Sweet Poison

This is the story of the rise and fall of a middle-class family, destroyed by its legacy of greed and hatred. The hero survives only by learning the bitter truth about himself and his family.

REVIEWS: "Pierre Turgeon makes a stunning entrance into our literature. There are few writers from here who could not envy him his extraordinary mastery of the art of writing. Language more than correct, very rich vocabulary, sober and clear style, the finesse of psychological observation, variety and fantasy of imagination, depth of vision of the world. Turgeon has all these qualities and more. We should pay him a life annuity and condemn him to write for as long as possible." Réginald Martel, La Presse."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Born in Quebec City, October 9, 1947 – Novelist and essayist Pierre Turgeon obtained a bachelor's degree from College Sainte-Marie in 1967. In 1969, at the age of twenty-two and already a journalist with Perspectives and literary critic at Radio-Canada, Pierre Turgeon published his first novel, Sweet Poison. Several works followed. 22 titles in all: novels, essays, plays, film scripts and historical works. He is currently finishing a family saga that will include three volumes.

EXCERPT: I don't know during what era it was that the Norman whose blood still flows in my veins embarked for New France, but my grandfather's prominent brow, hard narrow eyes, and thick neck were inherited from that race of conquerors who in coming to the New World had bitten off more than they could chew, seeing it only as a means of self-enrichment. Motivated in turn by self-interest, Vincent married the daughter of a launderer, a nervous, whimsical, extravagant woman whose name was Suzanne. A common love of lucre and the children born to them each year for more than a decade lent an air of stability to that union of perpetual quarrels and infidelities.