Tuesday is Buy a Quebec Book Day
Tuesday is Buy a Quebec Book Day when I’m always brought up short against how few locally produced titles I tend to read.
But two relatively recent titles I can recommend: Rue Duplessis, by Jean‑Philippe Pleau, a personal memoir about crossing the class divide in Quebec, and Hanter Villeray, by Gabrielle Caron, which could have been set in my own apartment, so felt spookily intimate. Both were published last year and I haven’t read any Quebec book from 2025 yet.
Any suggestions?
Updating to add a new study showing that younger people in Quebec are largely uninterested in Quebec cultural products – TV, movies, books, music – and far prefer material made in English elsewhere.
PatrickC 20:49 on 2025-08-12 Permalink
They are from 2024, and I don’t know if you’re a poetry fan, but I enjoyed Rhea Tregebov’s
“Talking to Strangers” and Derek Webster’s “National Animal,” both published by Véhicule. In terms of novels, I’ve just caught up with Saleema Nawaz’s “Bone and Bread” from a decade ago (Anansi). If you’ve ever known anyone with an eating disorder, some stuff will be painfully familiar. On the lighter side, if you haven’t read Peter Kirby’s Montreal detective novels (Linda Leith publishing), you are in for a treat.
Hervé 07:56 on 2025-08-13 Permalink
I just recently read “Ordures!” by Simon Paré-Poupart. It’s a short collection of essays written by a long-time Montreal vidangeur. I found it eye-opening in a number of ways.
MarcG 08:59 on 2025-08-13 Permalink
I just finished the English translation of a People’s History of Quebec and I can’t say that I found it very dazzling or insightful, but was a well-ordered summary of events that helps with perspective.
DeWolf 10:09 on 2025-08-13 Permalink
Yannick Marcoux is a novelist who worked for many years as a server at Dieu du Ciel’s brewpub on Laurier. He channelled those experiences into a book called ‘Je travaille dans le bruit’ that came out last year. Worth a read. (He’s also a very nice guy.)
JP 12:03 on 2025-08-13 Permalink
Don’t know if this counts but I’ve enjoyed reading some of Guy Delisle’s graphic novels, particularly the travel ones.
Blork 12:06 on 2025-08-13 Permalink
I just bought Guy Delisle’s most recent book (“Muybridge”) last week. Is that close enough to yesterday to count?
Kate 12:23 on 2025-08-13 Permalink
Delisle’s book on working in Pyongyang was great. I was less interested in his stuff about parenthood.
Orr 12:31 on 2025-08-13 Permalink
The “Dictionnaire historique du Plateau Mont-Royal” is full of many interesting historical facts about the Plateau and its citizens. I love it.
Orr 12:45 on 2025-08-13 Permalink
If you like riding/exploring on bicycle, Velo-Québec publishes very good bicycle-ride guidebooks for Montreal region/Quebec province.
We are fortunate to live in such a beautiful region of the world. There’s no better way to explore it than on two wheels.
Kate 13:35 on 2025-08-13 Permalink
Orr: have a look at the segment on St Michael’s Church in the Dictionnaire.
H. John 22:54 on 2025-08-13 Permalink
@PatrickC Thank You for mentioning Peter Kirby’s detective novels. I finished his first, and started his second, this evening.
Nick 08:43 on 2025-08-14 Permalink
I just recently finished John Kalbfleisch’s “No Place More Suitable”: https://nelligandecouverte.ville.montreal.qc.ca/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2687959__Sno%20place%20more%20suitable__Orightresult__U__X6?lang=eng&suite=cobalt
It’s not recent, and it was a library loan (which reminds me, I need to return it tomorrow), but it was a breezy summer read about faits-divers around the city.
JP 09:31 on 2025-08-15 Permalink
Montreal Weblog book club anyone?
JP 09:31 on 2025-08-15 Permalink
or rather Montreal City Weblog
Ian 09:50 on 2025-08-15 Permalink
I just bought a couple of D&Q books but they aren’t by Quebec authors, does that still count?
Orr 13:37 on 2025-09-03 Permalink
I read the entry on St Michael’s Church in the Dictionnaire.
A steeple without a bell!
the author of the entry should make a blog or something. (/wink)