Life in the Court of Matane

by Éric Dupont, Peter McCambridge (Translator)

Nadia Comaneci’s gold-medal performance at the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976 is the starting point for a whole new generation. Éric Dupont watches the performance on TV, mesmerized. The son of a police officer (Henry VIII) and a professional cook—as he likes to remind us—he grows up in the depths of the Quebec countryside with a new address for almost every birthday and little but memories of his mother to hang on to. His parents have divorced, and the novel’s narrator relates his childhood, comparing it to a family gymnastics performance worthy of Nadia herself.

Life in the Court of Matane is unforgiving and we explore different facets of it (dreams of sovereignty, schoolyard bullying, imagined missions to Russia, poems by Baudelaire), each based around an encounter with a different animal, until the narrator befriends a great horned owl, summons up the courage to let go of the upper bar forever, and makes his glorious escape.

Genres: Fiction, France

265 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2008

About the author

Eric Dupont est né à Amqui (Gaspésie) en 1970. Il est l'auteur de Voleurs de sucre
(2004), La Logeuse (2006), Bestiaire (2007) et La Fiancée américaine (2012). Il enseigne la traduction à l'Université McGill. // Eric Dupont is an author, teacher and translator who lives in Montreal. His French-language novel La Logeuse won the Combat des livres. He was a finalist for both the Prix littéraire France-Québec and the Prix des cinq continents. He was the winner of the Prix littéraire des collégiens and the Prix des libraires. His fourth novel, The American Fiancée, published in Canada as Songs for the Cold of Heart by QC Fiction, was on the 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist and was a finalist for the 2018 Governor General's Literary Award for translation. (Photo credit: Justine Latour.)

Reviews

[Steven Buechler · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘This is a coming-of-age novel that a reader needs to carefully read and ponder over in a quiet space.” Even with the book being set in rural Quebec, there are elements that Dupont brings forward in the plot that are universal in all our experiences growing up during the 1970s and 80s. And reviewing those issues now and reconsidering them sort of helps with the traumas.

http://tinyurl.com/yc78oe6o

[Peter McCambridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished translating and publishing Bestiaire in English. Coming July 1 as Life in the Court of Matane from QC Fiction, a new imprint of young Quebec authors in translation. qcfiction.com.
Review and excerpt at quebecreads.com/matane

[Peter McCambridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'ADORE ce livre!

[Karine P · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'aime beaucoup le talent de conteur d'Éric Dupont. Il réussit à m'amener quelque part, puis à me changer de place sans que je ne m'en rende compte. Récit d'un enfance pas jojo, mais qui fait preuve beaucoup de résilience, entrecoupé de faits sur les animaux!

[Pierre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting perspective on Québec society s seen through the eyes of a child.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Récit poétique qui laisse place à l’imagination des lecteurs et lectrices.
L’auteur à le don d’être drôle et touchant en parlant de sujets sérieux et des réalités propres à la vie des années 70-80 en région éloignée.
Beau livre que je recommanderais.

[Jim Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I altogether enjoyed reading this humorous and intelligent look at growing up in the eighties in rural Gaspésie. Eric is definitely an introvert and this along with his love of books, gets him picked on in the school yard (for the longest time Eric thought the epithet "faggot" meant someone who could read!). His conversations with animals, especially Laika the Muscovite dog and the Baudelaire-loving great horned owl are so inspired that you will find yourself re-reading the passages again and again. As I was getting close to the end of the book, I was so engrossed in Eric's personal quest to escape Matane that I found myself saying "Wait! It can't end yet"! Trust me, you'll find yourself hoping that Eric Dupont is, at this moment, somewhere in la belle province writing a sequel to Life in the Court of Matane.
Full review is here: http://wp.me/p60sTD-tv

[Genevieve Brassard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5: Un livre inventif et émouvant qui me rappelle mon enfance et qui évoque en détails les années 70 et 80 au Québec, et les tribulations des enfants du divorce. This book reminded me of the wealth of talent in French-Canadian literature that I’m not reading enough. Dupont is smart, tender, and joyful, even when revisiting painful childhood memories.

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quelque part entre l'imaginaire et un cours d'histoire du Québec, l'auteur nous offre la sienne, son histoire de 6 à 16 ans. Truffée de références de tout horizon, il arrive à bien nous faire ressentir le caractère étouffant de cette enfance remplie d'interdit, de blessures et d'austérité.

"-Comment vas-tu transmettre la mémoire sans transmettre la rancoeur?
-Là n'est pas mon intention."

[Line Dufour]

Eric Dupont is uproariously funny, balancing the poignant and the questionable values and lack of stability for the protagonist's family life portrayed. Very cleverly written, and humour comes easily to the author. So far have loved all his books, and have been privileged to have been able to read them in French, the language they were written in.

[Cristina Cuervo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,25 - il a très bien montré la profonde isolation et mélancholie qui peuvent arriver à l'enfance et l'adolescence, spécialement pendant des périodes de turbulence familiale, et le secours que la littérature peut representer.

[Kelly Huang · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book! I love reading in French. The language just has a different ring to it.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lu le premier tiers, c'était sympathique et clair, mais bon, j'avais comme compris le principe de l'histoire et je n'y suis pas retournée sans m'en plaindre.

[Hubert Ricard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pas très intéressant. Un peu déçu par cet auteur.

[Lisa-Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lu en 2015 - 5/10

[Denis Rene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Récit qui ressemble beacoup à une auto biographie j 'aime le parallèle de ses patents vs la cours d'angleterre.Rappel au plus vieux certain faits marquants des annés 80.

[Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A life recounted with a touch of the fantastic.

[Mammals · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Quand j'eus sept ans, elle m'expliqua que j'avais atteint l'âge de raison et que j'étais maintenant en mesure de raisonner comme un adulte; autrement dit, de cesser de pleurnicher et de réclamer ci et ça.
- Tu peux maintenant comprendre certaines choses.
- Comme quoi?
- Les choses avec les gens.
- Les gens?
- Oui. Les histoires de famille.
À partir de ce moment, je me jurai de faire partie de ceux qui ne comprennent rien."

[sansmythologies · Rating 5 out of 5]

comme une main qui vous effleure la joue. un sourire long comme l'éternité. un tour de carrousel vers l'infini; des aurores boréales plein le coeur. ok, j'aime maintenant éric dupont d'amour.

[Jeff Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable and funny

[QC Fiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

QC Fiction published this book in June 2016. We love it (obviously). Here are a few nice things people have said about it so far:

“This novel from Dupont … the first from a new fiction imprint dedicated to publishing ‘the very best of a new generation of Quebec storytellers in flawless English translation,’ lives up to that ambition. … By turns poignant, playful, and nostalgic, the book evokes ’70s Quebec with the quirky but successful device of combining an autobiographical family story with motifs drawn from fable, history, politics and myth. … Translator McCambridge beautifully captures the joyous top notes and the darker undercurrents of this fascinating voice.” (Publishers Weekly)

“Wildly imaginative … a remarkably sensitive and intelligent coming-of-age story told with an irresistible blend of heartache, humour and magic.” (Numéro Cinq)

“A beautiful, tragicomic coming-of-age story … This translation is knocking my socks off.” (Bronwyn Averett, Book Riot)

“With an excellent translation by McCambridge, one which reads smoothly and keeps the humour which undoubtedly pervades the original, Dupont’s novel makes for an entertaining look at a Québécois childhood. … It all makes for an impressive start for QC Fiction.” (Tony’s Reading List)

“a captivating voice that sharply trapezes between a heightened version of his parents’ divorce and life in the countryside … Eric’s insights brim with intelligence.” (Foreword Reviews)

“Tangential, expansive in its ability to capture youth at a crossroads, and unexpectedly piercing … an inventive novel” (Foreword Reviews)

“QC Fiction has done a great service to English readers everywhere by translating this popular Quebec novel for us.” (The Miramichi Reader)

“an irreverent cocktail … a feast of a novel, calorie-filled and decadent” (Québec Reads)

“a highly original read” (PRISM magazine)