Tom at the Farm

by Michel Marc Bouchard, Linda Gaboriau (Translation)

Following the accidental death of his lover, and in the throes of his grief, urban ad executive Tom travels to the country to attend the funeral and to meet his mother-in-law, Agatha, and her son, Francis neither of whom know Tom even exists. Arriving at the remote rural farm, and immediately drawn into the dysfunction of the family s relationships, Tom is blindsided by his lost partner s legacy of untruth. With the mother expecting a chainsmoking girlfriend, and the older brother hellbent on preserving a facade of normalcy, Tom is coerced into joining the duplicity until, at last, he confronts the torment that drove his lover to live in the shadows of deceit. The lover the friend, the son, the brother, the nameless dead man has left behind a fable woven of false-truths which, according to his own teenage diaries, were essential to his survival. In this same rural setting, one young man had once destroyed another young man who loved yet another. Like an ancient tragedy, years later, this drama will shape the destiny of Tom. In a play that unfolds with progressively blurred boundaries between lust and brutality, between truth and elaborate ?ction, Bouchard dramatizes how gay men often must learn to lie before they learn how to love. Throughout 2011 and 2012, "Tom at the Farm" was produced in Quebec and France, as "Tom a la ferme," and in Mexico, as "Tom en la granja." Award-winning Quebec director Xavier Dolan adapted the play for the screen in 2013, with Caleb Landry Jones in the leading role."

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Queer, LGBT, Fiction, Drama, Contemporary

96 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Michel Marc Bouchard (Quebec, Canadá, 1958) é bacharel em Teatro pela Universidade de Ottawa. Teve sua primeira peça de teatro produzida profissionalmente em 1983, La Contre-nature de Chrysippe Tanguay, écologist. Desde então, escreveu mais de 25 peças, traduzidas para diversos idiomas e apresentadas em diferentes países. Sua obra mais conhecida é Les Feluettes, foi roteirizada e dirigida por John Greyson em filme homônimo. Sucesso no teatro, Les Muses Orphelines e Tom à la ferme também foram adaptadas para o cinema pelos diretores Robert Favreau e Xavier Dolan, respectivamente. Ao longo de sua carreira, Bouchard recebeu importantes prêmios de artes cênicas no Canadá: Prix Journal de Montreal, Prix du Cercle des Critiques de L’outaouais, Moore Award Dora Mavor for Outstanding New Play, Floyd S. Chalmers Award Canadian Play. Recebeu nove prêmios Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards para as peças Lillies e Les Muses Orphelines. Atualmente é membro da Academia de Letras de Quebec.

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

I initially read this when it first came out a few years ago, as a fan of Bouchard's, and also because I had heard Xavier Dolan was doing a film version. I remember liking it, but feeling it wasn't quite 'there' as a play. Now, having seen Dolan's fine adaptation, I wanted to re-read it - and I must say it seems even less stageworthy. Dolan improved the play vastly by ditching its prime conceit, which is that Tom voices all his subconscious thoughts, a la O'Neill's 'Strange Interlude'. Obviously that wouldn't work in a naturalistic film, and although the central premise is the same, there are very few scenes done verbatim from the play. SEEING scenes in the film that are only described by the characters in the play also creates far more powerful, visceral feelings. That being said, one must give credit to Bouchard for the initial inspiration - and as always, Linda Gaboriau's translation is excellently rendered.

[od1_40reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brutal.

I loved Xavier Dolan’s film adaptation, and in fairness it’s pretty absurd to judge a play by reading the script alone, without having seen it performed.

Having said that, the film translates Bouchard’s script beautifully, in way that cannot come across from simply reading it.

[Louis Muñoz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. Saw the movie adaptation a long time ago, but don't really remember much except the covert/overt sense of menace, which comes out here as well.

[Andre Aguiar]

Ele entrou na nossa casa. Ninguém o reconheceu. Ele sentou à nossa mesa. Ninguém o reconheceu. Ele nos falou de amor. Ninguém o reconheceu e aqueles que estavam de luto foram à sua sepultura, mas ela estava vazia.

[Dina]

текст наче й справді був написаний для ксав'є долана. більшість вважає, що кіно вийшло кращим, але я не погоджуюсь: лаконічність прози гармонійно поєдналась із недосказаними кадрами. рідко виходить такий тандем

долан опустив порожню труну, яка, як на мене, слугувала у п'єсі бушара вичерпною метафорою - хлопця не було у труні, бо для присутніх, включно з матір'ю, він був незнайомцем

кров і насилля теж присутні більше у тексті. долан завжди йде по шляху естетики, і тут це не те щоб було неправильним рішенням


"я юнак-вдова"

"Я скрутився на ліжку з твого дитинства, моя голова — в ямці, яку твоя продавила на подушці, і мені хочеться померти"

"Перш ніж навчитися кохати, гомосексуалісти вчаться брехати. Ми всі — мітомани"

"«Він був мертвим протягом кількох днів і ті, хто оплакував його, зібрались біля його домовини, але в ній нікого не було. Були сліди на піску. Він воскрес, але ніхто його не впізнав!»
ФРАНСІС: Амінь, мамо. Амінь".

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very powerful play about a man visiting his late partner's family in rural Quebec only to discover they know nothing about him and don't even realize the deceased was gay. As with many of Bouchard's plays, there's a strong sense of the Gothic, with family secrets and strange motivations driving much of the action. The device of having the protagonist speak his thoughts during scenes with others (reminiscent of "Strange Interlude") is a little hard to get into for the reader, but I would look forward to seeing the play produced to see how it would work.

[elio · Rating 5 out of 5]

brutal and necessary

[hani · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I don't know how to ask people to stay. I can't find the right words. Stay."

Couldn't get the movie out of my mind which motivated me to read the original play. Despite containing my favorite themes in fiction, each version unfortunately has flaws in storytelling that make certain scenes feel incomplete. While I still prefer the movie as a whole, with the violent setting at hand, the play's ending definitely felt much more impactful.

[Adrian Florin · Rating 5 out of 5]

thanks for the trauma i'll put it next to the trauma the movie gave me (and this ending was better)

[Ann-Louise Forget · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tom, citadin sophistiqué arrive à la ferme laitière de la famille de son amant décédé qui n’a jamais entendu parler de lui. Michel Marc Bouchard réussit à nous émouvoir en évoquant les rapports de force entre l’amour et la haine dans l’évocation des non-dits et la douleur de la perte de l’être aimé. Un drame psychologique fort, très réussi.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'ai regardé le film et maintenant je viens de lire, c'est un truc de ouf ! c'est mon truc ça ♡

[Julie Garand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si bien écrit, si poignant. Hâte d'écouter le film.

[Teddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woah. That was an AMAZING play. I picked this book up today because I found out that a film I've been wanting to see (Tom at the Farm by Xavier Dolan) is based on this play. The language and style is gorgeous -- sparse yet incredibly full, and as I read, I found that it reminded me of one of my other favourite plays Christina, The Girl King -- which, coincidentally, was actually written by the same author. I just can't believe how amazing this play was. I'm totally going to be reading it again, and hopefully I'll be able to see the film soon too.

ETA 2 December 2016: Holy crap, wow, that was way more violent, tense, & erotic than I remember. (Also finally saw the film version a few days ago.) Wow. Gosh.

[Victorianly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ho letto questo libro dopo aver amato la trasposizione cinematografica di Xavier Dolan.
Le due opere sono pressoché identiche, il film riprende le battute originali e raramente vengono alterate. Ma le situazioni, come descritte nel libro, sono più chiare ed esplicite, e qualche scena molto diversa, specialmente il finale. Devo dire che mi sono piaciute entrambe le versioni. Forse il libro ha ogni tanto qualche momento addirittura divertente, mi riferisco all'incontro con Sara, mentre il film è agghiacciante tutto il tempo.
5 stelle meritatissime!

[maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I primarily bought a hard copy of this play to read after I had watched the film of the same name (or in French Tom a la ferme) by French Canadian director Xavier Dolan. I had been on a recent Dolan binge and when I found out Tom at the Farm was based on a play I was intrigued. I found that a lot was lost in translation while watching the film and after reading the play a lot more made sense. Definitely worth checking out, it's pretty short too!

[willowdog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following his lover's death, the griefing Tom attends the funeral and discovers his partner's false truths which he wove for his survival in his dysfunctional family.

[Hanna Kyrychenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ефект зловісної долини від якої не відірватися.
Зустрілися якось на похоронах брат-психопат і коханець померлого з суїцидальними нахилами...

[Vitalii Rybkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Хорошая пьеса. Очень хотел бы пойти на неё в театр.
Книжку купил и решил прочитать только ради того, чтобы потом посмотреть фильм Ксавье Долана, и понимать всю подноготную.

Если кратко, то пьеса о том, как тяжело быть геем. Я далёк от такого материала, но благодаря прекрасно выстроенному сюжету и отличному переводу очень сильно проникся.

В предисловии к книге автор говорит, какие ещё были варианты названия, но мы поймём почему он выбрал именно это.

Спойлер.
По сюжету молодой, состоятельный парень гей приезжает на похороны своего любовника, на его маленькую родину. Там он знакомится с его семьей. Сумбурность и сюрреализм происходящего постепенно надвигают мысль, что это не просто сюжет про определённых людей.
В книге всего 4 персонажа, каждый из которых олицетворяет определенную ячейку общества:
Том — геи.
Францис — гомофобы, латентные геи.
Агата — прослойка людей, которые стараются не замечать и отрицать гомофобию, тем самым поощряя ее(сюда можно отнести меня).
Сара — обыватели, которым все равно.
Ну, а сама ферма — это наша жизнь.

[Aída Sánchez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finalmente, después de 10 años de haber visto la adaptación de Xavier Dolan, leí "Tom en la granja".

Es una obra de teatro de lectura rápida y sencilla. Me sorprendió lo bien hecha que está la adaptación de Dolan, y logré entender detalles de la misma (que antes no comprendía) gracias a la obra original.

Quizás el final me habría gustado más si no hubiera visto la película, porque, a mi parecer, la película lo supera. De verdad me impactó hace 10 años.

La agilidad de los diálogos hacen de la experiencia algo muy ameno; no podía soltar el libro.

En cualquier formato que se presente, ya sea libreto, película o interpretación en el teatro, esta historia garantiza tensión e incertidumbre.

19.sept.24

[F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a great read, although I think you can't fully grasp a written play without seeing the play (or in this case the film) too. I really loved Tom's inner monologues, which according to the instructions should be spoken out loud during the conversations. They were really intimate, and we got to know a little bit more about his relationship with his deceased lover.
The ending was changed in the Xavier Dolan-movie, and I loved that ending better, but on a stage it's harder to visualize the Rufus Wainwright-scene.

[tori]

Tom at the farm is my favorite by Xavier Dolan, probably one of my favorites of all time. The screenplay was gifted to me by my best friend but I felt like I shouldn't read it before getting the chance to attend the play itself. Having done that, there's no way I can rate this. Bouchard, Dolan and the other artists involved in this story managed to create a piece of art so complex that gets richer by each version or adaptation and it's still in this beautiful crescendo that I can't and don't want to look away from.
A beautiful, moving and haunting piece of art.

[kiara skene · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/5 stars
stunning.
“he entered the house. no one recognised him. he sat down at our table. no one recognised him. he spoke to us of love. no one recognised him and those who were mourning him went to his grave, but it was empty”
this play is my worst nightmare- not being recognised by the family of my lover is the most heartbreaking thing of all
cannot wait to see the film now

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

just watched the film and had a lot of questions, so immediately I had to read this. A fascinating look about dealing with the death of a loved one (which lacks in the sinister tone that the film offered)

[Coralie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je dirais plus un 3.5 !

J’ai aimé cette lecture, mais elle ne m’a pas chamboulée comme je pensais que ça le ferait. Je trouve qu’on comprends très bien les dynamiques et les personnages. La pièce jouée devait être impressionnante.

[Felipe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Textão foda. Ler o original dá uma dimensão melhor do bom trabalho que o Xavier Dolan fez com a adaptação pra cinema. Queria ver a montagem do Armando Babaioff.

[Carol Oliveira · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Pedro · Rating 3 out of 5]

me fez sentir algo que eu não sentia há muito tempo. um tipo específico de dor.

[Alicia Pelletier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fin poignante. Pièce évolutive. Belle montée en émotion. Drame lent. Un classique.

[tudor · Rating 3 out of 5]

only read this because the movie adaptation made me positively crazy

[ص]

i think rather than comparing the two, i just want to say that the film and play compliment each other. yeah, the movie is better but this is very good too.