name of Von Westmount.
The cover design was eye-catching. When I saw the plush house and the word Westmount, I knew that a detour to the west end of Montreal would be in order. For non-Quebecers, Westmount is known as a more affluent area, where the majority of residents use the English language as a means of communication, in a predominantly French-speaking Quebec.
During the year we follow Aline, the heroine of Jules Clara, she toils away at odd jobs, living her life as best she can, until chance allows her to try her luck with a new job.
She eventually finds herself in the English-speaking milieu of Montreal’s west end, and through her, we witness the lifestyle and conversations that take place in a private residence in the town of Westmount. Will the heroine be able to adapt quickly to her new duties and make choices in keeping with her interests and values? How will her vision of Montreal evolve, literally and figuratively?
I loved this little book right to the end. It’s worth noting that some people had trouble understanding the conclusion, a conclusion that certainly seemed to me a logical choice to include in a story of this kind.
Some people also objected to the use of the English language in some sections of the novel. As far as I’m concerned, I think the English language had its rightful place and played an important role in the unfolding of the story. But you need to know English well, not just stammer a few words.
In short, you’ll have a great time with Von Westmount if you enjoy a bilingual book and are interested in the special dynamics between Montreal’s west and east ends.
Acrylic painting in progression of Tintin and the Black Island.
Welcome to the second and last part of Tintin and the Black Island. The photo above shows the clouds almost completed. The yellow sky was a problem, because once on the canvas, the color became too dark as it dried. I had to find a recipe for a lighter yellow than the one on the original cover so that as it dried the color would get darker and match the color of the album.
Details of the castle of Tintin and the black island.
The photo above shows the progression of the castle and the island, but this time with the birds as a bonus. Hergé drew a lot of black birds around the castle, which adds to the sinister look of the place. But he also thought of drawing two larger birds in the foreground, of which one seems to be heading towards Tintin.
Painting in progress of Tintin and the Black Island.
The painting is progressing rapidly. I have already worked on it for about a hundred hours to get to this point. The sea has received all its touches of black paint to form the appearance of waves.
Scale copy of Tintin and the Black Island.
The picture above gives an idea of the size of the painting. The painting must often be placed on a table to paint the elements that require great precision.
In the background of the photo, a journalist from the Canadian news channel RDI is seen on television. He is commenting on the street blockage situation in Ottawa by truckers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The protesters fight for their rights, but do not respect the rights of the citizens of Ottawa who, for weeks, are trapped in their neighborhoods. The Canadian government finally put an end to the situation by invoking the Emergency Measures Act with the added bonus of a $306 million lawsuit brought by residents against the protesters.
24×36 picture of Tintin and the Black Island completed.
Above is the completed painting. You will notice that the white tones of the boat differ on the back and side. There is white combined with black and a touch of yellow for the side of the boat, rather than the pure white required for the back. It took some experimenting with colors to finally realize the need for yellow.
The waves flattened by the boat are now just rounded bubbles behind the boat. However, on the sides, the appearance differs because the movement of the boat breaks the waves: Hergé therefore ensures a different treatment of the foam. He thought of everything, as usual!
It is now time to move on to another project. I am not sure yet, but I am thinking of “Blake and Mortimer” these heroes of Edgar P. Jacobs, a great master of the clear line style who initially worked with Hergé.
Glénat just published a book titled “Edgar P. Jacobs le rêveur d’apocalypses”, if you want to learn more on the subject…
Both Sorj Chalandon, in his novel “Enfant de salaud”, and Régis Jauffret in “Papa” try to grasp the enigmatic personality of their father. Sorj Chalandon’s father is said to have been a Resistance fighter and a traitor at the same time, while Régis Jauffret’s father is said to have been filmed coming out of a Gestapo interrogation session, terror on his face. Where does the truth lie? Who are these fathers really?
In a previous text, I presented the book “Enfant de salaud”. Now it’s the turn of the novel “Papa” by Régis Jauffret.
As one might expect with Régis Jauffret, the writing style differs radically. The author is the winner of the Goncourt short story prize (2018) for his novel “Microfictions 2018”. His sense of synthesis, black humour and even cynicism makes this return to the father’s past a literary as well as historical adventure. The reader quickly understands that the author takes pleasure in presenting his discoveries. He even adds a bit of fiction when necessary.
True to my habit when it comes to Régis Jauffret, I will present his book through selected quotes. Indeed, the interest of the book lies as much in the content as in the way Régis expresses himself to enlighten his subject. Here are a few quotes (translated as best as possible) that may help to grasp the tone of the book:
“I took communion.
Someone pointed out to me on the way out that I wasn’t a believer.
– That’s right, a wafer or chips.
I smiled, but after this blasphemy I was not very happy. When you have been educated religiously, you always keep the terror of God in the back of your mind”.
“He had just had a stroke which, far from handicapping him, seemed to have cheered him up”.
“She told me that the moisture had blown away the veneer [of the coffin]. All that was left was a box of blackened boards. I wasn’t in a good enough mood to call the funeral home lady to invoke the eternal guarantee that such metaphysical products undoubtedly enjoy”.
“One of those happy memories that make you feel good that you never went to a gun shop to buy something to shoot yourself in the head”.
“Alfred was instructed to clench his teeth during coitus without sighing, while she remained as stoic as when the dentist teased one of her molars with the tip of his drill without anesthesia”.
“Through the vast copper bell of a gramophone perched on a pedestal whose statue had been stolen, Édith Piaf shouted ‘J’ai dansé avec l’amour’ (I danced with love) while the cries of the martyrs rose from the basement”.
“Writing about oneself is a form of incontinence”.
“We are condescending to deaf people without status or talent, but we prefer to deal with them sparingly. When you haven’t seen them soon enough to have hidden behind a construction machine or a bulky man, you greet them from afar as you walk away”.
“If I had not seen these images, you would have remained in the sewers of my memory”.
“If I last as long as Madeleine, I will be a centenarian who will unexpectedly ruminate on his father in his dried-up brain like a currant while an orderly built like a colossus swings my emaciated body in the air to change my diaper”.
“Pitiful descendant of protozoa that have become multicellular beings with brains, humanity has no reason to show off”.
“It is heroic in times of war to assume the role of the executioner, even if it means being wrong sometimes, because in extreme situations doubt never benefits the accused”.
“He talked from morning to night. Anyone he met on the street was showered with language like a careless person on a pier on a stormy day by a surge of water. In his office, everyone was soaked. So much so that people ran away from him, but he always managed to find someone who was kind enough to let himself be flooded”.
“I never heard him talk about his day either. The weather had been fine, it had snowed, it had rained, a chamois had crossed the trail in a tail, a man hit by a storm had burst into flames, a lady had fallen into a crevasse while singing a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach”.
“During this time, Jean-Jacques and Honoré undertook the sisters red as blue meat to find themselves in the presence of two boys whose pants in the fashion of the time moulded the genital apparatus of which they dreaded in advance the sting”.
