My October
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Luc Lévesque is a celebrated Quebec novelist and the anointed Voice of a Generation. In his hometown of Montreal, he is revered as much for his novels about the working-class neighbourhood of Saint-Henri as for his separatist views. But this is 2001. The dreams of a new nation are dying, and Luc himself is increasingly dissatisfied with his life.
Hannah is Luc’s wife. She is also the daughter of a man who served as a special prosecutor during the October Crisis. For years, Hannah has worked faithfully as Luc’s English translator. She has also spent her adult life distancing herself from her English- speaking family. But at what cost?
Hugo is their troubled fourteen-year-old son. Living in the shadow of a larger-than-life father, Hugo is struggling with his own identity. In confusion and anger, he commits a reckless act that puts everyone around him on a collision course with the past.
Weaving together three unique voices, My October is a masterful tale of a modern family torn apart by the power of language and the weight of history. Spare and insightful, Claire Holden Rothman’s new novel explores the fascinating and sometimes shocking consequences of words left unsaid.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
For Hugo L vesque, life in Montreal in 2001 is not easy. He is the son of the famous francophone author Luc L vesque, considered the voice of his generation of francophone Quebeckers who dream of Quebec as an independent nation. But Hugo's mother is anglophone, and he struggles with fitting into Quebec society. He speaks both of Canada's official languages but quickly realizes only one is considered acceptable in Montreal and especially in his father's view. In an effort to find where he belongs, Hugo attempts to make a connection with his maternal grandfather. "In Montreal, he used English as a weapon. But here, in his grandfather's home, it was just a language," he finds. After bringing a gun to school and showing pride in his English heritage, Hugo is suspended from school and forced to complete a project about violence. While researching, he discovers his family's connections to the FLQ crisis of October 1970. Rothman (The Heart Specialist) expertly weaves the intimate story of this family with the political history of Quebec. This novel about power, language and acceptance should resonate with those who have felt torn between languages and cultures, as well as those who have felt like outsiders in their own city or country.
