Possibly the greatest novel published in Canada in 2004 — the first in a historic series. It’s as if Dickens or Balzac — or Rohinton Mistry — had decided to write the book that summed up life in east-end Montreal. This is the first volume of a quartet that has taken Quebec by storm, selling over forty-five thousand copies. On the very first page, we meet Charles Thibodeau being born. It’s 1966 and the rest of Montreal is more excited by the fact that a new subway system is opening, but his birth is a big event for Charles’s parents and for their working-class neighbours. Sadly, Charles’s mother dies when he is four, her funeral interrupted by War Measures Act soldiers on the streets. Soon young Charles, like a younger Huck Finn, is fending for himself. While he adopts a stray dog, Boff, in turn he is taken away from his drunken, violent father and becomes part of the Fafard family nearby. His adventures follow thick and fast — at school, where he avoids becoming a teacher’s pet, despite being smart, in a part-time job where he encounters a pederast, and at summer camp, where he establishes himself as a rebel. By the end of the book, he has fully earned his title, Charles the Bold, leaving us eager to follow his further adventures. But the real hero of this book is Montreal, and its scores of memorable, lively characters who leap off the page. Like Gabrielle Roy in The Tin Flute, Yves Beauchemin has given us an unforgettable portrait of life in the francophone east end — with more to come in this ambitious and richly rewarding saga.

Charles the Bold: Translated By Wayne Grady

Beauchemin, Yves

Literature & Fiction

Douglas Gibson Books

Possibly the greatest novel published in Canada in 2004 — the first in a historic series. It’s as if Dickens or Balzac — or Rohinton Mistry — had decided to write the book that summed up life in east-end Montreal. This is the first volume of a quartet that has taken Quebec by storm, selling over forty-five thousand copies. On the very first page, we meet Charles Thibodeau being born. It’s 1966 and the rest of Montreal is more excited by the fact that a new subway system is opening, but his birth is a big event for Charles’s parents and for their working-class neighbours. Sadly, Charles’s mother dies when he is four, her funeral interrupted by War Measures Act soldiers on the streets. Soon young Charles, like a younger Huck Finn, is fending for himself. While he adopts a stray dog, Boff, in turn he is taken away from his drunken, violent father and becomes part of the Fafard family nearby. His adventures follow thick and fast — at school, where he avoids becoming a teacher’s pet, despite being smart, in a part-time job where he encounters a pederast, and at summer camp, where he establishes himself as a rebel. By the end of the book, he has fully earned his title, Charles the Bold, leaving us eager to follow his further adventures. But the real hero of this book is Montreal, and its scores of memorable, lively characters who leap off the page. Like Gabrielle Roy in The Tin Flute, Yves Beauchemin has given us an unforgettable portrait of life in the francophone east end — with more to come in this ambitious and richly rewarding saga. From the Hardcover edition.

Charles the Bold

The second novel in the highly acclaimed series Charles the Bold, about a young man growing up in east-end Montreal. “Montreal! You’re going to be hearing from me! I’m going to make your ears ring!” These are the last words in this hypnotically interesting saga that follow the adventurous life of our bold hero, Charles Thibodeau. This book takes us through his high school years, and is called The Years of Fire for three reasons. First, he discovers girls, and we follow his fumbling but enthusiastic adventures with them. Second, he becomes fired up about politics (“Every so often he would raise his right hand and stare at it in amazement. Just think, it has just shaken the hand of René Lévesque!”) and the first Quebec referendum plays a major role in this book. Above all, fire changes his life when his estranged father threatens his stepfather’s store with arson, and Charles gets involved in dealing drugs to pay him off. How he escapes from his contacts with the pool-hall underworld, with the help of his friends, and emerges as an ambitious young writer makes for involving and fascinating reading, provided by a superb storyteller.

The Years of Fire: Charles the Bold, Volume 2

PAPERBACK BOOK - HAND SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR

The Alley Cat

MCCLELLAND STEWART

First published in Quebec in 1981, Beauchemin’s highly acclaimed comic masterpiece of storytelling follows in the tradition of the great novels of the 19th century.When Florent Boissonneault comes to the aid of an accident victim, his life changes forever. One onlooker, the powerful and sinister Egon Ratablavasky, comes to haunt his ambitions and dreams, lurking behind his every opportunity, success, and failure. Finally, obsessed by a need to free himself, Florent discovers how to fight back.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Juliette

The second novel in the highly acclaimed series Charles the Bold, about a young man growing up in east-end Montreal. “Montreal! You’re going to be hearing from me! I’m going to make your ears ring!” These are the last words in this hypnotically interesting saga that follow the adventurous life of our bold hero, Charles Thibodeau. This book takes us through his high school years, and is called The Years of Fire for three reasons. First, he discovers girls, and we follow his fumbling but enthusiastic adventures with them. Second, he becomes fired up about politics (“Every so often he would raise his right hand and stare at it in amazement. Just think, it has just shaken the hand of René Lévesque!”) and the first Quebec referendum plays a major role in this book. Above all, fire changes his life when his estranged father threatens his stepfather’s store with arson, and Charles gets involved in dealing drugs to pay him off. How he escapes from his contacts with the pool-hall underworld, with the help of his friends, and emerges as an ambitious young writer makes for involving and fascinating reading, provided by a superb storyteller. From the Hardcover edition.

The Alley Cat (New Canadian Library)

Literary

New Canadian Library

First published in Quebec in 1981, Beauchemin’s highly acclaimed comic masterpiece of storytelling follows in the tradition of the great novels of the 19th century. When Florent Boissonneault comes to the aid of an accident victim, his life changes forever. One onlooker, the powerful and sinister Egon Ratablavasky, comes to haunt his ambitions and dreams, lurking behind his every opportunity, success, and failure. Finally, obsessed by a need to free himself, Florent discovers how to fight back.

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Beauchemin, Yves. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Beauchemin, Yves

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Beauchemin, Yves. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Charles the Bold: Translated By Wayne Grady

Charles the Bold

The Years of Fire: Charles the Bold, Volume 2

The Alley Cat

The Alley Cat

Juliette

Juliette

The Years of Fire: Charles the Bold, Volume 2

The Alley Cat (New Canadian Library)

The Alley Cat (New Canadian Library)