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La Petite poule d'eau
Gabrielle Roy, à partir du souvenir d'un été passé dans une région sauvage du Manitoba, au nord de Winnipeg, un pays situé plus loin que le « fin fond du bout du monde », a imaginé le recommencement de toutes choses : de l'éducation, de la société, de la civilisation même. Ce pays de grande nature et d'eau chantante, elle l'a peuplé de personnages doux et simples, épris à la fois de solitude et de fraternité à l'égard de leurs semblables.Boréal compact présente des rééditions de textes significatifs -romans, nouvelles, théâtre, essais ou documents - dans un format pratique et à des prix accessibles aux étudiants et au grand public.Cette nouvelle édition de La Petite Poule d'Eau est suivie d'un récit de Gabrielle Roy sur la genèse de son livre, d'une chronologie de l'auteur et d'un choix d'études à consulter.La Petite Poule d'Eau a été publié pour la première fois en 1950.
268 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1950
10 people are currently reading
284 people want to read
About the author
Gabrielle Roy
55 books112 followersGabrielle Roy was born in March 1909 in Saint-Boniface, Manitoba, the youngest of eleven children. Her mother and father, then, were relatively old at the time of her birth -- 42 and 59 respectively. Like Christine's father in Rue Deschambault (Street of Riches), Léon Roy worked as a colonisation officer for the Department of Immigration, a position he held between 1897 and 1915. His politically motivated dismissal occurred six months before his retirement, thus leaving Roy with no pension to support his family. The family's financial predicament during Gabrielle's youth precluded any chance of her attending university, despite having earned stellar marks throughout high school which put her as one of the top students in the entire province. In 1927, after graduating from grade twelve, she enrolled at the Winnipeg Normal Institute where she completed her teacher training.
After teaching in the rural communities of Marchand and Cardinal, where she taught for a year, Roy returned to Saint-Boniface. There she accepted a teaching job at the Académie Provencher boy's school, a position she held from 1930-37. During this period, Roy began actively pursuing her interest in acting and joined the Cercle Molière theatre troupe. Her experiences as an actor inspired her to leave her teaching position and travel to Europe to study drama. Spending between 1937 and 1939 in Britain and France, the fluently bilingual Roy studied acting for six months before concluding that she did not desire to pursue a career in the theatre. In the meantime, she had also begun to write articles about Canada for newspapers in Paris and pieces on Europe for newspapers in Manitoba and came to realize that writing could be her vocation.
Over the course of her lengthy and prolific career, Gabrielle Roy received many honours, including three Governor General's Awards (1947, 1957, 1978), the Prix Fémina (1947), the Companion of the Order of Canada (1967), the Medal of the Canada Council (1968), the Prix David (1971), and the Prix Molson (1978).
After teaching in the rural communities of Marchand and Cardinal, where she taught for a year, Roy returned to Saint-Boniface. There she accepted a teaching job at the Académie Provencher boy's school, a position she held from 1930-37. During this period, Roy began actively pursuing her interest in acting and joined the Cercle Molière theatre troupe. Her experiences as an actor inspired her to leave her teaching position and travel to Europe to study drama. Spending between 1937 and 1939 in Britain and France, the fluently bilingual Roy studied acting for six months before concluding that she did not desire to pursue a career in the theatre. In the meantime, she had also begun to write articles about Canada for newspapers in Paris and pieces on Europe for newspapers in Manitoba and came to realize that writing could be her vocation.
Over the course of her lengthy and prolific career, Gabrielle Roy received many honours, including three Governor General's Awards (1947, 1957, 1978), the Prix Fémina (1947), the Companion of the Order of Canada (1967), the Medal of the Canada Council (1968), the Prix David (1971), and the Prix Molson (1978).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
June 20, 2021
Gabrielle Roy is a beloved Winnipegger’s name. “The Tin Flute” was one of our first great Canadian novels. “Street Of Riches” told unforgettable short stories, the first I read. “Where Nests The Water Hen” (“La Petite Poule D’Eau”) is utterly unique. The synopsis is poor. These are not tales of struggles. Only taking up this journey yourself, can do justice to what it entails but I shall try to set the scene for you.
The first page introduces a town in west central Manitoba; so small, it has one gas pump, phone, and a few buildings when this novel was published in 1950. Villagers needed to do their regular errands in the nearest town, major business in Dauphin, or to drive 4 hours to my city, Winnipeg. Next, the narrator invites you: imagine a family who lives on an island a little farther away but which requires a drive and river portage that are even more remote than this. One day, this Mother of many decides that her children ought to be educated. Her husband builds a school so that the department of education will send a teacher. There is humour about 3 totally different teachers. I laughed the hardest at the Mother overhearing what dunces her kids were, in general knowledge!
Once a year, a priest gives area residents a Christmas mass. The last chapters are from this cheerful, multilingual man’s perspective, so that readers know what these visits mean to both sides. Now imagine that this remote town is the converging place of numerous immigrants and Aboriginals, all keeping their own languages and cultures harmoniously! This is what Manitoba is really like, in our cities as well as our small towns. I am proud we have this novel to show our mosaic to you so eloquently and vividly.
The first page introduces a town in west central Manitoba; so small, it has one gas pump, phone, and a few buildings when this novel was published in 1950. Villagers needed to do their regular errands in the nearest town, major business in Dauphin, or to drive 4 hours to my city, Winnipeg. Next, the narrator invites you: imagine a family who lives on an island a little farther away but which requires a drive and river portage that are even more remote than this. One day, this Mother of many decides that her children ought to be educated. Her husband builds a school so that the department of education will send a teacher. There is humour about 3 totally different teachers. I laughed the hardest at the Mother overhearing what dunces her kids were, in general knowledge!
Once a year, a priest gives area residents a Christmas mass. The last chapters are from this cheerful, multilingual man’s perspective, so that readers know what these visits mean to both sides. Now imagine that this remote town is the converging place of numerous immigrants and Aboriginals, all keeping their own languages and cultures harmoniously! This is what Manitoba is really like, in our cities as well as our small towns. I am proud we have this novel to show our mosaic to you so eloquently and vividly.
May 8, 2023
This is a wonderful novel -- I took a long time to read it, but that was mainly due to wanting to fully appreciate the book and the writing, though there were a few unusually busy weeks that meant the only reading I got done was via audiobook. Still, a few days ago I finally reached the end of Where Nests the Water Hen and while I pleased to have finally finished a book, there was sadness too, particularly because the closing chapters were so lovely. While I think the book was the ideal length, I also could have spent much more time with everyone in it.
It was fascinating to learn more about the remote areas of Manitoba where most of this book takes place. The life was quite isolated, cut off from almost everything and there is something appealing about that, even though I don't think I would actually enjoy the reality of it!
Luzina in particular was a wonderful character. The section of the book depicting the process of building a school was my favourite. It was insightful, touching, even funny at times, and also reminded me how lucky I was to have always had schools nearby to go to. I have before considered that I am lucky to have grown up in a country that provides an education (even if I didn't always enjoy it!) but had never thought about the building itself. Never considered that there was a time when it wasn't always that simple.
The depictions of the education the children receive was a delight -- the three teachers all varied in their worldviews and styles, but each had something to offer, even if one was easier to appreciate once she had moved on!
It took me a few pages to get into the swing of things when things switched to the perspective of Father Joseph-Marie because I missed Luzina and her family. I soon got used to him however, and appreciated this fresh viewpoint and the new locations it took me to. As I mentioned earlier, the final chapters were lovely and brought everything together in a beautiful way, making for a satisfying experience.
I look forward to reading more by Gabrielle Roy!
Updated October 2022:
This really is a wonderful book. I have thought of it often this year.
It was fascinating to learn more about the remote areas of Manitoba where most of this book takes place. The life was quite isolated, cut off from almost everything and there is something appealing about that, even though I don't think I would actually enjoy the reality of it!
Luzina in particular was a wonderful character. The section of the book depicting the process of building a school was my favourite. It was insightful, touching, even funny at times, and also reminded me how lucky I was to have always had schools nearby to go to. I have before considered that I am lucky to have grown up in a country that provides an education (even if I didn't always enjoy it!) but had never thought about the building itself. Never considered that there was a time when it wasn't always that simple.
The depictions of the education the children receive was a delight -- the three teachers all varied in their worldviews and styles, but each had something to offer, even if one was easier to appreciate once she had moved on!
It took me a few pages to get into the swing of things when things switched to the perspective of Father Joseph-Marie because I missed Luzina and her family. I soon got used to him however, and appreciated this fresh viewpoint and the new locations it took me to. As I mentioned earlier, the final chapters were lovely and brought everything together in a beautiful way, making for a satisfying experience.
I look forward to reading more by Gabrielle Roy!
Updated October 2022:
This really is a wonderful book. I have thought of it often this year.
July 29, 2016
Talented storytelling from this French Canadian author. Born in Manitoba, Canadian central prairie province, this novel focuses on life in the northern region of the province. Creative and hospitable mother, Luzina, instills a love for education in her eleven children even as she negotiates with the provincial government for a school for her children on their own island.
Exceptional in details and ability to draw the reader into the era and area.
Exceptional in details and ability to draw the reader into the era and area.
December 14, 2007
I've never been to nothern Manitoba, but I feel as if I have after reading this gentle and humble story. It was truly a pleasant read.
August 30, 2014
Gabrielle Roy is one of the most important writers in the history of Canadian literature. Her works cover the lives of Canadians living in rural communities in the Western prairies, Winnipeg the capital of Manitoba and Montreal which in Roy's life time was the leading financial and industrial city in Canada. No other writer manages to cover such a broad range of Canadian society from 1920 to 1960. For Canadian readers, she provides an important record of what we once were.
The story is about the French-Speaking Tousignant family who live on an isolated farm in Manitoba. The Tousignants have six children which means that they qualify to have a teacher sent to live with them. The book is structured about the years that three different teachers live with them, a young English speaking woman, a young French speaking woman and a Capuchon priest (also French-speaking).
As each teacher represents a distinct faction in Canadian society, the book is able to analyze the evolution of attitudes and the clash of values that existed in Canada during the 1930s and 1940s. Mlle. Roy passionately loved Canada not only her own French speaking community but also the larger Canada including those of English descent and those with other cultural backgrounds such as Ukrainian, Italian or even Caribbean. All though, she is not afraid to judge harshly at times, she ultimately has great confidence in the goodness of all elements of Canadian society.
I think that this is great book for Canadians to read. Sadly I am not sure if those living outside of Canada will be able to benefit from it as Gabrielle Roy wanted above all to raise issues for Canadians to discuss among themselves. Despite having lived for a time in France, she never tried to frame her ideas for anyone but a Canadian reader.
The story is about the French-Speaking Tousignant family who live on an isolated farm in Manitoba. The Tousignants have six children which means that they qualify to have a teacher sent to live with them. The book is structured about the years that three different teachers live with them, a young English speaking woman, a young French speaking woman and a Capuchon priest (also French-speaking).
As each teacher represents a distinct faction in Canadian society, the book is able to analyze the evolution of attitudes and the clash of values that existed in Canada during the 1930s and 1940s. Mlle. Roy passionately loved Canada not only her own French speaking community but also the larger Canada including those of English descent and those with other cultural backgrounds such as Ukrainian, Italian or even Caribbean. All though, she is not afraid to judge harshly at times, she ultimately has great confidence in the goodness of all elements of Canadian society.
I think that this is great book for Canadians to read. Sadly I am not sure if those living outside of Canada will be able to benefit from it as Gabrielle Roy wanted above all to raise issues for Canadians to discuss among themselves. Despite having lived for a time in France, she never tried to frame her ideas for anyone but a Canadian reader.
August 2, 2014
This cross between a novel and short-story collection is about two people--Luzina Tousignant, mother of about a dozen or so children; and Father Joseph-Marie, a missionary Capuchin monk--who live out their lives on the edge of civilization (northern Manitoba in between the Wars), yet who are filled with a love of humanity without regard to creed or colour or language or ethnicity, and, in their way, bring to their communities and their families the best of what humanity can do for each other: sacrifice, love, music, education, and justice. And they're so delightful to read about.
June 19, 2022
This book brings out a northern Manitoba rural area near Waterhen Lake and river about 100 years ago. This very rural area is very multicultural but very sparsely populated and hard to get around. The first of three parts of the story tells of Luzina Tousignan's attempts to get from their island home to the nearest bigger towns. The Tousignans are a French-speaking family with many children but without a school. The next part highlights the attempts Luzina goes through to try recruit and retain teachers for her children. Finally, the last part tells of Father Joseph-Marie, a multilingual Belgian priest who travels around to visit the various small parishes in this remote region. In the end, he brings a once-yearly worship service to the Tousignan family home. The book is a gentle story that brings out a time and place out very well.
March 13, 2013
What a wonderful snapshot of life in rural Manitoba. First published in 1952 there are some descriptors that would be considered politically incorrect by today's standards. But I really enjoyed the character and a sense of what they all loved about this rugged, remote part of Canada in the early 1900s.
November 28, 2019
La petite musique de ce livre m'enchante. Gabrielle Roy y expose toute sa sensibilité et son habilité à faire des petites histoires les plus belles.
October 18, 2023
Il y a de ces œuvres que l’on découvre à la deuxième lecture, parce que le timing est parfois meilleur. J’ai recommencé La petite poule d’eau (que j’avais abandonné il y a de nombreuses années) alors que j’étais malade et épuisée. J’ai choisi la version audio (parce que trop fatiguée) et c’était un excellent choix, très réconfortant, en ce début d’automne. Ah ! J’ai été transportée dans le nord du Manitoba, bercée par la prose lente et riche de Gabrielle Roy. Je me suis attachée à la famille Tousignant et ses membres émouvants, simples et doux. La communauté de la Petite poule d’eau me rappelait beaucoup Natashquan et la côte-nord. Ce qui évidemment participait au fait que je me retrouvais dans le roman de Gabrielle Roy. La deuxième partie était selon moi plus longue et moins intéressante, mais tout de même d’une beauté authentique. Fidèle aux thèmes explorés par l’autrice dans son œuvre, je trouve que La petite poule d’eau est un roman contemplatif, plein de pépites de sagesse et de grandes vérités.
May 5, 2018
Much has been made in recent years of a new multicultural Canada. This novel is an indication that multiculturalism in Canada is not new and that the tolerance of other cultures is not a new phenomenon in Canada. This is a novel and it is also a history of Canada; its response to settlement and its response to mass immigration.
It is the story of Luzinia and her family. it is the story of the Capuchin priest. It is the story of the people who lived in northern Manitoba in the early years of the 20th century. it is the story of multiple cultures, multiple ethnicities and multiple religions. The story culminates in a dance in the deep forest where all of the people of all of the cultures and all of the ethnicities come together to rejoice and make fellowship.
This is a wonderful novel. It is a novel that encourages the reader to have faith in humanity. It is a novel that reveal that the past is not so much different from the present. There is hate and rancor in the world. There is hate and prejudice between groups. Yet there is also more than that. This novel shows that people can make more of themselves. This is a novel that shows that love and compassion can survive and flourish. This is a wonderfully conceived and wonderfully written novel. It all the more wonderful since it is an account to the early years of the author’s life. It is a novel that is true. It is a history that is more than true.
It is the story of Luzinia and her family. it is the story of the Capuchin priest. It is the story of the people who lived in northern Manitoba in the early years of the 20th century. it is the story of multiple cultures, multiple ethnicities and multiple religions. The story culminates in a dance in the deep forest where all of the people of all of the cultures and all of the ethnicities come together to rejoice and make fellowship.
This is a wonderful novel. It is a novel that encourages the reader to have faith in humanity. It is a novel that reveal that the past is not so much different from the present. There is hate and rancor in the world. There is hate and prejudice between groups. Yet there is also more than that. This novel shows that people can make more of themselves. This is a novel that shows that love and compassion can survive and flourish. This is a wonderfully conceived and wonderfully written novel. It all the more wonderful since it is an account to the early years of the author’s life. It is a novel that is true. It is a history that is more than true.
February 21, 2019
I really enjoy the works of this author and this book is no exception. Her greatest talent is in her characters and the landscape, both detailed with poetry and depth.
There are many characters in this story set in the Manitoba wilderness of the north of the province. All are interesting and there interactions with each other but the two I loved are first Luzina Tousignant and Father Joseph-Marie, the Capuchin priest.
There are many characters in this story set in the Manitoba wilderness of the north of the province. All are interesting and there interactions with each other but the two I loved are first Luzina Tousignant and Father Joseph-Marie, the Capuchin priest.
April 1, 2024
3,5.
J’ai été vraiment charmée par le début que j’ai trouvé beau et simple. La deuxième partie m’a un peu ennuyée par contre…
J’ai été vraiment charmée par le début que j’ai trouvé beau et simple. La deuxième partie m’a un peu ennuyée par contre…
July 12, 2024
Gabrielle Roy toujours excellente.
July 21, 2020
As I settled into reading this for the 2020 Reading Rush, my body relaxed and smiled. Didn't know my body knew how to smile. It a quiet story about a simple family growing up in Manitoba during the fur trade. Gabrielle Roy puts us up close and personal with the highs and lows of the time, but mostly with the regular day to day living of the time, centred around an isolated family living on an island. Luzina, the Mom, is a character of a character and the mainstay of the family and the first two sections of the book. I want to become friends with her.
There is understated humour, understated conflict, characters to love, characters to frustrate, characters to chortle under your breath about. The prose is like poetry in sections and much more flowing than this review!
It's awesome. Enjoy it!
There is understated humour, understated conflict, characters to love, characters to frustrate, characters to chortle under your breath about. The prose is like poetry in sections and much more flowing than this review!
It's awesome. Enjoy it!
April 4, 2020
The closure of public libraries for the past few weeks provides a fine opportunity to re-visit old favorites.
Anyone who has not had occasion to meet the folks who populate the Little Water Hen country, especially Luzina and her flock of children lovingly portrayed in Gabrielle Roy's generous prose, has missed out on one of life's rare pleasures. This will have been my last reading of this precious little book; not made of very good material to begin with, after so many years its pages are yellowing, its cheap binding dried up and crumbling away. I have no choice but to consign it to the recycle bin. I could, of course acquire a new copy to occupy the space on the bookshelf formerly held by its predecessor. But I doubt if whoever inherits the contents of my home library will care for this gentle, earthbound literature, so there it would likely stay, never to be opened. My communion with Gabrielle Roy may be at an end. It's been a satisfying friendship.
Anyone who has not had occasion to meet the folks who populate the Little Water Hen country, especially Luzina and her flock of children lovingly portrayed in Gabrielle Roy's generous prose, has missed out on one of life's rare pleasures. This will have been my last reading of this precious little book; not made of very good material to begin with, after so many years its pages are yellowing, its cheap binding dried up and crumbling away. I have no choice but to consign it to the recycle bin. I could, of course acquire a new copy to occupy the space on the bookshelf formerly held by its predecessor. But I doubt if whoever inherits the contents of my home library will care for this gentle, earthbound literature, so there it would likely stay, never to be opened. My communion with Gabrielle Roy may be at an end. It's been a satisfying friendship.
January 14, 2009
Je viens de finir de lire La Petite Poule d'Eau de Gabrielle Roy, roman canadien de 1950.
J'ai beaucoup aimé ce texte. Il raconte la vie d'une petite communauté au fin fond du Manitoba Luzina Tousignant, mère de famille nombreuse, part tous les ans vers la ville et revient avec un nouveau bébé.
Elle finit par penser qu'une école d'été serait une bonne chose pour ses enfants. C'est ainsi qu'arrive Mademoiselle Côté, une charmante jeune enseignante, nouvellement diplômée.
Le décor est parfaitement bien rendu, les personnages touchants, parfois amusants. le côté exotique et froid est très intéressant (surtout en ces temps de neige.)
Ce roman sera au programme des Coups de Coeur de la médiathèque de Melun mardi 20, à 16h
J'ai beaucoup aimé ce texte. Il raconte la vie d'une petite communauté au fin fond du Manitoba Luzina Tousignant, mère de famille nombreuse, part tous les ans vers la ville et revient avec un nouveau bébé.
Elle finit par penser qu'une école d'été serait une bonne chose pour ses enfants. C'est ainsi qu'arrive Mademoiselle Côté, une charmante jeune enseignante, nouvellement diplômée.
Le décor est parfaitement bien rendu, les personnages touchants, parfois amusants. le côté exotique et froid est très intéressant (surtout en ces temps de neige.)
Ce roman sera au programme des Coups de Coeur de la médiathèque de Melun mardi 20, à 16h
March 27, 2012
I was referred to Gabrielle Roy by reading a book on women writers.
Gabrielle Roy was French and lived in Manitoba in the 1930s
This book is a novel about a family living on an island.
The mother goes to the city when she has children which is almost every other year.
In order to have her children get an education she write to the Canadian government and asks for a school.
She gets her request and over the years the school has many different teachers.
The teachers come to teach her 7 kids in a small school they have built next to their home.
Gabrielle Roy writes so beautifully.
Her descriptions of this family and the people in the closest village are wonderful.
I will read more of Gabrielle Roy's books.
Gabrielle Roy was French and lived in Manitoba in the 1930s
This book is a novel about a family living on an island.
The mother goes to the city when she has children which is almost every other year.
In order to have her children get an education she write to the Canadian government and asks for a school.
She gets her request and over the years the school has many different teachers.
The teachers come to teach her 7 kids in a small school they have built next to their home.
Gabrielle Roy writes so beautifully.
Her descriptions of this family and the people in the closest village are wonderful.
I will read more of Gabrielle Roy's books.
July 2, 2013
The first part of this book grabbed me and pulled me into the setting and the family immediately. Roy crafted it so well and having been a teacher myself, I really could identify with the thoughts going through Luinza's head as she worried about her children being educated. However, Roy very abruptly changed the story part way through the book and lost me completely. I felt cheated out of the further adventures of the Tousignant family. It was very disturbing. So I give the first part of the book a 5 and the second part a 2.
October 3, 2020
4,5 étoiles & 5/10 hearts. J'ai profondément apprécié ce livre. C'était si beau. Cela m'a montré la nature sauvage du Manitoba si bien que j'y étais. J'ai adoré les personnages. Luzina était si gentille. Et Hippolyte et elle étaient si hilarantes ensemble… J'ai tellement ri dans ce livre. La fin était si belle et presque triste… J'ai tellement aimé. Je n'étais pas d'accord avec tout, et il y avait quelques mentions de consommation d'alcool et des jurons, mais c'est tout ce à quoi je peux penser. J'ai tellement aimé ça et j'étais presque triste de dire au revoir ... <33
August 23, 2007
Set in Northern Manitoba, a quiet and evocative book. This is the only book by Gabrielle Roy I've read--she's perhaps best known for 'The Tin Flute'. I rarely see her books here in the US, but if you walk into a Canadian bookstore, you'll see a long shelf. Makes you realize how many authors we miss out on!
October 24, 2010
If you have an interest in the North Manitoba and its' people, places & playgrounds, then you might like Gabrielle Roys' story. Would like to reread her in the original French and then visit the areas of this memoir.
February 19, 2011
Wonderful domestic fiction of life of a French-Canadian family on a remote island in West-Central Manitoba.
February 25, 2017
J'ai adoré ce livre. Une histoire touchante d'une famille, la mère une protagoniste que vous allez aimer.
February 15, 2018
Magnifique petit roman, qui se lit rapidement! Une belle histoire qui fait du bien.
April 4, 2020
I listened to this on the Ici Radio Canada podcast, read by Marie-Thérèse Fortin. It was a very enjoyable glimpse of life in northern Manitoba.
December 14, 2020
8: Une belle histoire.
July 12, 2022
Where nests the water hen, there nest the Tousignants. Beyond the railway terminus, beyond the last gas pump and rutted road, and even beyond where a buggy could travel; but if you had a canoe you could reach Little Water Hen which, at first, you might think was uninhabited except for some sheep and, in the summer, huge, hungry mosquitoes. But there lived a growing French Canadian family known as the Tousignants. And a few other strange characters. And at least once a year an itinerant Roman Catholic priest.
When the size of the Tousignant family increased to six school-age children, the Manitoba government was obliged to provide this outpost with a means for them to be educated. In other words, with a school teacher. The first year they were sent a lovely, delicate, young French Canadian teacher, probably on her first teaching job. She lived, of course, with the Tousignants as did all of the other teachers. The arrival of a teacher! That’s about the most excitement this small community ever experienced. Hint: the second and third teachers were not nearly so lovely, but Luzina (Mrs. Tousignant) who saw the good in everyone adapted. After three teachers, the government did not send any more, even though the Tousignant family increased to ten. We’re not told why.
This is probably the quietest, most non-eventful book I have ever read. Or at least can remember. Yet it is lovely. A hard life, a serene life, a contented life – hoping for very little they live out their days in obscurity. And as the water hens leave their nest to migrate south every year so do the Tousignant children, but the water hens come back. The children do not. But we would not have it any other way nor would their parents. They miss their brood but we leave them contentedly observing the rituals of community life, such as it is.
Roy has created a tender story of frontier life, with no dramatics, but with unforgettable characters with very big hearts, especially Luzina and Father Joseph-Marie. It’s a small book but I took a long time, for its size, to read it – there was nothing to compel me forward, just the pleasure of a well written story that captures beautifully the daily life of living on the edge of civilization.
One rather jarring note is that the people of the First Nations among whom they lived are usually referred to as half-breeds. Of course recognizing Canada’s indigenous people as First Nations had not happened in 1950 when Roy wrote this book. Roy herself grew up in Manitoba and taught for at least a year in a remote, northern town some decades earlier, a frontier town probably something like Little Water Hen. No doubt no thought was given to calling indigenous people half breeds at that time. Whether Roy was honestly just capturing the way the people would have thought then or whether she, decades later, thought in the same way is difficult to discern. The French Canadian people in this outpost have decidedly prejudiced attitudes toward Canadians of British descent. Here I think Roy mildly mocks their attitude. She herself lived in Paris for a short while and then returned to Canada to settle in Quebec.
When the size of the Tousignant family increased to six school-age children, the Manitoba government was obliged to provide this outpost with a means for them to be educated. In other words, with a school teacher. The first year they were sent a lovely, delicate, young French Canadian teacher, probably on her first teaching job. She lived, of course, with the Tousignants as did all of the other teachers. The arrival of a teacher! That’s about the most excitement this small community ever experienced. Hint: the second and third teachers were not nearly so lovely, but Luzina (Mrs. Tousignant) who saw the good in everyone adapted. After three teachers, the government did not send any more, even though the Tousignant family increased to ten. We’re not told why.
This is probably the quietest, most non-eventful book I have ever read. Or at least can remember. Yet it is lovely. A hard life, a serene life, a contented life – hoping for very little they live out their days in obscurity. And as the water hens leave their nest to migrate south every year so do the Tousignant children, but the water hens come back. The children do not. But we would not have it any other way nor would their parents. They miss their brood but we leave them contentedly observing the rituals of community life, such as it is.
Roy has created a tender story of frontier life, with no dramatics, but with unforgettable characters with very big hearts, especially Luzina and Father Joseph-Marie. It’s a small book but I took a long time, for its size, to read it – there was nothing to compel me forward, just the pleasure of a well written story that captures beautifully the daily life of living on the edge of civilization.
One rather jarring note is that the people of the First Nations among whom they lived are usually referred to as half-breeds. Of course recognizing Canada’s indigenous people as First Nations had not happened in 1950 when Roy wrote this book. Roy herself grew up in Manitoba and taught for at least a year in a remote, northern town some decades earlier, a frontier town probably something like Little Water Hen. No doubt no thought was given to calling indigenous people half breeds at that time. Whether Roy was honestly just capturing the way the people would have thought then or whether she, decades later, thought in the same way is difficult to discern. The French Canadian people in this outpost have decidedly prejudiced attitudes toward Canadians of British descent. Here I think Roy mildly mocks their attitude. She herself lived in Paris for a short while and then returned to Canada to settle in Quebec.
April 15, 2021
I really like Roy's style of writing. I found the language easy to follow and the book easy to get into.
Roy describes the island where the story is situated in a lot of detail and it is easy to imagine. The story follows the mother and only woman living on the island, who has I think 11 children. She writes to the government about sending a teacher to them and a few teachers come who are interesting characters, although the male teacher made me feel rather uncomfortable with all the hunting.
The story of teachers then ceases as the children leave home and the island to continue their lives.
The story then takes a rather dramatic turn where it focuses on the priest. I wasn't really sure why the change and although his life interlinked with the main woman Luzina, it was almost like 2 stories instead of one.
Again I liked that the priest tried to help the trappers by selling their furs to a more respectable establishment, but that it didn't really help them in the end (as they just spent the money on alcohol etc).
I then got confused with the sermon and the party at the end - why was the first teacher there? Had she returned or had we gone back in time? When the sermon began I thought perhaps one of Luzina's children had returned to be married! But that was not the case. So the ending confused me.
For this reason I have rated the book 3 stars.
Roy describes the island where the story is situated in a lot of detail and it is easy to imagine. The story follows the mother and only woman living on the island, who has I think 11 children. She writes to the government about sending a teacher to them and a few teachers come who are interesting characters, although the male teacher made me feel rather uncomfortable with all the hunting.
The story of teachers then ceases as the children leave home and the island to continue their lives.
The story then takes a rather dramatic turn where it focuses on the priest. I wasn't really sure why the change and although his life interlinked with the main woman Luzina, it was almost like 2 stories instead of one.
Again I liked that the priest tried to help the trappers by selling their furs to a more respectable establishment, but that it didn't really help them in the end (as they just spent the money on alcohol etc).
I then got confused with the sermon and the party at the end - why was the first teacher there? Had she returned or had we gone back in time? When the sermon began I thought perhaps one of Luzina's children had returned to be married! But that was not the case. So the ending confused me.
For this reason I have rated the book 3 stars.
July 4, 2023
En livre audio. L’écriture de Gabrielle Roy est magnifique. Ces descriptions, son humanité et sa soif de raconter nous enchante de ce roman racontant l’histoire d’une famille Tousignant dans le fin fond du Manitoba dans les débuts de la colonisation. Menée par une femme qui a eu onze enfants en 14 ans, qui se démène pour avoir une école, qui aime l’écriture, sa vie et le monde. Elle fait des excursions en ville chaque année pour en fait accoucher pour chacun. De ses enfants. Lu par Marie-Thérèse Fortin, magnifique voix.
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