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Champagne
Dans Les Aurores montréales, Monique Proulx nous a en quelque sorte donné le livre définitif sur la ville. Elle a su y rendre, de façon inégalée, le paysage urbain et toute la faune qui s’y agite. Ce nouveau roman pourrait bien être le livre définitif sur la campagne – sur la « champagne », ainsi qu’on désignait au Moyen Âge tout territoire s’étendant hors de la ville. Avec cette écriture ferme, exacte, chatoyante qu’on lui connaît, Monique Proulx fait éclater sous nos yeux la magie d’un royaume épargné par le développement. Autour d’un lac mythique, au coeur d’une forêt inaltérée, les chevreuils, des écureuils, des insectes et des chanterelles sont les personnages réels de cette histoire sur la vie qui s’échappe, sur l’impermanence de toute possession. Les personnages humains n’en sont pas moins fascinants, réfugiés dans la célébration de la beauté, rejoints malgré eux par la tourmente. Il y a Lila Szach, venue d’un autre âge et d’un autre continent, qui possède la quasi-totalité du territoire et la défend farouchement contre les prédateurs. Il y a Claire, qui tente de tenir en équilibre la réalité et l’imaginaire. Il y a Simon, résolu à aimer tout ce qui est vivant. Il y a le petit Jérémie, sur qui plane les menaces, et d’autres qui viendront joindre leur pas à cette chorégraphie cosmique – la jeune Violette, qui fuit l’horreur suprême, les Clémont, prédateurs de père en fils, Marianne, la citadine irréductible, Marco, le père-enfant. La beauté réussira-t-elle à sauver le monde ? Voilà la question, pressante, qui résonne à travers tout ce roman. Quelle qu’en soit la réponse, la sagesse ne nous ordonne-t-elle pas de goûter sans tarder la salutaire ivresse que procure cette beauté, comme le font les personnages de ce roman et comme Monique Proulx sait si bien nous la faire partager ?
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
5 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
Monique Proulx
31 books32 followersMonique Proulx is a French-Canadian writer who has achieved considerable literary recognition, both in Canada and abroad. Her first novel, Sans Coeur et sans reproche, won the Adrienne Choquette literary award, and some of her other novels have won her awards such as the Signet d’Or de Plaisir de Lire, le Prix des Libraires du Québec, the Prix Littéraire Desjardins and the Prix Québec-Paris. She has twice been short-listed for the Governor General’s Award for Fiction in French, and was also short-listed for the 2004 CBC “Canada Reads” competition.
Proulx was born in Quebec City on January 17th, 1952. She earned a degree in literature and theatre from the Université Laval, and has taught French and theatre. She took time off in 1980 to work on her first novel, and by 1984 she had moved to Montreal. A highlight in Proulx’ career was to be invited by ARALD (Agence Rhône-Alpes pour le livre et la documentation) to visit France in 1995. She attended ARALD meetings and conferences alongside four other writers from Quebec, and her work has become well known in France as a result.
Many of Proulx’ works have been translated into English, and her novel Le Sexe des étoiles (1993) – Sex of the Stars (1996) – was also adapted into a film directed by Paule Baillargeon. The novel and film are a modern depiction of gender and identity issues, and tell the story of Camille, a young girl whose transgendered, and absent, father is now a woman. The novel explores what it is that makes up human and sexual identity, as well as themes of loneliness and the desire for acceptance. Her work Les Aurores montréales (1996) is a compilation of short stories which describe the lifestyle and culture of Montreal. The stories are written from various perspectives, including those of children, couples, immigrants and the homeless, exploring linguistic and social issues in post-referendum Montreal. The collection of stories in Champagne (2008), translated into English as Wildlives (2009), introduces a new theme to her writing. Set in the Laurentian mountains now threatened by development, the interconnected stories form Proulx’ tribute to nature, and explore human relationships with the wild. Her writing style tends to contrast strong emotions of sadness with humour, and to explore boundaries and moments of transition. Her work has been published in over a dozen countries.
Proulx was born in Quebec City on January 17th, 1952. She earned a degree in literature and theatre from the Université Laval, and has taught French and theatre. She took time off in 1980 to work on her first novel, and by 1984 she had moved to Montreal. A highlight in Proulx’ career was to be invited by ARALD (Agence Rhône-Alpes pour le livre et la documentation) to visit France in 1995. She attended ARALD meetings and conferences alongside four other writers from Quebec, and her work has become well known in France as a result.
Many of Proulx’ works have been translated into English, and her novel Le Sexe des étoiles (1993) – Sex of the Stars (1996) – was also adapted into a film directed by Paule Baillargeon. The novel and film are a modern depiction of gender and identity issues, and tell the story of Camille, a young girl whose transgendered, and absent, father is now a woman. The novel explores what it is that makes up human and sexual identity, as well as themes of loneliness and the desire for acceptance. Her work Les Aurores montréales (1996) is a compilation of short stories which describe the lifestyle and culture of Montreal. The stories are written from various perspectives, including those of children, couples, immigrants and the homeless, exploring linguistic and social issues in post-referendum Montreal. The collection of stories in Champagne (2008), translated into English as Wildlives (2009), introduces a new theme to her writing. Set in the Laurentian mountains now threatened by development, the interconnected stories form Proulx’ tribute to nature, and explore human relationships with the wild. Her writing style tends to contrast strong emotions of sadness with humour, and to explore boundaries and moments of transition. Her work has been published in over a dozen countries.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 17, 2014
I wanted to like this book, I really did. i just couldn't handle the flowery writing and the over whimsicalness.
July 4, 2018
English below, this excellent book available in translation
J'ai lu tous les livres de Monique Proulx. Parce que je vis maintenant dans le pays, celui-ci résonne encore plus que les autres. Jusqu'à maintenant, c'est presque aussi bon que Les Aurores montréales.
Monique Proulx est mon écrivain québécois préféré. Ses romans combinent souvent une quantité significative de science, telle que l'astronomie et la physique dans Sex of the StarsLe Sexe des étoiles, avec une vive observation sociale. Ce n'est pas une exception, sauf que la science est la biologie, ou l'histoire naturelle, située dans les régions rurales du Québec, à propos de la vie enchevêtrée d'un groupe de personnes vivant autour d'un lac pendant l'été. Il y a des luttes contre une société qui veut qu'une femme plus âgée vende ses terres pour un centre de villégiature et recoure à la pression légale lorsque les finances ne fonctionnent pas. Vous apprendrez beaucoup de choses sur les plantes, les oiseaux et les animaux, parfois avec des pages consacrées, par exemple, au cycle de vie du papillon monarque. Magique.
I've read all Monique Proulx's books. Now that I live in the country, this one (same title, Champagne, in English) resonates even more than those in an urban setting.
Monique Proulx is my favourite québecoise writer. Her novels often combine a significant amount of science, such as the astronomy and physics in Le Sexe des Etoiles, with keen social observation. This is no exception except that the science is biology, or natural history, set in rural Quebec, about the tangled lives of a group of people living around a lake for the summer. There are struggles against a corporation that wants one older woman to sell her land for a resort and resorts to legal pressure when financial does not work. You will learn about many of the plants, birds and animals, sometimes with pages devoted to, for example, the life-cycle of the Monarch butterfly. Magical.
J'ai lu tous les livres de Monique Proulx. Parce que je vis maintenant dans le pays, celui-ci résonne encore plus que les autres. Jusqu'à maintenant, c'est presque aussi bon que Les Aurores montréales.
Monique Proulx est mon écrivain québécois préféré. Ses romans combinent souvent une quantité significative de science, telle que l'astronomie et la physique dans Sex of the StarsLe Sexe des étoiles, avec une vive observation sociale. Ce n'est pas une exception, sauf que la science est la biologie, ou l'histoire naturelle, située dans les régions rurales du Québec, à propos de la vie enchevêtrée d'un groupe de personnes vivant autour d'un lac pendant l'été. Il y a des luttes contre une société qui veut qu'une femme plus âgée vende ses terres pour un centre de villégiature et recoure à la pression légale lorsque les finances ne fonctionnent pas. Vous apprendrez beaucoup de choses sur les plantes, les oiseaux et les animaux, parfois avec des pages consacrées, par exemple, au cycle de vie du papillon monarque. Magique.
I've read all Monique Proulx's books. Now that I live in the country, this one (same title, Champagne, in English) resonates even more than those in an urban setting.
Monique Proulx is my favourite québecoise writer. Her novels often combine a significant amount of science, such as the astronomy and physics in Le Sexe des Etoiles, with keen social observation. This is no exception except that the science is biology, or natural history, set in rural Quebec, about the tangled lives of a group of people living around a lake for the summer. There are struggles against a corporation that wants one older woman to sell her land for a resort and resorts to legal pressure when financial does not work. You will learn about many of the plants, birds and animals, sometimes with pages devoted to, for example, the life-cycle of the Monarch butterfly. Magical.
September 23, 2014
Vi s-a întâmplat vreodată ca o carte să vă aducă aminte de tărâmurile copilăriei, de un peisaj, de o părticică de lume pe care o țineți undeva ascunsă în mintea voastră, convinși fiind că ea vă aparține doar vouă? Un lac, o pădure, un munte, o casă sau poate toate la un loc, un peisaj, o potecă în pădure, pe care mergeați poate cu părinții și pe care credeați că nu va mai merge nimeni, niciodată? Mie da, citind Ținutul sălbatic de Monique Proulx, apărută destul de recent, în 2013, la Editura Univers, în excelenta traducere a Dianei Crupenschi. Mărturisesc că nu am mai citit de mult o carte în care locul desfășurării acțiunii să fie atât de bine descris și atât de individualizat încât pare că întreaga ta viață ai trăit acolo sau atât de personal încât pare că, așa cum ziceam, îți pare un loc drag ție, pe care autorul l-a descoperit cumva și a scris despre el. Tărâmul din cartea autoarei, franco-canadiană de origine, foarte apreciată și tradusă în multe limbi, este undeva la țară, la marginea unei păduri, lângă un sat cu puțini oameni și o parte din poveste se petrece într-o casă din lemn unde trăiesc alături de oameni, nestingherite, o grămadă de viețuitoare mici: veverițe, târâtoare, șoareci, insecte de tot felul.
de la sursă: Monique Proulx – Ținutul sălbatic – SemneBune http://semnebune.ro/2014/monique-prou...
de la sursă: Monique Proulx – Ținutul sălbatic – SemneBune http://semnebune.ro/2014/monique-prou...
August 6, 2009
This is my favourite book I've read all summer. I don't even want to review it, or even say anything about it. It was just enchanting and so, so inspiring. I love Monique Proulx.
December 15, 2011
What a gorgeous book - rich, vivid characters, intense and colourful settings - I was totally wrapped up in this story and this world. It made me want to know these people and live in their woods.
March 9, 2014
3.5 stars :)
July 4, 2022
Similar themes and characters to those from "Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead" by Olga Tokarczuk. However, there are great differences in the execution. Here I've found it was hard to like any of the characters. There was Claire cheating, lying, and pretending to like animals and then whining and acting like a victim. There was Violette who continuously went through unspeakable things and illness and was still very busy seducing old men. And Lila who is completely immersed in the surrounding nature but finds some time to cheat on her husband.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2013
Ce roman raconte moins une histoire qu’il nous fait vivre un moment dans l’univers des chalets, des domaines de plaisance et des petits chemins de campagne (« champagne » est d’ailleurs l’ancienne épellation de « campagne » comme l’auteure l’explique), où une petite communauté de québécois existent au sein d’une nature omniprésente, bien que menacée.
Cette force fragile de la nature est à mon avis ce qui ressort de plus beau de ce roman et particulièrement lorsqu’il est question de la nature humaine. L’écriture, variant en subtilités pour suivre l’esprit des personnages, nous fait très bien sentir les caractères, l’effet de l’âge, des lieux, des évènements passés, des angoisses, des consommations. On trempe littéralement dans la vérité de ce qui se passe au cours de notre lecture.
J’ai également beaucoup apprécié l’humour très british de l’auteure, humour souvent très noir, voir glauque, au point où certains ne le décèleront probablement pas et y trouveront plutôt un objet d’agacement.
Mais, comme la nature, le texte comporte sa part de fragilité dans sa puissance. Proulx a en effet tendance à lancer de grandes phrases péremptoires qui ne fonctionnent que dans l’économie du roman, voir, parfois, dans le cadre encore plus restreint d’un chapitre ou d’un seul court passage. J’apprécie plus que tout des phrases qui font réfléchir et qui peuvent être utilisées presque universellement, comme, par exemples : « En se résignant, le malheureux consomme son malheur. »(Balzac), ou encore, « On a voulu, à tort, faire de la bourgeoise une classe. La bourgeoisie est tout simplement la portion contentée du peuple. »(Hugo), mais on trouve plutôt ici ce genre de phrases : « Tant de choses dans la vie, y compris la vie elle-même, ne font que descendre. »(11), ou encore « Les souvenirs heureux sont des armes fourbes qui vous saignent à blanc. »(342) qui, formulées de la sorte, résonnent plutôt maladroitement.
Il y a également la présence de passages réflexifs et de points d’informations, souvent entre parenthèses, qui n’ajoutent rien au roman et qui nous sortent de la vérité littéraire que l’on vit à la lecture de Champagne.
Ceci étant dit, le roman est vraiment réussi.
Lire Champagne, c’est un peu comme passer une saison en forêt. Le contact réel avec la nature nous sensibilise forcément à sa beauté, il nous conscientise face aux périls qu’elle court bien d’avantage que n’importe quel discours moralisateur. Et lorsqu’on termine notre lecture, un peu comme à la fin des vacances au chalet, on a la nostalgie des arbres, des bêtes et de nos semblables qui sont restés là-bas.
Cette force fragile de la nature est à mon avis ce qui ressort de plus beau de ce roman et particulièrement lorsqu’il est question de la nature humaine. L’écriture, variant en subtilités pour suivre l’esprit des personnages, nous fait très bien sentir les caractères, l’effet de l’âge, des lieux, des évènements passés, des angoisses, des consommations. On trempe littéralement dans la vérité de ce qui se passe au cours de notre lecture.
J’ai également beaucoup apprécié l’humour très british de l’auteure, humour souvent très noir, voir glauque, au point où certains ne le décèleront probablement pas et y trouveront plutôt un objet d’agacement.
Mais, comme la nature, le texte comporte sa part de fragilité dans sa puissance. Proulx a en effet tendance à lancer de grandes phrases péremptoires qui ne fonctionnent que dans l’économie du roman, voir, parfois, dans le cadre encore plus restreint d’un chapitre ou d’un seul court passage. J’apprécie plus que tout des phrases qui font réfléchir et qui peuvent être utilisées presque universellement, comme, par exemples : « En se résignant, le malheureux consomme son malheur. »(Balzac), ou encore, « On a voulu, à tort, faire de la bourgeoise une classe. La bourgeoisie est tout simplement la portion contentée du peuple. »(Hugo), mais on trouve plutôt ici ce genre de phrases : « Tant de choses dans la vie, y compris la vie elle-même, ne font que descendre. »(11), ou encore « Les souvenirs heureux sont des armes fourbes qui vous saignent à blanc. »(342) qui, formulées de la sorte, résonnent plutôt maladroitement.
Il y a également la présence de passages réflexifs et de points d’informations, souvent entre parenthèses, qui n’ajoutent rien au roman et qui nous sortent de la vérité littéraire que l’on vit à la lecture de Champagne.
Ceci étant dit, le roman est vraiment réussi.
Lire Champagne, c’est un peu comme passer une saison en forêt. Le contact réel avec la nature nous sensibilise forcément à sa beauté, il nous conscientise face aux périls qu’elle court bien d’avantage que n’importe quel discours moralisateur. Et lorsqu’on termine notre lecture, un peu comme à la fin des vacances au chalet, on a la nostalgie des arbres, des bêtes et de nos semblables qui sont restés là-bas.
October 28, 2012
The book is divided into sections: June, July, August, September. It follows a group of people who live around Goose Lake, a relatively remote, quiet lake. The plot isn't too complicated -- it's the characters and the setting that drive the story, and the lovely turns of phrase that Proulx comes up with.
But what I really loved about this book is simply the setting. Proulx describes the lake, the forest, the small plots of domesticated "lawn" around the cottages, wild rasperry patches, remote rock faces, the animals living and thriving around them (squirrels, loons, bears, deer, bobcats, pike, snakes, frogs, bugs and more). It felt like a trip to the cottage -- I could picture Goose Lake very clearly. I could almost feel the heat and bugginess of a summer day, smell the pines and the lake smells, hear the silence of a forest broken by the distant sound of a motorboat on the next lake over.
The novel explores where all the characters fit in this greater world, the world of beauty as represented by untamed nature. What is the value of our small human life in light of the vast, neverending cycle of wildlives? How can its beauty save and uplift us? These are just some of the questions which arose in my reading. This was a great read, absorbing, evocative, rich. Recommended.
Full review at The Indextrious Reader
But what I really loved about this book is simply the setting. Proulx describes the lake, the forest, the small plots of domesticated "lawn" around the cottages, wild rasperry patches, remote rock faces, the animals living and thriving around them (squirrels, loons, bears, deer, bobcats, pike, snakes, frogs, bugs and more). It felt like a trip to the cottage -- I could picture Goose Lake very clearly. I could almost feel the heat and bugginess of a summer day, smell the pines and the lake smells, hear the silence of a forest broken by the distant sound of a motorboat on the next lake over.
The novel explores where all the characters fit in this greater world, the world of beauty as represented by untamed nature. What is the value of our small human life in light of the vast, neverending cycle of wildlives? How can its beauty save and uplift us? These are just some of the questions which arose in my reading. This was a great read, absorbing, evocative, rich. Recommended.
Full review at The Indextrious Reader
September 6, 2011
I'm glad I read this in what I think was a very good translation; my grasp of French wouldn't be nearly good enough to deal with the delicacy of the language, the subtlety of the imagery. Everybody who appears in this animated landscape is profoundly affected by it, but the effect is intriguingly dependent on the character of the person involved.
Proulx is no sentimentalist about nature; there are disturbing depictions of animal suffering and death in this novel, as well as appreciations of the more harmonious elements of nature in the Laurentians. Nor is she a sentimentalist about the politics of development. One of the major characters in the novel, an elderly woman named Lila, is unalterably opposed to the development of her property, even to the denial of her own conscience (I'll leave the spoiler there) - but Proulx makes clear by a sting in the epilogue that her determination cannot survive her passing, and the young boy she has recruited as her successor - wounded by his own trauma - eventually betrays her.
It's an almost impossible novel to summarize, either as to plot or to theme, but I do recommend it.
Proulx is no sentimentalist about nature; there are disturbing depictions of animal suffering and death in this novel, as well as appreciations of the more harmonious elements of nature in the Laurentians. Nor is she a sentimentalist about the politics of development. One of the major characters in the novel, an elderly woman named Lila, is unalterably opposed to the development of her property, even to the denial of her own conscience (I'll leave the spoiler there) - but Proulx makes clear by a sting in the epilogue that her determination cannot survive her passing, and the young boy she has recruited as her successor - wounded by his own trauma - eventually betrays her.
It's an almost impossible novel to summarize, either as to plot or to theme, but I do recommend it.
January 5, 2009
je suis presque déçue de ne pas avoir aimé ce livre... j'y ai senti une très grande maitrise de la langue, l'auteure a une magnifique plume pour décrire, avec une précision presque chirurgicale, les moindres détails des tableaux qu'elle nous présente de sa "champagne". Dommage que les paysages intérieurs de ses personnages n'ait pas été exploités avec la même efficacité; je ne me suis pas sentie attachée à eux ou interpellée par ce qu'ils vivaient. Il y a même deux personnages de femmes qui se confondaient facilement entre elles; j'avais comme l'impression que c'était la même voix (celle de l'auteure?) qui parlait à travers deux bouches différentes. Bref, si j'ai trippé par moment sur l'écriture, j'ai eu du mal à trouvé une âme à cette histoire.
Je serais curieuse de savoir ce que d'autres en ont pensé... On a tellement parlé de ce livre cette année, les critiques étaient unanimement positives; suis-je la seule à ne pas avoir aimé ça? Peut-être n'est-ce tout simplement pas mon genre de lecture.
Je serais curieuse de savoir ce que d'autres en ont pensé... On a tellement parlé de ce livre cette année, les critiques étaient unanimement positives; suis-je la seule à ne pas avoir aimé ça? Peut-être n'est-ce tout simplement pas mon genre de lecture.
July 25, 2012
Like the other Proulx books i've read, this one has a slow pace, but it builds beautifully. you have to be patient & enjoy the journey, not be in a rush for the end. the book is filled with memorable tableaux & characters. the French is entitled Champagne & given what is said about the word's evolution, i think the same title should have been kept in English.
given the title "wildlives" & the blurb, i was expecting something quite different from what the book turned out to be.
given the title "wildlives" & the blurb, i was expecting something quite different from what the book turned out to be.
January 14, 2016
I love in-depth, detailed descriptions of landscapes and wildlife. Wildlives has plenty of this, which is the only reason I didn't give it a 1/5 rating.
The characters are boring, and both cynicism and lewd thoughts were tacked onto them in an effort to make them less boring. Don't get me wrong, I love lewd thoughts! But that is not an effective strategy to making someone interesting!
If this book had only the landscape and wildlife, I would have enjoyed reading it so much more.
The characters are boring, and both cynicism and lewd thoughts were tacked onto them in an effort to make them less boring. Don't get me wrong, I love lewd thoughts! But that is not an effective strategy to making someone interesting!
If this book had only the landscape and wildlife, I would have enjoyed reading it so much more.
June 7, 2010
Monique Proulx was on the panel I moderated at the PEN Festival this year and I'm very glad to have discovered her work.
February 12, 2017
I could totally relate to the nature in this book and how sometimes isolating yourself in it is not such as bad thing, or is it?
April 16, 2021
La communion avec la nature me rappelle les nombreuses semaines que j'ai passées sur les rives du lac Dandurand en Haute-Mauricie. J'y ai vu pratiquement toutes les formes de vie sauvage décrites dans le livre, et d'autres encore, c'était très réconfortant.
Les personnages me semblaient un peu assemblés artificiellement pour créer une histoire qui justifiait les descriptions de la nature. Seul le jeune "Jerry Potter" me semblait intéressant.
Les personnages me semblaient un peu assemblés artificiellement pour créer une histoire qui justifiait les descriptions de la nature. Seul le jeune "Jerry Potter" me semblait intéressant.
July 11, 2021
Loved the familiar setting of the Laurentians, the multidimensionality of the characters and the lyrical, poetic writing that was, thankfully, not lost in translation.
May 12, 2022
Minunată scriitura. Atmosfera creată, peisajele pe care aproape le vezi, imaginile.
January 8, 2026
Dnf 50%
C’est mignon et pourtant ça ne m’a pas captivé.
C’est mignon et pourtant ça ne m’a pas captivé.
August 5, 2016
Intertwined stories of people staying at a lake in the Laurentians over a summer. A bit hard to follow and somewhat depressing. Had to stop reading this twice to read lighter, more direct stories.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews