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Enquêteur Moralès /Detective Morales #1
Nous étions le sel de la mer
« C'est Vital. Ça a l'air qu'il a ramassé un cadavre dans ses filets. Il l'a dit dans sa radio. Tu veux qu'on t'en raconte, des histoires de marins ? Reste avec nous autres pis tu vas en voir, la p'tite ! » Ce matin-là, Vital Bujold a repêché le corps d'une femme qui, jadis, avait viré le coeur des hommes à l'envers. En Gaspésie, la vérité se fait rare, surtout sur les quais de pêche. Les interrogatoires dérivent en placotages, les indices se dispersent sur la grève, les faits s'estompent dans la vague, et le sergent Moralès, enquêteur dans cette affaire, aurait bien besoin d'un double scotch.
350 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
275 people are currently reading
2110 people want to read
About the author
Roxanne Bouchard
14 books120 followersRoxanne Bouchard enseigne la littérature au Cégep de Joliette.
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December 1, 2014
Je suis féru de livres et d'histoires. De plus, je suis gaspésien de naissance. Alors quand j'ai vu ce livre lors de la journée "Achetez un livre Québécois", j'étais assez excité de lire ce roman de Roxanne Bouchard car le quart de couverture me promettais une union entre ma passion et mes origines.
Sauf que...
Il y a sûrement un moyen d'aimer ce livre mais la première étape c'est de ne pas être gaspésien parce c'est difficile de ne pas prendre la caractérisation que l'auteure fait de ceux-ci un peu personnel. Si j'ai bien compris, voici les traits que tous les gaspésiens du livre partagent
1) Ça prend un prénom qui est tout sauf moderne. Bon, ce point on peut l'excuser, pratiquement tous les personnages du livres ont un âge assez avancé
2) Ça prend une expression colorée qu'on répète ad nauseam. Essayez, par exemple, de deviner qui serait Gaspésien dans le dialogue suivant:
(interlocuteur 1) - Bonjour, est-ce que savez s'il y a de la construction entre ici et Percé?
(interlocuteur 2)- Torrieux d'pwèl, j'pourra bin pas vous dire si ya d'la torrieux d'pwèl de contruction su'a 132. Torrieux d'pwèl!
(interlocuteur 3)- Moi chu allé hier beding-bedang-pouf! La route est belle en beding-bedang-pouf!
(interlocuteur 2)- Torrieux d'pwèl! Si Herménégilde dis qu'cé beau, ça doit une torrieux d'p'wèle de belle ride.
(interlocuteur 1)- Merci bien, mes braves.
Un indice: l'interlocuteur 1 vient de la ville et les deux autres croulent leurs jours dans un village le bord de la 132.
3) Il ne faut SURTOUT pas parler aux étrangers et fournir de l'information, surtout à quelqu'un qui enquête sur la mort d'une femme que t'as passé ta vie en amour avec.
4) Il faut complimenter abondamment et souvent les touristes. Il faut continuellement les flatter dans le sens du poil (ou du torrieux d'pwèl si vous préférez)
5) Si quelqu'un te parle de la mer, faut l'obstiné pour lui faire comprendre qu'il n'a rien compris. (- Je trouve ça relaxant la mer. - La mer c'est pas relaxant, mon beau grand et puissant touriste, la mer c'est une torrieux d'pwèl d'affaire fatigante)
6) Parler de la noyade comme si c'était un putain de sport national.
D'appeler ses personnages gaspésiens des caricatures est une insulte aux caricaturistes. Oui, j'habite aujourd'hui à Montréal mais je ne connais aucun gaspésien qui manque de vocabulaire au point de devoir répéter une expression typique de peur qu'on oublie à qui on parle. Et malgré de longues conversations qui laissent sous-entendre que les gaspésiens sont hantés par noyade autant que les cyclistes montréalais par les camions aux via-ducs, je ne connais personne qui soit mort noyé. Même mes parents qui me gardent au fait de ce qui se passe dans village natal ne me racontent jamais d'histoire de noyade. En fait, ma belle-mère qui a grandi dans Lanaudière a connu plus de gens qui sont morts noyés que moi. C'est tout dire.
Mais au delà des personnages brouillons, qu'en est-il de l'histoire? En gros, c'est une petite intrigue policière que j'ai résolu à peu près 3 pages après qu'elle ait commencé. Rien d’impressionnant. J'ai pesté sur le fait que l'inspecteur qui vient se charger de l'affaire venait tout droit de Mexico City (par un détour à Lopngueuil) parce que je ne voyais pas pourquoi ça prenait un habitant de "la grande ville" pour régler les problèmes des gaspésiens. Plus tard, et avec la plus mauvaise foi, je me suis dis que ça prenait un personnage avec des vrais dialogues plutôt qu'une ritournelle répétitive pour que le lecteur s'identifie au personnage.
D'ailleurs, note à l'auteur: si un mexicain vient à Caplan et qu'il parle "avec presque pas d'accent", en Gaspésie il a au moins un accent montréalais. Parce que moi, quand je retourne chez-moi, ça me prend quelques jours avant de retrouver mon accent natif. À la première conversation qui mentionne les pôteaux ou les phôtos ou les baleïnes ou encore qu'il vient de "Maure-haie-al", tous les gaspésiens auraient deviné que le sergent Morales vient de loin car les touristes en Gaspésie, ça s'entend.
J'ai quand même aimé un passage du livre, celui ou un des personnages décrit la Gaspésie comme un pays dont la seule richesse est la mer et celle-ci se meurt. Je ne peux pas dire que ce passage, aussi bref fut-il, ne m'a pas touché. Malheureusement, j'aurais aimé me sentir comme ça pendant toute ma lecture. J'ai plutôt été tour a tour: énervé, insulté, fâché noir, déçu par un dénouement prévisible puis heureux de pouvoir passer à un autre livre.
Torrieux d'pwèl!
Sauf que...
Il y a sûrement un moyen d'aimer ce livre mais la première étape c'est de ne pas être gaspésien parce c'est difficile de ne pas prendre la caractérisation que l'auteure fait de ceux-ci un peu personnel. Si j'ai bien compris, voici les traits que tous les gaspésiens du livre partagent
1) Ça prend un prénom qui est tout sauf moderne. Bon, ce point on peut l'excuser, pratiquement tous les personnages du livres ont un âge assez avancé
2) Ça prend une expression colorée qu'on répète ad nauseam. Essayez, par exemple, de deviner qui serait Gaspésien dans le dialogue suivant:
(interlocuteur 1) - Bonjour, est-ce que savez s'il y a de la construction entre ici et Percé?
(interlocuteur 2)- Torrieux d'pwèl, j'pourra bin pas vous dire si ya d'la torrieux d'pwèl de contruction su'a 132. Torrieux d'pwèl!
(interlocuteur 3)- Moi chu allé hier beding-bedang-pouf! La route est belle en beding-bedang-pouf!
(interlocuteur 2)- Torrieux d'pwèl! Si Herménégilde dis qu'cé beau, ça doit une torrieux d'p'wèle de belle ride.
(interlocuteur 1)- Merci bien, mes braves.
Un indice: l'interlocuteur 1 vient de la ville et les deux autres croulent leurs jours dans un village le bord de la 132.
3) Il ne faut SURTOUT pas parler aux étrangers et fournir de l'information, surtout à quelqu'un qui enquête sur la mort d'une femme que t'as passé ta vie en amour avec.
4) Il faut complimenter abondamment et souvent les touristes. Il faut continuellement les flatter dans le sens du poil (ou du torrieux d'pwèl si vous préférez)
5) Si quelqu'un te parle de la mer, faut l'obstiné pour lui faire comprendre qu'il n'a rien compris. (- Je trouve ça relaxant la mer. - La mer c'est pas relaxant, mon beau grand et puissant touriste, la mer c'est une torrieux d'pwèl d'affaire fatigante)
6) Parler de la noyade comme si c'était un putain de sport national.
D'appeler ses personnages gaspésiens des caricatures est une insulte aux caricaturistes. Oui, j'habite aujourd'hui à Montréal mais je ne connais aucun gaspésien qui manque de vocabulaire au point de devoir répéter une expression typique de peur qu'on oublie à qui on parle. Et malgré de longues conversations qui laissent sous-entendre que les gaspésiens sont hantés par noyade autant que les cyclistes montréalais par les camions aux via-ducs, je ne connais personne qui soit mort noyé. Même mes parents qui me gardent au fait de ce qui se passe dans village natal ne me racontent jamais d'histoire de noyade. En fait, ma belle-mère qui a grandi dans Lanaudière a connu plus de gens qui sont morts noyés que moi. C'est tout dire.
Mais au delà des personnages brouillons, qu'en est-il de l'histoire? En gros, c'est une petite intrigue policière que j'ai résolu à peu près 3 pages après qu'elle ait commencé. Rien d’impressionnant. J'ai pesté sur le fait que l'inspecteur qui vient se charger de l'affaire venait tout droit de Mexico City (par un détour à Lopngueuil) parce que je ne voyais pas pourquoi ça prenait un habitant de "la grande ville" pour régler les problèmes des gaspésiens. Plus tard, et avec la plus mauvaise foi, je me suis dis que ça prenait un personnage avec des vrais dialogues plutôt qu'une ritournelle répétitive pour que le lecteur s'identifie au personnage.
D'ailleurs, note à l'auteur: si un mexicain vient à Caplan et qu'il parle "avec presque pas d'accent", en Gaspésie il a au moins un accent montréalais. Parce que moi, quand je retourne chez-moi, ça me prend quelques jours avant de retrouver mon accent natif. À la première conversation qui mentionne les pôteaux ou les phôtos ou les baleïnes ou encore qu'il vient de "Maure-haie-al", tous les gaspésiens auraient deviné que le sergent Morales vient de loin car les touristes en Gaspésie, ça s'entend.
J'ai quand même aimé un passage du livre, celui ou un des personnages décrit la Gaspésie comme un pays dont la seule richesse est la mer et celle-ci se meurt. Je ne peux pas dire que ce passage, aussi bref fut-il, ne m'a pas touché. Malheureusement, j'aurais aimé me sentir comme ça pendant toute ma lecture. J'ai plutôt été tour a tour: énervé, insulté, fâché noir, déçu par un dénouement prévisible puis heureux de pouvoir passer à un autre livre.
Torrieux d'pwèl!
August 2, 2023
"‘Have you met our new tourist, Guylaine? What was your name again?’ ‘Catherine.’ ‘Catherine what?’ ‘Day. Catherine Day.’
"‘I’m Vital Bujold. My boat’s Ma Belle. This here’s Victor Ferlatte, my deckhand. You on holiday for a while then, Catherine?’ ‘I don’t know.’ ‘You going to visit Percé?’ ‘I’m not sure I feel like doing the tourist thing, but I’m worried I might find the time a bit long—’ The men burst out laughing, as if I’d just slipped down a step in high heels. ‘Christ in a chalice, that’s all there bloody is in the Gaspé – long time!’ ‘Is it really that boring?’ ‘Boring, no. It’s just different. The Gaspé is the kind of place where time stands still and things never change. If you’re going to stick around in Caplan, you’re going to have to learn how to sit still!’"
We don’t even meet Detective Moralès until close to a quarter of the book is read.
This book is told from both the perspective of Catherine Day and Detective. I felt, unlike many GR readers, that Bouchard fails to deliver. Why?
There is contrivance in not getting the two main characters together until half the book is read – even though they are in the same small town.
There are many instances of misinformation and misunderstanding which prolong the story without adding much except frustration. The plot goes back and forth between events told in the present but having taken place years previously.
Moralès’ frustrations are palpable, both as a detective in a new venue and in his domestic situation. We need to understand these characters in an intimate way and Bouchard doles that out in a way that creates false tension.
Where Bouchard delivers is in giving the reading a sense of appreciation of the life of those who fish for a living in in the Maritime Provinces.
And, her secondary characters are well-drawn even when they aren’t sympathetic.
Not very satisfactory 2.5*
"‘I’m Vital Bujold. My boat’s Ma Belle. This here’s Victor Ferlatte, my deckhand. You on holiday for a while then, Catherine?’ ‘I don’t know.’ ‘You going to visit Percé?’ ‘I’m not sure I feel like doing the tourist thing, but I’m worried I might find the time a bit long—’ The men burst out laughing, as if I’d just slipped down a step in high heels. ‘Christ in a chalice, that’s all there bloody is in the Gaspé – long time!’ ‘Is it really that boring?’ ‘Boring, no. It’s just different. The Gaspé is the kind of place where time stands still and things never change. If you’re going to stick around in Caplan, you’re going to have to learn how to sit still!’"
We don’t even meet Detective Moralès until close to a quarter of the book is read.
This book is told from both the perspective of Catherine Day and Detective. I felt, unlike many GR readers, that Bouchard fails to deliver. Why?
There is contrivance in not getting the two main characters together until half the book is read – even though they are in the same small town.
There are many instances of misinformation and misunderstanding which prolong the story without adding much except frustration. The plot goes back and forth between events told in the present but having taken place years previously.
Moralès’ frustrations are palpable, both as a detective in a new venue and in his domestic situation. We need to understand these characters in an intimate way and Bouchard doles that out in a way that creates false tension.
Where Bouchard delivers is in giving the reading a sense of appreciation of the life of those who fish for a living in in the Maritime Provinces.
And, her secondary characters are well-drawn even when they aren’t sympathetic.
Not very satisfactory 2.5*
March 31, 2018
Find all my books reviews, plus fascinating author interviews, exclusive guest posts and book extracts, on my blog: https://whatcathyreadnext.wordpress.com/
‘You go to sea because you’re a drifter among others and you only feel at home in the silence of the wind.’
Although the reader never meets Marie Garant in life, her vibrant presence pervades the book because of the impact she had on so many of the inhabitants of the Gaspé. Even in death, she is the invisible force which drives events.
The author does a brilliant job of conveying the tight-knit, almost claustrophobic atmosphere of the small fishing community. It’s a place where everyone knows everyone else, their daily routines, their histories…their secrets. Although there are strong bonds of friendship and family, the most powerful common bond is that of the sea. It’s the villagers’ livelihood, their food source, their recreation, their awareness of time even – not just the change of seasons but the rhythm of passing of time. ‘He waited for two waves to go by, time enough for the sea to keep washing gently over the shore, erasing the memories in the sand.’ The sea is their constant companion and frequently, as it turns out, their implacable enemy robbing the community of many souls over the years.
‘They’re always harping on about people being the salt of the earth….Well, doesn’t that make us mariners the salt of the sea?’
The sea is used as a metaphor for life, for emotional experience, for the search for fulfilment. ‘She’s the wave that drags you away from shore and then carries you home. A whirlpool of indecisiveness, hypnotising, holding you captive. Until the day she chooses you. I suppose that’s what passion is…a groundswell that sweeps you up and carries you further out than you thought, then washes you up on the hard sand like an old fool.’
There is wonderful descriptive writing about the sea and the translator, David Warriner, has done a superb job of retaining the lyrical quality of Roxanne Bouchard’s writing. Some of the characters have distinctive modes of speech (“Christ in a chalice”) and, at times, I found the dialogue didn’t flow quite as naturally as the rest of the writing. However, I loved some of the imaginative descriptions such as this one as Catherine sits on the wharf watching the fishing boats tied up there. ‘They were dozing there empty, gently rocking to the rhythm of the waves, snoring against the wharf. They barely raised an eyelid when I arrived. They didn’t care. Sighing, they slipped back into slumber, like fat, lazy cats sinking into the great blue cushion of water.’ Isn’t that simply brilliant?
Tasked with investigating the death of Marie Garant, Sergeant Morales, newly transferred from the city, encounters a wall of silence. He begins to question his relationship with his absent wife, finding himself drawn to Catherine, another outsider who is on her own quest for answers. Faced with prevarication and obfuscation, Morales starts to wonder whether he still has what it takes to unravel the mystery of Marie Garant’s life and death.
I really enjoyed We Were the Salt of the Sea, not just for the intriguing mystery at the heart of the book but for the wonderful, imaginative writing. I would love to see other books by Roxanne Bouchard translated into English.
I received an advance reader copy courtesy of publishers Orenda Books in return for an honest and unbiased review.
‘You go to sea because you’re a drifter among others and you only feel at home in the silence of the wind.’
Although the reader never meets Marie Garant in life, her vibrant presence pervades the book because of the impact she had on so many of the inhabitants of the Gaspé. Even in death, she is the invisible force which drives events.
The author does a brilliant job of conveying the tight-knit, almost claustrophobic atmosphere of the small fishing community. It’s a place where everyone knows everyone else, their daily routines, their histories…their secrets. Although there are strong bonds of friendship and family, the most powerful common bond is that of the sea. It’s the villagers’ livelihood, their food source, their recreation, their awareness of time even – not just the change of seasons but the rhythm of passing of time. ‘He waited for two waves to go by, time enough for the sea to keep washing gently over the shore, erasing the memories in the sand.’ The sea is their constant companion and frequently, as it turns out, their implacable enemy robbing the community of many souls over the years.
‘They’re always harping on about people being the salt of the earth….Well, doesn’t that make us mariners the salt of the sea?’
The sea is used as a metaphor for life, for emotional experience, for the search for fulfilment. ‘She’s the wave that drags you away from shore and then carries you home. A whirlpool of indecisiveness, hypnotising, holding you captive. Until the day she chooses you. I suppose that’s what passion is…a groundswell that sweeps you up and carries you further out than you thought, then washes you up on the hard sand like an old fool.’
There is wonderful descriptive writing about the sea and the translator, David Warriner, has done a superb job of retaining the lyrical quality of Roxanne Bouchard’s writing. Some of the characters have distinctive modes of speech (“Christ in a chalice”) and, at times, I found the dialogue didn’t flow quite as naturally as the rest of the writing. However, I loved some of the imaginative descriptions such as this one as Catherine sits on the wharf watching the fishing boats tied up there. ‘They were dozing there empty, gently rocking to the rhythm of the waves, snoring against the wharf. They barely raised an eyelid when I arrived. They didn’t care. Sighing, they slipped back into slumber, like fat, lazy cats sinking into the great blue cushion of water.’ Isn’t that simply brilliant?
Tasked with investigating the death of Marie Garant, Sergeant Morales, newly transferred from the city, encounters a wall of silence. He begins to question his relationship with his absent wife, finding himself drawn to Catherine, another outsider who is on her own quest for answers. Faced with prevarication and obfuscation, Morales starts to wonder whether he still has what it takes to unravel the mystery of Marie Garant’s life and death.
I really enjoyed We Were the Salt of the Sea, not just for the intriguing mystery at the heart of the book but for the wonderful, imaginative writing. I would love to see other books by Roxanne Bouchard translated into English.
I received an advance reader copy courtesy of publishers Orenda Books in return for an honest and unbiased review.
August 5, 2020
Christ in a Chalice this was good!
This novel was everything I hoped it would be and more. Written by an author who knows the area she writes about well, she paints an ethereal picture of unique shades with colours and the essence of the ocean.
It's lyrical and magical in equal measure. The main story of a woman going to find out bout her mother becomes entangled in the nets of a mystery. It opens up the secrets and lies of a very traditional fishing community which when that pandoras box is open, the sea claims everything for its own.
There is so much I want to say about this novel, rave about it and shout how much I recommend it, but I will just say how excellent and flawless the translation was instead. David Warriner has injected another level of mystery and overriding spookiness to the novel. The setting is the story and the story is the setting. Highly recommended.
Full review nearer the time but I had to shout about this one!
This novel was everything I hoped it would be and more. Written by an author who knows the area she writes about well, she paints an ethereal picture of unique shades with colours and the essence of the ocean.
It's lyrical and magical in equal measure. The main story of a woman going to find out bout her mother becomes entangled in the nets of a mystery. It opens up the secrets and lies of a very traditional fishing community which when that pandoras box is open, the sea claims everything for its own.
There is so much I want to say about this novel, rave about it and shout how much I recommend it, but I will just say how excellent and flawless the translation was instead. David Warriner has injected another level of mystery and overriding spookiness to the novel. The setting is the story and the story is the setting. Highly recommended.
Full review nearer the time but I had to shout about this one!
August 12, 2025
2,5
Bon, comment dire? J'ai aimé certains passages, la plume poétique de l'autrice, les réflexions de Catherine.
Mais... Plusieurs autres éléments m'ont agacée.
- Les tics langagiers des personnages gaspésiens. pourquoi chacun devait-il avoir une particularité dans ses dialogues? c'était agaçant et trop stéréotypé. Et personnellement, ça ne m'a pas aidée à les reconnaitre, il y en avait tellement!
- L'usage du terme "Amérindien". Sérieusement, j'ai lu une version poche du roman. On aurait pu faire l'effort d'apporter cette modification, non?
- Les personnages masculins et leur vision stéréotypée, voire objectifiante de la femme.
- L'amour qui apparait, comme ça, au détour, tout le temps? Tous les hommes qui aiment Marie ou Catherine.
Ah, et on repassera pour l'enquête! Ce n'est vraiment pas le genre principal dans ce roman!
Bon, comment dire? J'ai aimé certains passages, la plume poétique de l'autrice, les réflexions de Catherine.
Mais... Plusieurs autres éléments m'ont agacée.
- Les tics langagiers des personnages gaspésiens. pourquoi chacun devait-il avoir une particularité dans ses dialogues? c'était agaçant et trop stéréotypé. Et personnellement, ça ne m'a pas aidée à les reconnaitre, il y en avait tellement!
- L'usage du terme "Amérindien". Sérieusement, j'ai lu une version poche du roman. On aurait pu faire l'effort d'apporter cette modification, non?
- Les personnages masculins et leur vision stéréotypée, voire objectifiante de la femme.
- L'amour qui apparait, comme ça, au détour, tout le temps? Tous les hommes qui aiment Marie ou Catherine.
Ah, et on repassera pour l'enquête! Ce n'est vraiment pas le genre principal dans ce roman!
July 3, 2021
“ We Were The Salt of The Sea” is a journey of self discovery and understanding that is driven by abandonment and loss.The novel lyrically captures the rhythm and power of the sea while exploring the effects of this natural force on a small fishing community on the Gaspe peninsula in Quebec.
Catherine Day was abandoned by her mother at birth and raised by legal guardians. After her guardians have died, Catherine feels adrift.She receives a cryptic note urging her to come to the fishing village of Caplan,the hometown of her birth mother, Marie Garant.Marie is a peripatetic beauty who cannot settle in one place.An accomplished sailor, Marie sails to unknown destinations and periodically returns to Caplan for brief periods before setting sail again, lured by the call of the sea.
The mystifying letter draws Catherine to Caplan where she hopes to seek out her birth mother as well as unravel the meaning of her life.Shortly after her arrival,the body of a woman is dredged up from fishing nets.The woman is her birth mother Marie.It falls to Inspector Joaquin Morales,recently transferred from Montreal, to find out what happened. Morales’ life arc is also unclear.His marriage is dissolving and he too is on a mission of self discovery and reflection.
The stories of these two protagonists intersect as each, for differing reasons,tries to discover the meaning of Marie’s life and the reasons for her death.They share a sense of displacement and abandonment that both draws them together and propels them apart.Their quests are complicated by the village history.The sea is no longer as full of fish as in years past and the residents feel abandoned by this change of circumstance and buffeted by the vagaries of the sea.
Gradually the villagers haltingly reveal snippets of the village history, Marie’s story and their relationship to the natural force dictating their existence.One resident describing the sea notes that” She’s the wave that drags you away from the shore and then carries you home.A whirlpool of indecisiveness, hypnotizing, holding you captive.Until the day she chooses you.”
Gradually, Catherine and Morales glimpse at the kaleidoscope of remembrances and hidden secrets that might have led to Marie’s death.Generational secrets fester for the men who loved Marie and the women who envied her.
Roxanne Bouchard beautifully and poetically constructs an ode to the sea and to shifting human emotions.This literary novel defies genre classification.The reader is immersed in ephemeral perceptions as the cast of characters recall the past, recalibrate their present moorings and continue on voyages of self discovery.
Catherine Day was abandoned by her mother at birth and raised by legal guardians. After her guardians have died, Catherine feels adrift.She receives a cryptic note urging her to come to the fishing village of Caplan,the hometown of her birth mother, Marie Garant.Marie is a peripatetic beauty who cannot settle in one place.An accomplished sailor, Marie sails to unknown destinations and periodically returns to Caplan for brief periods before setting sail again, lured by the call of the sea.
The mystifying letter draws Catherine to Caplan where she hopes to seek out her birth mother as well as unravel the meaning of her life.Shortly after her arrival,the body of a woman is dredged up from fishing nets.The woman is her birth mother Marie.It falls to Inspector Joaquin Morales,recently transferred from Montreal, to find out what happened. Morales’ life arc is also unclear.His marriage is dissolving and he too is on a mission of self discovery and reflection.
The stories of these two protagonists intersect as each, for differing reasons,tries to discover the meaning of Marie’s life and the reasons for her death.They share a sense of displacement and abandonment that both draws them together and propels them apart.Their quests are complicated by the village history.The sea is no longer as full of fish as in years past and the residents feel abandoned by this change of circumstance and buffeted by the vagaries of the sea.
Gradually the villagers haltingly reveal snippets of the village history, Marie’s story and their relationship to the natural force dictating their existence.One resident describing the sea notes that” She’s the wave that drags you away from the shore and then carries you home.A whirlpool of indecisiveness, hypnotizing, holding you captive.Until the day she chooses you.”
Gradually, Catherine and Morales glimpse at the kaleidoscope of remembrances and hidden secrets that might have led to Marie’s death.Generational secrets fester for the men who loved Marie and the women who envied her.
Roxanne Bouchard beautifully and poetically constructs an ode to the sea and to shifting human emotions.This literary novel defies genre classification.The reader is immersed in ephemeral perceptions as the cast of characters recall the past, recalibrate their present moorings and continue on voyages of self discovery.
August 22, 2021
Un gros «meh», très pas mal déçue. J'en avais entendu tellement de bien! Malgré plusieurs très belles phrases et un poésie certaine, j'ai été incapable de faire abstraction des répétitions beaucoup trop nombreuses des nombreux (et exagérés) patois des personnages gaspésiens. C'est d'une lourdeur et d'une inutilité incroyable, c'est trop! Vraiment dommage, car c'est une belle histoire, somme toute. Je crois même être trop généreuse avec 3 étoiles, mais la beauté de certains passages et mon amour de la mer m'incite à laisser 3 étoiles.
March 30, 2018
This story is still swirling round in my mind as it had such a mystical feel to it as I was reading. The tragedy of it all for me was the timing of Catherine Day arriving at the small fishing village in Gaspé Peninsula. As the anticipation of Catherine finally meeting the mother that had abandoned her at birth grew with each person she spoke to, I began to realise just how much courage it had taken her to hunt her down. The dread that the bond that had been lacking at birth could still be the reason to reject her now all too clear in her mind.
When the body of Marie Garant, her birth mother, is discovered tangled in fishing nets and very much dead, it leaves Catherine frustrated and angry that she had been yet again ‘abandoned’ with years of why? never to be answered. What was even more tragic was the fact that she, being the only relative there, had to deal with the burial and the impossible decision of, do you want to view the body of the mother you never knew? To be honest it took my breath. Too many extreme emotions to make logical decisions.
This story for me is almost fairy tale like with such strange and at times eccentric characters that have lived in the fishing village all their lives. Stories of her mother are retold to her, with a picture of a beautiful almost siren type magnetic charm that men could not help but be attracted to. Marie’s passion for the sea sort of rounded her off completely. It wasn’t only Catherine that was digging into the past life of her mother but also the troubled DS Morales sent to investigate if her death was the work of a murderer.
This is such an unusual story with distinctive characters you wouldn’t find the like of anywhere else. Each has their own voice, tone and a rhythm that makes them as unique as any finger print ever could. You really don’t need to be told who is speaking, you just know.
The whole story was like the sea. It was unpredictable, stormy and unforgiving but the beauty of it all was quite superb!
When the body of Marie Garant, her birth mother, is discovered tangled in fishing nets and very much dead, it leaves Catherine frustrated and angry that she had been yet again ‘abandoned’ with years of why? never to be answered. What was even more tragic was the fact that she, being the only relative there, had to deal with the burial and the impossible decision of, do you want to view the body of the mother you never knew? To be honest it took my breath. Too many extreme emotions to make logical decisions.
This story for me is almost fairy tale like with such strange and at times eccentric characters that have lived in the fishing village all their lives. Stories of her mother are retold to her, with a picture of a beautiful almost siren type magnetic charm that men could not help but be attracted to. Marie’s passion for the sea sort of rounded her off completely. It wasn’t only Catherine that was digging into the past life of her mother but also the troubled DS Morales sent to investigate if her death was the work of a murderer.
This is such an unusual story with distinctive characters you wouldn’t find the like of anywhere else. Each has their own voice, tone and a rhythm that makes them as unique as any finger print ever could. You really don’t need to be told who is speaking, you just know.
The whole story was like the sea. It was unpredictable, stormy and unforgiving but the beauty of it all was quite superb!
February 23, 2022
J'ai quand même été déçu de ce livre qui, dès le début, m'a accroché et a réussi a construire un squelette d'histoire original et intéressant. Sincèrement j'ai gardé mon intérêt pour le récit tout le long de ma lecture mais beaucoup trop de détails m'ont gâchés mon plaisir.
Je pourrais nommer toutes les décisions incongrues des personnages, le fait qu'une quantité incroyable d'hommes sont amoureux d'une seule femme mystérieuse, que les deux personnages principaux s'attachent excessivement rapidement à des personnes qui connaissent depuis deux heures ou encore toutes les personnes qui s'engueulent avec amertume et qui redeviennent amis deux minutes après.
Mais y'a vraiment deux choses qui m'ont, profondément, irrités.
1. Ce n'est vraiment pas un livre policier. Peut-être que c'est moi qui a mal compris, mais l'enquête fait 10% du roman tout au plus.
2. Le besoin obsessif de l'autrice de mettre dans la bouche des personnages gaspésiens des tics de langage et/ou expressions fortes et différentes à chacun, avec une récurrence extrême.
"Va falloir que je vous dise, qu'en vérité, saint-ciboire de calisse, hiiii, que t-t-t-t-t-t-t-trop c'est comme pas assez"
Je répète que j'ai quand même réussi à y trouver un certain plaisir malgré tout. Disons que je donne 2.5/5.
Je pourrais nommer toutes les décisions incongrues des personnages, le fait qu'une quantité incroyable d'hommes sont amoureux d'une seule femme mystérieuse, que les deux personnages principaux s'attachent excessivement rapidement à des personnes qui connaissent depuis deux heures ou encore toutes les personnes qui s'engueulent avec amertume et qui redeviennent amis deux minutes après.
Mais y'a vraiment deux choses qui m'ont, profondément, irrités.
1. Ce n'est vraiment pas un livre policier. Peut-être que c'est moi qui a mal compris, mais l'enquête fait 10% du roman tout au plus.
2. Le besoin obsessif de l'autrice de mettre dans la bouche des personnages gaspésiens des tics de langage et/ou expressions fortes et différentes à chacun, avec une récurrence extrême.
"Va falloir que je vous dise, qu'en vérité, saint-ciboire de calisse, hiiii, que t-t-t-t-t-t-t-trop c'est comme pas assez"
Je répète que j'ai quand même réussi à y trouver un certain plaisir malgré tout. Disons que je donne 2.5/5.
June 17, 2023
2.5⭐️s rounded up
March 12, 2018
Where do I start with We Were the Salt of the Sea. As a book lover and reviewer, I read 100’s of books a year. But I’ve never read anything like We Were the Salt of the Sea before. As I started to read the book I did find it difficult to adjust to the flow of Bouchard’s writing style. It’s extremely unique, it really is like a song, a beat in your head. But I soon found the pattern and very soon the words just flowed effortlessly.
There are a special bunch of characters settled into the fisherman’s wharf on Quebec’s outlying Gaspé Peninsula. Each one leaves you with a particular feeling. Each one has a defined voice and it was really enjoyable to hear each character have such a bold and strong effect on the page and in the overall story. You really get a sense of every one of them. It was a new experience for me with a book which really caught me unawares.
We follow Catherine Day as she goes back to her past to find out more about her roots. But when a body is caught in the fisherman’s nets it sets off a series of events and in turn, we meet Detective Sergent Moralés, who has his own baggage that weighs him down.
I was truly transported to this special place, I could smell the salt in the air as I read. The sea is in itself a massive character in the book. It was just a truly unique read and one I hope to re-read again and again because I know it’s going to be one of those books that you get something new from it with every read.
I love this quote at the start of the book.
Cyrille said the sea was like a patchwork quilt. Fragments of waves joined together by strands of sunlight. He said the sea would swallow the stories of the world and digest them at its leisure in its cobalt belly before regurgitating only distorted reflections.
I thoroughly recommend We Were the Salt of the Sea if you are looking for a fantastic crime, thriller, mystery novel with a unique and beautiful writing style then this is the next adventure for you, dear reader.
We Were the Salt of the Sea captures your breath as you close the last page. Then you turn to page one and start to read again, with colourful characters and a story too delicious to read just once. You begin again, again and again………
There are a special bunch of characters settled into the fisherman’s wharf on Quebec’s outlying Gaspé Peninsula. Each one leaves you with a particular feeling. Each one has a defined voice and it was really enjoyable to hear each character have such a bold and strong effect on the page and in the overall story. You really get a sense of every one of them. It was a new experience for me with a book which really caught me unawares.
We follow Catherine Day as she goes back to her past to find out more about her roots. But when a body is caught in the fisherman’s nets it sets off a series of events and in turn, we meet Detective Sergent Moralés, who has his own baggage that weighs him down.
I was truly transported to this special place, I could smell the salt in the air as I read. The sea is in itself a massive character in the book. It was just a truly unique read and one I hope to re-read again and again because I know it’s going to be one of those books that you get something new from it with every read.
I love this quote at the start of the book.
Cyrille said the sea was like a patchwork quilt. Fragments of waves joined together by strands of sunlight. He said the sea would swallow the stories of the world and digest them at its leisure in its cobalt belly before regurgitating only distorted reflections.
I thoroughly recommend We Were the Salt of the Sea if you are looking for a fantastic crime, thriller, mystery novel with a unique and beautiful writing style then this is the next adventure for you, dear reader.
We Were the Salt of the Sea captures your breath as you close the last page. Then you turn to page one and start to read again, with colourful characters and a story too delicious to read just once. You begin again, again and again………
October 29, 2021
J’ai eu beaucoup de difficulté à entrer dans cette histoire… Le premier tier était à mon avis long et mélangeant, car il y avait beaucoup trop de personnages et pas assez de description à mon goût. Puis, le reste de l’histoire est devenu beaucoup plus intriguant par la suite et j’ai bien aimé la fin.
March 8, 2018
If you are looking for a crime novel that is based around the power of the sea, told in a style that feels like the gentle lapping waves hitting the shore, then look no further! Orenda books have discovered another great talent in Roxanne Bouchard who tells a tale in a beautifully lyrical way and has created an atmospheric and polished debut.
Catherine Day is trying to find her roots. She knows nothing of her mother and father, other than a womans' name. And when she shows up in the remote fishing village in the Gaspe Peninsula, her presence starts to ruffle a few feathers and coincides with the body of a woman being found in a fisherman's nets.
Marie Garant is the deceased woman and was well known in the village for being an extraordinary woman, a sailor who would disappear for months before returning. She made an impact though on people of the village when she was around and her death finds many rattled.
When Joaquin Morales is brought in from Montreal to investigate her death he soon finds himself becoming wrapped up in the ways of the village and finds many villagers reluctant to talk, and is intrigued to find out what they're hiding, and why. He is suffering his own personal problems and this adds extra depth to the story as you feel he finds the investigation a way of trying to ignore what is happening in his own life.
There are so many fascinating characters in this story which I found to be compelling as you often don't get the measure of people until tiny little details of their lives are later revealed. It isn't an action packed story, as the author takes her time over the complexities of a community who thrive on keeping things close to their chests. As Catherine discovers more of the story of her own background it seems to empower her and it was wonderful to see her break free from the chains she had placed around herself for whatever reason.
A stunning book and I can't wait to read more from this author in the future
Catherine Day is trying to find her roots. She knows nothing of her mother and father, other than a womans' name. And when she shows up in the remote fishing village in the Gaspe Peninsula, her presence starts to ruffle a few feathers and coincides with the body of a woman being found in a fisherman's nets.
Marie Garant is the deceased woman and was well known in the village for being an extraordinary woman, a sailor who would disappear for months before returning. She made an impact though on people of the village when she was around and her death finds many rattled.
When Joaquin Morales is brought in from Montreal to investigate her death he soon finds himself becoming wrapped up in the ways of the village and finds many villagers reluctant to talk, and is intrigued to find out what they're hiding, and why. He is suffering his own personal problems and this adds extra depth to the story as you feel he finds the investigation a way of trying to ignore what is happening in his own life.
There are so many fascinating characters in this story which I found to be compelling as you often don't get the measure of people until tiny little details of their lives are later revealed. It isn't an action packed story, as the author takes her time over the complexities of a community who thrive on keeping things close to their chests. As Catherine discovers more of the story of her own background it seems to empower her and it was wonderful to see her break free from the chains she had placed around herself for whatever reason.
A stunning book and I can't wait to read more from this author in the future
October 23, 2022
Bon… ce livre n’était définitivement pas pour moi. Toutefois, j’ai bien aimé la plume de l’auteure. Ce n’est pas l’enquête en soi qui a fait en sorte que je n’ai pas apprécié ma lecture, mais plutôt ce qu’il y a autour.
J’ai trouvé les personnages très caricaturés, limite insultant pour les pêcheurs gaspésiens. Je comprends que la plupart des personnages étaient des personnes âgées, mais quand même. Certains personnages ont des patois assez particuliers, mais ils reviennent tellement fréquemment que l’auteure n’a pas besoin de spécifier qui parle qu’on le devine. C’était trop à un moment donné et ça ne correspondait pas à la plume du restant du livre.
Je sais que l’histoire se déroule en 2007, que le livre a été publié en 2014 et que les termes et les moeurs ont évolué, mais le terme « amérindiens » est présent à de nombreuses reprises. Je pourrais comprendre (mais ce n’est pas une excuse)qu’il soit employé par des personnes âgées vivant en région rural, mais pas par une fille venant de Montréal d’une trentaine d’années. Je n’ai pas nécessairement enlevé de points pour cela, car tel que mentionné, j’ai conscience que les choses ont évolué depuis 2014, cependant ça demeure des termes racistes et qui ne sont pas acceptables.
Ensuite, j’ai eu l’impression que les personnages masculins ont été écrits par un homme. Normalement, dans les livres écrits par des femmes, les femmes ne sont pas vus comme des objets et il y a davantage de respect pour les personnages. Oui, parfois, certains personnages masculins auront des pensées ou des propos inacceptables, mais ce n’est qu’une minorité. Ici, la majorité des personnages ont des pensées inadéquates sur les vêtements des femmes ou leur personne. Peut-on arrêter de les juger sur ce qu’elles portent?
Je n’ai aucunement apprécié le personnage de l’enquêteur. Il n’était pas professionnel et certaines de ses réflexions m’ont dérangée.
J’ai trouvé les personnages très caricaturés, limite insultant pour les pêcheurs gaspésiens. Je comprends que la plupart des personnages étaient des personnes âgées, mais quand même. Certains personnages ont des patois assez particuliers, mais ils reviennent tellement fréquemment que l’auteure n’a pas besoin de spécifier qui parle qu’on le devine. C’était trop à un moment donné et ça ne correspondait pas à la plume du restant du livre.
Je sais que l’histoire se déroule en 2007, que le livre a été publié en 2014 et que les termes et les moeurs ont évolué, mais le terme « amérindiens » est présent à de nombreuses reprises. Je pourrais comprendre (mais ce n’est pas une excuse)qu’il soit employé par des personnes âgées vivant en région rural, mais pas par une fille venant de Montréal d’une trentaine d’années. Je n’ai pas nécessairement enlevé de points pour cela, car tel que mentionné, j’ai conscience que les choses ont évolué depuis 2014, cependant ça demeure des termes racistes et qui ne sont pas acceptables.
Ensuite, j’ai eu l’impression que les personnages masculins ont été écrits par un homme. Normalement, dans les livres écrits par des femmes, les femmes ne sont pas vus comme des objets et il y a davantage de respect pour les personnages. Oui, parfois, certains personnages masculins auront des pensées ou des propos inacceptables, mais ce n’est qu’une minorité. Ici, la majorité des personnages ont des pensées inadéquates sur les vêtements des femmes ou leur personne. Peut-on arrêter de les juger sur ce qu’elles portent?
Je n’ai aucunement apprécié le personnage de l’enquêteur. Il n’était pas professionnel et certaines de ses réflexions m’ont dérangée.
July 4, 2021
J'ai adoré cette lecture 💙
Grâce à l'auteure, j'ai voyagé en Gaspésie et navigué les eaux du fleuve à la recherche de réponses, ses réponses... celles de Catherine.
J'ai respiré l'air salin et admiré les falaises sur lesquelles se brisent les vagues de la mer agitée. J'ai accompagné le sergent Moralès dans une enquête houleuse en terres gaspésiennes et j'ai vécu, le temps de ma lecture, dans un petit village où les secrets et la vérité ne tardent jamais à faire surface...
Grâce à l'auteure, j'ai voyagé en Gaspésie et navigué les eaux du fleuve à la recherche de réponses, ses réponses... celles de Catherine.
J'ai respiré l'air salin et admiré les falaises sur lesquelles se brisent les vagues de la mer agitée. J'ai accompagné le sergent Moralès dans une enquête houleuse en terres gaspésiennes et j'ai vécu, le temps de ma lecture, dans un petit village où les secrets et la vérité ne tardent jamais à faire surface...
June 22, 2022
L’écriture de Roxanne Bouchard est fantastique. Elle arrive parfaitement à nous transporter en Gaspésie. J’ai trouvé que l’introspection du sergent Moralès mélangé à l’enquête de Marie Garant était très bien amené. On nous laisse dans le doute jusqu’à la toute fin. J’ai hâte de lire la suite! 🌊
January 19, 2023
Excellent livre. J’ai le goût de faire un voyage en Gaspésie!
March 30, 2018
3.5 stars - We Were the Salt of the Sea is a unique novel in the world of crime fiction; a quiet yet powerful tale. I have to quote from the blurb because this novel is indeed “a lyrical, poetic ode to the sea” – once you get into the rhythm of this novel, it’s like waves gentle lapping, even though you’re reading a crime novel, it’s soothing. As you hear from the characters, a picture, albeit nowhere near complete, of Marie Garant starts to take shape, and the plot has this beautiful yet tragic feel to it. There is indeed a mystery at play here, but there’s so much more too; themes of love, loss, memories and secrets.
There was some great characterisation in this novel, characters you warm to, and some not so much. I loved that some of the characters had a distinct way of speaking, this continuity throughout the novel really brought them to life and made them easily identifiable. What happens at sea stays at sea; these characters had secrets of their own, and they weren’t willing to easily offer them up to Detective Morales. What shined brightest of all, though, was their love of the sea, and there were some great quotes throughout of characters expressing their love for the waters. But the sea giveth and the sea taketh away:
“The dues we must pay to the sea.”
This novel is narrated in third person but switched to first person for Catherine’s narrative and I thought that was extremely fitting, not just because she has newly arrived in the town but because her loss is different. She’s trying to get to know who her birth mother was, she has no memories to fall back on, and has to find a way to move forward from a past she doesn’t know.
As for the mystery itself, it’s slowly unravelled; Detective Morales has to ask the right questions to get the answers he seeks. And we get a bit of backstory on him too, but I must admit, I didn’t find him likeable or his personal life all that interesting.
We Were the Salt of the Sea is an extremely atmospheric read, slow-paced and immersive; you can visualise being there, watching the events first-hand and listening in on the conversations – now that’s a powerfully written novel!
Lastly, and importantly, thank you to David Warriner for providing the translation that allowed me to read this novel – it truly felt like nothing was lost in translation.
*My thanks to Orenda Books for providing me with a copy of this book*
There was some great characterisation in this novel, characters you warm to, and some not so much. I loved that some of the characters had a distinct way of speaking, this continuity throughout the novel really brought them to life and made them easily identifiable. What happens at sea stays at sea; these characters had secrets of their own, and they weren’t willing to easily offer them up to Detective Morales. What shined brightest of all, though, was their love of the sea, and there were some great quotes throughout of characters expressing their love for the waters. But the sea giveth and the sea taketh away:
“The dues we must pay to the sea.”
This novel is narrated in third person but switched to first person for Catherine’s narrative and I thought that was extremely fitting, not just because she has newly arrived in the town but because her loss is different. She’s trying to get to know who her birth mother was, she has no memories to fall back on, and has to find a way to move forward from a past she doesn’t know.
As for the mystery itself, it’s slowly unravelled; Detective Morales has to ask the right questions to get the answers he seeks. And we get a bit of backstory on him too, but I must admit, I didn’t find him likeable or his personal life all that interesting.
We Were the Salt of the Sea is an extremely atmospheric read, slow-paced and immersive; you can visualise being there, watching the events first-hand and listening in on the conversations – now that’s a powerfully written novel!
Lastly, and importantly, thank you to David Warriner for providing the translation that allowed me to read this novel – it truly felt like nothing was lost in translation.
*My thanks to Orenda Books for providing me with a copy of this book*
November 14, 2020
"J'avais de la marée dans le corps et sûrement un peu de sel dans le fond des pupilles."
L'écriture de Roxanne Bouchard m'a transporté jusqu'en Gaspésie, où je me vois déjà acheter un voilier et voguer au large. Un roman crève-coeur et magnifique. Une histoire d'amour (ou plutôt des histoires d'amour), de famille, d'abandon et de bonheur.
J'ai si hâte de me procurer le second.
L'écriture de Roxanne Bouchard m'a transporté jusqu'en Gaspésie, où je me vois déjà acheter un voilier et voguer au large. Un roman crève-coeur et magnifique. Une histoire d'amour (ou plutôt des histoires d'amour), de famille, d'abandon et de bonheur.
J'ai si hâte de me procurer le second.
September 18, 2022
This my first did not finish of this year. There are others who've been put aside for a second go, but this will not be one of them, which I'm sorry about because it's been on my wishlist for some time.
The opening was fine. Enticing even, but the following section ... no. No, no no. I don't know if it was a poor translation, unnecessarily including repetitious French phrases, or a heavy-handed attempt by the writer to differentiate between 'characters', but none of it felt natural, and even the later inclusion of a dead body and a detective didn't lift it for very long. So dnf at page 55.
The opening was fine. Enticing even, but the following section ... no. No, no no. I don't know if it was a poor translation, unnecessarily including repetitious French phrases, or a heavy-handed attempt by the writer to differentiate between 'characters', but none of it felt natural, and even the later inclusion of a dead body and a detective didn't lift it for very long. So dnf at page 55.
September 23, 2020
Lecture tout en douceur, qui nous amène tranquillement à la fin, des fois un peu trop lentement, mais on rentre à bon port.
Bon roman, je lirai le deuxième.
Bon roman, je lirai le deuxième.
June 25, 2024
La trama suena muy bien y muy interesante pero no he logrado conectar con la historia, es cierto que la autora plasma de maravilla la ambientación, una atmosfera de un pequeño pueblo costero canadiense.
LA joven Catherine Day llega desde Monreal al remoto pueblo pesquero de Caplan en busca de su madre biológica, los habitantes del pueblo no la van ayudar mucho, y además aparece una mujer muerta, atrapada en una red de pesca, la mujer que resulta ser su madre.
El policía del pueblo, Morales será el encargado de investigar esta muerte, un personaje que me ha resultado insoportable y un poco chiflado con sus historias conyugales.
La trama gira principalmente en torno a la pesca y el mar, además de la madre muerta, que navegaba sola, pero que no se sabe nada de ella aun siendo el tema central de la historia. Los personajes son en la mayoría muy superficiales.
Esta historia esta ambientada en 2007 y que el libro se publicó bastante más tarde, asique las costumbres han cambiado, es verdad que hay términos que es normal que lo usen las personas mayores (como la mayoría de los personajes), pero no una chica de 30 años.
Sin contar con eso, los personajes me han resultado muy pesados, tienen un “dialecto” peculiar, unas expresiones curiosas que pueden parecer divertidas al principio pero cuando se repiten tanto tantísimo en 250 paginas al final acaba cansando y no cuadra nada.
El final no me ha parecido nada creíble y ha sido bastante surrealista. Una historia corta que se lee en dos tardes, pero que me ha costado conectar tanto con los personajes como con la historia.
LA joven Catherine Day llega desde Monreal al remoto pueblo pesquero de Caplan en busca de su madre biológica, los habitantes del pueblo no la van ayudar mucho, y además aparece una mujer muerta, atrapada en una red de pesca, la mujer que resulta ser su madre.
El policía del pueblo, Morales será el encargado de investigar esta muerte, un personaje que me ha resultado insoportable y un poco chiflado con sus historias conyugales.
La trama gira principalmente en torno a la pesca y el mar, además de la madre muerta, que navegaba sola, pero que no se sabe nada de ella aun siendo el tema central de la historia. Los personajes son en la mayoría muy superficiales.
Esta historia esta ambientada en 2007 y que el libro se publicó bastante más tarde, asique las costumbres han cambiado, es verdad que hay términos que es normal que lo usen las personas mayores (como la mayoría de los personajes), pero no una chica de 30 años.
Sin contar con eso, los personajes me han resultado muy pesados, tienen un “dialecto” peculiar, unas expresiones curiosas que pueden parecer divertidas al principio pero cuando se repiten tanto tantísimo en 250 paginas al final acaba cansando y no cuadra nada.
El final no me ha parecido nada creíble y ha sido bastante surrealista. Una historia corta que se lee en dos tardes, pero que me ha costado conectar tanto con los personajes como con la historia.
June 12, 2018
A young woman arrives in a coastal resort seeking her birth mother; a detective relocates to the small town on the coast where he's treated as the outsider he is. When the body of Marie Garant is found in some fishing nets, the worlds of outsiders and residents collide. This was beautifully written and more of a character driven novel than a simple crime story.
July 23, 2025
3.5 / J'ai aimé que ça se passe en Gaspésie et le côté québécois dans les dialogues, mais l'enquêteur Moralès me donne le ick 😆
March 10, 2018
Catherine Day arrives on the Gaspé Peninsula, looking for her birth mother. No sooner does she start asking questions or the body of a woman is found caught up in fishing nets. Not just any woman. Marie Garant, although nomadic, seemed to be quite an important part of the village. But, did anyone actually really know her?
Detective Sergeant Morales is also new to the area. He’s thrown into the investigation surrounding Marie Garant’s death but distractions concerning his private life and village residents being remarkably skilful in muddying the waters make him wonder why he’s moved to the peninsula at all.
Now, I’m not a fan of water. You’d never find me in it or on it. No sailing, swimming or fishing or whatever else you do in oceans for me, thank you very much. And yet, I soon found myself completely immersed in the lives of the various residents of this remote fishing village, swept away along the waves of exquisite descriptions that somehow turn this story into a mesmerising ode to the sea. I was enchanted to the point where I almost felt like dipping my big toe into the water.
I loved getting to know the various characters, some likeable, some not so much. Some are eccentric and quirky but they all share a deep love for the sea and despite life not being easy and many longing for the old days in moments of nostalgia, none would ever leave their place near the ocean. It’s no surprise, I’m sure, that many of the villagers are holding on to secrets and I sometimes wondered if we were ever going to find any answers to the many questions that surround Marie Garant, her life and her death.
This is unlike any other crime fiction novel I’ve read before. Its beautiful writing and incredible atmosphere set it apart from the genre. While there is a crime to be solved, this isn’t gruesome or even action-packed. The pace is perfectly in sync with life in the sleepy village, allowing you to become utterly absorbed, soaking up every word like a sponge. What an absolute delight it’s been to have had the opportunity to read this highly original tale of love and loss.
Detective Sergeant Morales is also new to the area. He’s thrown into the investigation surrounding Marie Garant’s death but distractions concerning his private life and village residents being remarkably skilful in muddying the waters make him wonder why he’s moved to the peninsula at all.
Now, I’m not a fan of water. You’d never find me in it or on it. No sailing, swimming or fishing or whatever else you do in oceans for me, thank you very much. And yet, I soon found myself completely immersed in the lives of the various residents of this remote fishing village, swept away along the waves of exquisite descriptions that somehow turn this story into a mesmerising ode to the sea. I was enchanted to the point where I almost felt like dipping my big toe into the water.
I loved getting to know the various characters, some likeable, some not so much. Some are eccentric and quirky but they all share a deep love for the sea and despite life not being easy and many longing for the old days in moments of nostalgia, none would ever leave their place near the ocean. It’s no surprise, I’m sure, that many of the villagers are holding on to secrets and I sometimes wondered if we were ever going to find any answers to the many questions that surround Marie Garant, her life and her death.
This is unlike any other crime fiction novel I’ve read before. Its beautiful writing and incredible atmosphere set it apart from the genre. While there is a crime to be solved, this isn’t gruesome or even action-packed. The pace is perfectly in sync with life in the sleepy village, allowing you to become utterly absorbed, soaking up every word like a sponge. What an absolute delight it’s been to have had the opportunity to read this highly original tale of love and loss.
September 27, 2020
« En Gaspésie, la vérité se fait rare, surtout sur les quais de pêche [...] les indices se dispersent sur la grève, les faits s'estompent dans la vague » 4,5⭐️ pour cette lecture qui m’a réellement permis de m’évader et durant laquelle je me suis sentie en Gaspésie au bord de la mer. On entend presque le son des vagues quand Moralès réfléchit à son enquête au bistro de Renaud ou quand on retourne dans le passé à bord de l’Alberto en 1974. J’ai trouvé le rythme de l’enquête un peu lent, mais c’est peut-être parce que les personnages tardent volontairement à dévoiler leurs secrets. En somme, Nous étions le sel de la mer est un mélange de beauté, de douceur et d’intrigue. La richesse des dialogues et les tics langagiers des personnages rendent le tout très vivant.
August 10, 2023
A stunning novel grounded in the French Canadian fishing village of Caplan in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine region of Quebec.
The novel switches time lines and points of view, mostly between Catherine Day and a newly arrived detective, Joaquin Moralès.
A woman has been found drowned near her sailing boat, caught up in nets. Moralès is called to investigate and steps into a torrid history.
I loved every minute of it. I loved the portrayal of the French Canadian fisherfolk.
The novel switches time lines and points of view, mostly between Catherine Day and a newly arrived detective, Joaquin Moralès.
A woman has been found drowned near her sailing boat, caught up in nets. Moralès is called to investigate and steps into a torrid history.
I loved every minute of it. I loved the portrayal of the French Canadian fisherfolk.
December 2, 2019
Une histoire de recherche de soi, remplie de nostalgie et de liberté, et campée dans la belle Gaspésie. Personnages pittoresques (mais aux tics de langage parfois un peu trop systématiques) et attachants, enquête policière en prime. Un livre remplie de poésie dans lequel on plonge facilement et qui donne envie d'y être et de rencontrer les vieux pêcheurs qui peuplent ses pages.
November 14, 2021
L'écriture est jolie et le phrasé est très poétique. Par contre, les dialogues impliquant des Gaspésiens caricaturaux répétant ad nauseam les mêmes patois sont insupportables. L'histoire n'est pas assez intéressante ni assez bien ficelée pour faire pardonner la lenteur et la répétition.
J'ai voulu à plusieurs reprises arrêter ma lecture mais j'ai continué par orgueil.
J'ai voulu à plusieurs reprises arrêter ma lecture mais j'ai continué par orgueil.
April 16, 2021
Peut-être ma pire lecture de l’année. Histoire insipide, personnages caricaturés, longues phrases faussement poétiques qui n’en finissent plus.
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