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Metis Beach
In America, not believing in God is anti-American, isn’t it?
At fifty years of age, Roman Carr, whose real name is Romain Carrier, has made it. His television series In Gad We Trust , a scathing satire of the United States and its relationship with God, is a huge hit. He is carving out an enviable place for himself in Hollywood, the end of a long, tortuous journey for the man who fled his Gaspé Peninsula village in murky circumstances back in 1962.
Both a coming-of-age story and a historical epic, Métis Beach is a chronicle of the great American Sixties. It recaptures the extraordinary liberation movements and social unrest that marked that era, and vividly conveys the irrepressible idealism that carried along a whole generation. It is a celebration of the supreme good that the United States hoped to the coming of everyone’s right to be free.
At fifty years of age, Roman Carr, whose real name is Romain Carrier, has made it. His television series In Gad We Trust , a scathing satire of the United States and its relationship with God, is a huge hit. He is carving out an enviable place for himself in Hollywood, the end of a long, tortuous journey for the man who fled his Gaspé Peninsula village in murky circumstances back in 1962.
Both a coming-of-age story and a historical epic, Métis Beach is a chronicle of the great American Sixties. It recaptures the extraordinary liberation movements and social unrest that marked that era, and vividly conveys the irrepressible idealism that carried along a whole generation. It is a celebration of the supreme good that the United States hoped to the coming of everyone’s right to be free.
448 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2014
6 people are currently reading
271 people want to read
About the author
Claudine Bourbonnais
4 books15 followersClaudine Bourbonnais est née à Montréal. Journaliste à Radio-Canada depuis 1990, elle anime des émissions d’information à RDI et présente les nouvelles depuis 1995. Métis Beach est son premier roman.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 6, 2017
Starting with peak-of-TV-career Roman Carr -- the former Romain Carrier from the Gaspé peninsula -- his past life catches up to him. Told then in one long retrospective from his earliest days, the story follows him from his gritty childhood through his wanderings to bohemian New York City and on to California. This novel's prose is straightforward, much of it in dialogue between well-developed characters, and captures the moods and social milieus of the 1960s, 1970s and on. It's an eventful journey, life and times with one long-surviving man.
April 5, 2017
C'est bien tricoté avec l'histoire de l'Amérique depuis les années 60. Les péripéties du personnage principal et de son entourage captivent dans la première moitié du livre, mais l'intrigue s'essouffle dans le dernier droit. C'est souvent le problème de ces fictions demi-historiques avec leurs passages anecdotiques dilués dans la grande histoire (ex: Ken Follett). Comme un téléroman et ses trois saisons de trop... Pour les références croisées avec le destin québécois et les angles socio-politiques intéressants je donnerais trois étoiles et demi.
March 2, 2017
Métis Beach is parenthesized by the Vietnam War and the Iraq War, American wars that dramatically affect the life of our protagonist and narrator Romain Carrier, a successful Hollywood screenwriter who has returned to his home in Métis Beach, a village north of Quebec on the mouth of the St. Lawrence River before it opens into the Atlantic Ocean. When Roman was growing up, the French served the English as gardeners, repairmen, cooks, and maids, but were not social or economic equals and the language divide was widened by political and class divisions.
Romain is looking back on his life in preparation for writing his memoir, his defense and hopefully his salvation. In doing so, he centers each section on the people he loved and befriended and how they changed his life. He begins with Gail, an English-speaking young woman whose family enjoyed tremendous wealth and power. Her beauty attracted him and they were friends, despite her father’s disapproval. Gail seduces him one night and her father accuses Romain of rape, sending him fleeing to the United States, certain that he could never prevail against her father’s clout.
He seeks refuge with a summer visitor to Métis Beach, a woman named Dana who becomes the center of the next section of the book. She is a feminist who writes a manifesto that rivals Friedan’s Feminine Mystique. She takes Romain under her wing, providing him with an education and an urbane polish. He also meets Moise, a young man who becomes his life-long friend. Events transpire to send Romain west to California for the next parts of his life, first in San Francisco and then in Hollywood.
In each section, his life is changed and profoundly affected by his friends and the women he loves. In many ways, he is passive, his life lived in the wake of other people. His choices dictated by others. Even his greatest success, his television series satirizing the televangelists whose greed more than overwhelms their faith, he credits to his wife Ann, as much as to himself.
Métis Beach is an interesting and ambitious novel. By ambitious, I mean that the author crams all the culture wars into one book, the issue of Quebecois independence, feminism, civil rights, anti-war movements and patriotism, gay rights, religious hypocrisy, atheism, nationalism, and patriotism. I am sure that is not all. Add the questions of what friendship means, who and what make a family, and how small decisions have profound effects that ripple through decades and it all becomes a very heavy weight for one novel to carry.
As much as I agree with Romain Carrier’s worldview, the story became polemical, particularly at the end. Perhaps because the Iraq War is still ongoing, it is difficult for Bourbonnais to restrain herself, but she had this ambush with a right-wing talk show host that was just over the top. Bush and Cheney’s farrago of lies is still killing people, not only in Iraq, but now in Syria and Yeman and across the Middle East, so it is tempting to make people who supported that war completely and utterly evil, but it was too malicious and unrealistic. In each section of the book, there is someone who is just one-dimensionally awful, Gail’s father, Dana’s son, Ken in San Francisco, and then Melody and Sweeney in the final section, not to mention the murderer.
Nonetheless, the story is interesting. It captures the major divisions and themes of American life, from Vietnam to Reaganism to the culture wars and Iraq though from one perspective. In the end, though, while Romain will never understand his critics, he can step back and value what is most important, friends and family.
Métis Beach will be released on November 22nd. It was was originally released in French and was translated by Jacob Homel. I received an advance copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
Romain is looking back on his life in preparation for writing his memoir, his defense and hopefully his salvation. In doing so, he centers each section on the people he loved and befriended and how they changed his life. He begins with Gail, an English-speaking young woman whose family enjoyed tremendous wealth and power. Her beauty attracted him and they were friends, despite her father’s disapproval. Gail seduces him one night and her father accuses Romain of rape, sending him fleeing to the United States, certain that he could never prevail against her father’s clout.
He seeks refuge with a summer visitor to Métis Beach, a woman named Dana who becomes the center of the next section of the book. She is a feminist who writes a manifesto that rivals Friedan’s Feminine Mystique. She takes Romain under her wing, providing him with an education and an urbane polish. He also meets Moise, a young man who becomes his life-long friend. Events transpire to send Romain west to California for the next parts of his life, first in San Francisco and then in Hollywood.
In each section, his life is changed and profoundly affected by his friends and the women he loves. In many ways, he is passive, his life lived in the wake of other people. His choices dictated by others. Even his greatest success, his television series satirizing the televangelists whose greed more than overwhelms their faith, he credits to his wife Ann, as much as to himself.
Métis Beach is an interesting and ambitious novel. By ambitious, I mean that the author crams all the culture wars into one book, the issue of Quebecois independence, feminism, civil rights, anti-war movements and patriotism, gay rights, religious hypocrisy, atheism, nationalism, and patriotism. I am sure that is not all. Add the questions of what friendship means, who and what make a family, and how small decisions have profound effects that ripple through decades and it all becomes a very heavy weight for one novel to carry.
As much as I agree with Romain Carrier’s worldview, the story became polemical, particularly at the end. Perhaps because the Iraq War is still ongoing, it is difficult for Bourbonnais to restrain herself, but she had this ambush with a right-wing talk show host that was just over the top. Bush and Cheney’s farrago of lies is still killing people, not only in Iraq, but now in Syria and Yeman and across the Middle East, so it is tempting to make people who supported that war completely and utterly evil, but it was too malicious and unrealistic. In each section of the book, there is someone who is just one-dimensionally awful, Gail’s father, Dana’s son, Ken in San Francisco, and then Melody and Sweeney in the final section, not to mention the murderer.
Nonetheless, the story is interesting. It captures the major divisions and themes of American life, from Vietnam to Reaganism to the culture wars and Iraq though from one perspective. In the end, though, while Romain will never understand his critics, he can step back and value what is most important, friends and family.
Métis Beach will be released on November 22nd. It was was originally released in French and was translated by Jacob Homel. I received an advance copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
November 28, 2016
A small-town French-Canadian boy makes it in America, experiencing all the joys and sorrows of the past 50 years: feminism, Vietnam War and draft dodgers, hippies, art, love, TV, anti-abortion activists. But returning to his roots, on the Gaspe Peninsula, he finds where he truly belongs. Reminds me of Forrest Gump for the tour of recent world events and Fifth Business for the character on the sideline experiencing history unfold.
November 1, 2020
An exceptionally researched and written book, with wonderful references that inspire nostalgia and deep reflection. It's been a long time since I've become so engrossed in and moved by a story...fictional, but one I could relate to on many levels. A truly wonderful read on all counts. Write another please, Ms. Bourbonnais!
August 2, 2017
An interesting book that tells the story of a the changing times from 1960s to present day through the eyes of one man. Sometimes the plot was a bit tortured (just one too many coincidences for one person, in my opinion!).
August 19, 2017
I picked up this book because I'm familiar with the town of Métis. Was pleasantly surprised to find it a good story on a human level and an interesting look back at the 1960s. The English translation was well done.
August 5, 2024
Plutôt long, un peu rempli de clichés. On dirait que c'était écrit comme un ancien Joël Dicker. Mais il faut dire que c'était quand même facile d'avancer dans le récit car il se passe beaucoup de choses dont un meurtre, un pseudo-viol, etc... Bref trop de choses.
July 27, 2019
Même si j’y ai trouvé certaines longueurs, en particulier au sujet de la guerre du Vietnam, intéressant survol de la politique américaine et de ses contradictions jusqu’à aujourd’hui.
August 12, 2021
“The past is like a gun in the hands of our enemies.” Your mistakes—“sooner or later someone will find out about them and point them at your head.”
May 27, 2024
Un bon livre par une auteure québécoise
Read
August 31, 20244.5
December 1, 2016
An epic historical snapshot, chronicling the great sixties in America, Métis Beach will be well received by readers who want to read a story that's real, taut, gripping, and willing to take you on an emotional roller coaster during an tumultuous period.
Métis Beach explores the idea of everyone's right for liberty. From a manichean perspective, there's the eternal question: can good overcome evil? The book is a reflection of Roman's life as he prepares to write his memoir. It sheds light on family and friendship, and the inevitable choices one makes in life. Written with truth and frankness, it is a raw portrayal of an era where people were trying to make sense of the world around them that was in a state of flux, shedding the conservatism of the '50s before embarking on the hedonism that characterized the late '60s and '70s. We are living in a period now where our ideas of the status quo are challenged, profound issues challenge us, and serious consideration in terms of social and economic changes are under the microscope of social media and being connected continuously. We can do much worse than use Claudine Bourbonnais' thoughtful and humane look at history through the prism of Métis Beach to help us think about our future.
Full Review: http://sukasareads.blogspot.com/2016/...
Métis Beach explores the idea of everyone's right for liberty. From a manichean perspective, there's the eternal question: can good overcome evil? The book is a reflection of Roman's life as he prepares to write his memoir. It sheds light on family and friendship, and the inevitable choices one makes in life. Written with truth and frankness, it is a raw portrayal of an era where people were trying to make sense of the world around them that was in a state of flux, shedding the conservatism of the '50s before embarking on the hedonism that characterized the late '60s and '70s. We are living in a period now where our ideas of the status quo are challenged, profound issues challenge us, and serious consideration in terms of social and economic changes are under the microscope of social media and being connected continuously. We can do much worse than use Claudine Bourbonnais' thoughtful and humane look at history through the prism of Métis Beach to help us think about our future.
Full Review: http://sukasareads.blogspot.com/2016/...
February 7, 2017
Voilà un livre bien ambitieux, un ouvrage qui survole les générations et les événements d'actualité, pour un roman québécois, chapeau. J'ai eu pas mal de difficulté à embarquer, cela dit, ce personnage de Romain Carrier ne m'étant pas super symathique. J'ai dû m'y prendre à trois fois... Les personnages n'ont pas l'obligation de nous faire les aimer, donc j'ai persisté.
Ce que j'ai aimé? Le survol historique, les choix romanesques, le souffle. Comment l'auteure transforme l'histoire en anecdotes vivantes, un parti-pris dynamique et de toute évidence très volontaire (ça me rappelait beaucoup John Irving tout cela).
Ce qui m'a déplu? Le style inégal, parfois si bien ficelé, d'autres fois si artificiels. Quand un personnage explique: "Froissé par son insensibilité, je lui ai répondu...", impossible de ne pas décrocher devant une telle tournure dans la bouche d'un personnage.
Par contre, avec tout ce qui lui arrive, il y avait chez Romain une grande passivité, l'homme subit beaucoup les autres et les événements, de façon énervante pour le lecteur. Et le coup fourré de la fin, over the top comme disent les anglos, impossible d'y croire. Jugement dernier à la sauce télé réalité.
Bref, une lecture qui à peine terminée me laisse perplexe. C'était correct, quoi.
Ce que j'ai aimé? Le survol historique, les choix romanesques, le souffle. Comment l'auteure transforme l'histoire en anecdotes vivantes, un parti-pris dynamique et de toute évidence très volontaire (ça me rappelait beaucoup John Irving tout cela).
Ce qui m'a déplu? Le style inégal, parfois si bien ficelé, d'autres fois si artificiels. Quand un personnage explique: "Froissé par son insensibilité, je lui ai répondu...", impossible de ne pas décrocher devant une telle tournure dans la bouche d'un personnage.
Par contre, avec tout ce qui lui arrive, il y avait chez Romain une grande passivité, l'homme subit beaucoup les autres et les événements, de façon énervante pour le lecteur. Et le coup fourré de la fin, over the top comme disent les anglos, impossible d'y croire. Jugement dernier à la sauce télé réalité.
Bref, une lecture qui à peine terminée me laisse perplexe. C'était correct, quoi.
September 20, 2014
Romain doit quitter sans explications son petit village gaspésien à l'âge de 17 ans. Il se réfugie à New York où il s'ouvre à la culture et à l'art des années 60, est initié au féminisme et doit prendre position au sujet de la guerre du vietnam. Il a une vie dont les tournants sont tous à angle droit, mais en tout temps il continue de suivre ses valeurs (amitié, loyauté, compassion, liberté individuelle) et sa recherche de l'authenticité. Toute son histoire dénonce la fausse pureté d'âme que certains affichent en se permettant de juger les autres. Très bien écrit! Bravo!!
September 17, 2018
C'est un 3 allant vers le 3.5 pour moi! J'ai beaucoup aimé la plume de l'auteure, peut-être parce que son style tout en longues phrases me rappelle un peu celui de ma prose, qui sait! Ayant grandi dans le Bas-St-Laurent et vécu à Rimouski et Métis, j'étais également plutôt enjouée à l'idée d'une histoire qui intègre ces lieux chéris. Au-delà de cela toutefois, j'aurais aimé un peu plus d'intrigue et un peu moins de blabla de la part du narrateur, qui de toute évidence aime bien se perdre dans sa propre histoire.
February 8, 2017
worth reading for a French Canadian take on recent US and North American history. It's well written and translated. Bourbonnais is not an author I was familiar with but I enjoyed this and will look for him again. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC.
August 18, 2022
Très bon premier roman. Une histoire touchante, intrigante, intelligente et un questionnement pertinent. Nous balançons entre un passé enfoui au fond des mémoires et un présent au goût de secrets. Bravo!
June 24, 2014
Plus un 3.5, mais tirant vers le haut :-)
February 26, 2016
Lu pour Club de Lecture de NDG! Ne peux pas attendre d'en discuter!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews