Synopses & Reviews
“Poulin is a master of imagery and dialogue: They rest like froth on top of something much more murky and morose: an underlying fear of emptiness.”—The Silhouette
Peacefully employed on an uninhabited island, a translator of comic strips (codename Teddy Bear) lives in the company of his dictionaries, his marauding cat, Matousalem, and his tennis ball machine (the Prince). Convinced that the translator’s happiness is in jeopardy, his boss helicopters in a few solitude-seeking companions—the beautiful and elusive Marie with her flirtatious cat Moustache; the seductive nudist, Featherhead; Professor Moccasin, the half-deaf comic strip scholar; the moody and contradictory Author; the Ordinary Man; and the Organizer, sent to “sensitize the population.” As the spring tides drag ocean debris onto the shore, Teddy Bear and his companions seek out their own solitudes in this hilarious philosophical fable.
Jacques Poulin’s novels include Volkswagen Blues (a finalist for Canada Reads 2005) and La tournée d’automne (Autumn Rounds). Poulin received the 1978 Governor General’s Award for Les Grandes Marées(Spring Tides) and the Molson Prize for lifetime artistic contribution in 1990 and 2000. He lives in Québec.
Synopsis
A splendid introduction to "one of the finest and most underrated novelists in Quebec" (The Globe and Mail).
Synopsis
Peacefully employed on an uninhabited island, Teddy Bear, a translator of comic strips, lives in the company of his faithful dictionary, his marauding cat, Matousalem, and the Prince, his tennis ball machine. Convinced that the translators happiness is in jeopardy, his boss helicopters in a few solitude-seeking companions: the lovely and elusive Marie, the aging nudist Featherhead with her extroverted Chihuahua in tow, Professor Moccasin, the somewhat deaf comic book scholar, the irritable Author, the Ordinary Man, and the Organizer, sent to "sensitize the population." The feverish pitch of the islands discordant chorus rises with the spring tides. Jacques Poulins hilarious philosophical fable is an existential masterpiece.
About the Author
Poulin is widely considered the most North American of Quebec French-writing authors. His published novels include Volkswagon Blues (1984) and La tournée d'automne (Autumn Rounds, 1993). Among his many awards are the 1978 Governor General's award for Les Grandes Marees and the Molson Prize for lifetime artistic contribution in 1990 and 2000. He lives in Quebec. Sheila Fischman has published more than 125 translations of contemporary French-Canadian novels. She was twice awarded the Canada Council translation prize and received the Governor General's literary award in 1998. In 2002, Fischman was named to the Order of Canada, in recognition of the quality of her translations and unparalleled contribution to Canadian culture. She lives in Montreal.