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L'orangeraie

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Quand Amed pleure, Aziz pleure aussi. Quand Aziz rit, Amed rit aussi.

Ces frères jumeaux auraient pu vivre paisiblement à l’ombre des orangers. Mais un obus traverse le ciel, tuant leurs grands-parents. La guerre s’empare de leur enfance et sépare leurs destins. Des hommes viennent réclamer vengeance pour le sang versé.

Amed, à moins que ce ne soit Aziz, devra consentir au plus grand des sacrifices. Et tous payeront le tribut des martyrs, les morts comme ceux qui restent.

Larry Tremblay frappe encore un grand coup, mais vise cette fois le cœur, laissant au lecteur le soin de départager les âmes pures des fourbes, les fanatiques des héros. Un texte à la fois actuel et hors du temps qui possède la force brute des grandes tragédies et le lyrisme des légendes du désert.

153 pages, Paperback

First published October 16, 2013

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About the author

Larry Tremblay

51 books101 followers
Larry Tremblay is a writer, director, actor and specialist in Kathakali, an elaborate dance theatre form which he has studied on numerous trips to India. He has published more than twenty books as a playwright, poet, novelist and essayist, and he is one of Quebec’s most-produced and translated playwrights (his plays have been translated into twelve languages).

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5 stars
3,186 (37%)
4 stars
3,351 (39%)
3 stars
1,450 (17%)
2 stars
353 (4%)
1 star
117 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 678 reviews
Profile Image for Michel Jean.
Author 41 books1,116 followers
April 22, 2022
Beau livre. J'ai trouvé la fin un peu précipitée et improbable par contre. Mais l'écriture fluide et poétique de Larry est au rendez-vous.
Profile Image for Ina Cawl.
92 reviews311 followers
May 7, 2018
Living in Somalia where it is tribal country where you have hundreds of people who you can claim they are your cousin and they are your shelter when everything around is crumbling.
At one side being tribal it means you have cousins who will help you in marriage,cousins who would help when disaster or death struck you family as they are your only social security

but this model also has negative sides to it , if you were unfortunately killed by people from other nation or tribe you can be sure that your tribe would eventually take revenge for you, and those who will help you seek justice or revenge are your fellow cousins from your tribe

this social model is the reason for my nation to go through 25 years of civil war where you don't know where this cycle of violence has started  but you sure it would continue for long time.

this social model is also what made the America to be stuck fighting 17 years with tribesmen all way from Mali to Somalia to middle east to Afghanistan and it seems there is no end to this endless war

his is short which is almost 174 pages which explores the nature of terrorism and extremism,how young children are recruited to be killing machine and how religion can be corrupted and used to explain the horrific things humans can do to each other.

this novel starts with the twin who lives happily in their orange farm where suddenly a missile launched from the other side of the mountain struck the twin grand parents

" Amed and Aziz found their grandparents in the ruins of their house. Their grandmother’s skull had been smashed in by a beam. Their grandfather was lying in his bedroom, his body shredded by the bomb that had come from the side of the mountain where every night the sun disappeared. "

after that unfortunate incident the family is approached by three men who want to condole the family for their tragedy but also see if they are ready to take revenge of the people who launched that missile into their grandfather home

but before the one of the twins are chosen to be martyr or to carry out suicide attack they are visited by their older friend who is 15 and was about carrying suicide into the people from other side of the mountain.

here comes Soulayed who is recruiting this children to their demise and here is how he is convincing Halim the twin older friend to not be sympathetic with the enemy

"Your softness weakens us and brings us shame. Where is your anger? I do not hear it. Listen to me, Halim: our enemies are dogs. They are like us, you think, because their faces are faces of men. That’s an illusion. Look at them with the eyes of your ancestors, and you’ll see what these faces are really made of. They are made of our death. In a single enemy face, you can see our annihilation a thousand times"

eventually he

"crossed the frontier. Soulayed told him how. He passed through a secret tunnel. Then he climbed onto a crowded bus. At noon, he blew himself up.”

this book tries to explain how people fall into terrorism hands and how they become radicalized and how even childhood is lost is corrupted when you are in a war

" To kill time, they played at blowing themselves up in the orange grove. Aziz had stolen an old belt from his father that they weighted with three tin cans full of sand. They took turns wearing it, slipping into the skin of a future martyr. The orange trees also played war with them. The trees became enemies, endless rows of warriors poised to launch their explosive fruits at the slightest suspicious noise. The boys worked their way between them, crawling and scraping their knees "

eventually even after one the twins are selected to carry out the suicide operation and the death one the twin the book leaves us with this question

" He was asking himself the same questions about evil. It was too easy to accuse those who committed war crimes of being assassins or wild beasts. Especially when those who judged them lived far from the circumstances that had provoked the conflicts, whose origins were lost in the vortex of history. What would he have done in a comparable situation? Would he, like millions of other men, have been capable of fighting for an idea, a scrap of earth, a border, or even oil? Would he, too, have been conditioned to kill innocents, women and children? "


it is quite amazing book to read especially if you are a Western who are baffled  and incapable of understanding why war in this region continues for so long







Profile Image for Hizam.
130 reviews62 followers
July 6, 2020
"من الجيّد أحيانا أن يحدث أمر في حياتنا من شأنه أن يرجّ كياننا وأن ينقذنا من ابتذالنا"

"كانت تتسأل وهي تتأمل السماء إذا ما كان القمر قد عرف متعة الموت ، متعة الاختفاء الى الأبد من صفحة الليل ليترك الإنسان يتيماً من نوره . نوره المسكين ذاك الذي اقترضه من الشمس "

" نعيش كل يوم بخوف ان يكون اخر يوم . ننام بصعوبة، وعندما نتمكن منه تلاحقنا الكوابيس "


#حقل_البرتقال
للمؤلف الكندي لاري ترمبلاي ويقع الكتاب على 124 صفحة وأنهيته بجلسة واحدة ويالها من جلسة مليئة بالتأمل حياتنا وماذا ممكن ان يحصل لو ولدت في بلد غير بلدي وأرض غير ارضي ودين غير ديني وهل سيحصل معي مثل ما يحصل في البلدان التي مزقتها الحروب على النفط او العرق او الدين واحمل السلاح وأدافع عن معتقداتي بتعصب اعمى …

من الروايات المفضلة لعام 2020
Profile Image for madame Gabrielle.
756 reviews641 followers
November 30, 2020
je suis sans mots et j’ai le cœur gros. L’histoire d’Amed et d’Aziz est des plus touchantes, des plus tristes ... je n’avais entendu que du bien de ce roman et je comprends maintenant qu’il ait autant été acclamé. c’est un chef d’œuvre de réalité en soi. c’est une histoire précieuse et émouvante à la fois. je me demande encore pourquoi je n’avais pas encore lu ce livre. sa lecture est nécessaire et nous permet de nous rappeler que la vie est si précieuse 🙏🏼💫. je suis triste, j’ai trouvé ça beau, j’ai trouvé ça déchirant et grandiose à la fois. un gros gros wow, un gigantesque coup de cœur pour cette œuvre de Larry Tremblay.
Profile Image for Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer.
2,189 reviews1,798 followers
February 16, 2018
This book was published by the UK small press, Peirene Press “a boutique publishing house with a traditional commitment to first class European literature in high-quality translation” and whose style is described by the TLS as “Two-hour books to be devoured in a single sitting; literary cinema for those fatigued by film”

This book represents a slight variation on both of these themes: firstly as a translation of a Quebecois novel (the author Larry Tremblay lives in Montreal and is the author of some 30 books, although this is only his third novel; the translator Sheila Fischman has translated more than 150 Quebecois novels into English); secondly it is even shorter than the normal and in my case easily read on a 40 minute train journey

The attached link gives a comprehensive summary of the plot of the novel and its key themes:

http://librisnotes.blogspot.co.uk/201...

Despite always being interested in new additions to the twins-in-literature genre (particularly when such twins are identical) and enjoying the deliberately country-free and therefore more figurative nature of the examination of civil/tribal wars, I felt strangely dissatisfied by the setting of the later dénouement of the earlier action in an acting classes play. In particular I started this section hoping that it was a clever (and deliberately self-referential) critique of the pretensions of Western artists to believe that their artistic endeavours enabled them to fully emphasise with the reality of life in a war zone; but concluded it with the sense that this book itself was a classic example and celebration of that pretension.


Profile Image for Bibliomaniaque .
995 reviews459 followers
July 17, 2019
Une histoire touchante qui porte à réfléchir sur la guerre, les sacrifices, le bien et le mal. Mon seul hic est la réputation derrière ce livre. Elle est si imposante, que je me suis fait des attentes hyper élevées qui n’ont pas été atteintes. C’est un excellent roman, hyper bien écrit, je ne le nierai pas. Toutefois, je n’irais pas jusqu’à le qualifier de coup de cœur ou de chef-d’œuvre.
Profile Image for littleprettybooks.
933 reviews317 followers
April 1, 2015
Magnifique roman à la fois terrible, douloureux et d'une intelligence rare, L'orangeraie est un livre qui hante même une fois refermé. Il contient tellement de messages, de réflexions, d'horreur et de vérité qu'il est indispensable de le lire. Une claque comme je n'en avais jamais eu auparavant avec un livre.

Ma chronique : https://myprettybooks.wordpress.com/2...
Profile Image for Eli lit pour la cause.
306 reviews210 followers
December 28, 2020
Je viens de terminer L’orangeraie de Larry Tremblay et je suis sous le choc. Un livre marquant, bouleversant et nécessaire dont on ne sort pas indemne.

À lire et à partager pour mieux comprendre et moins juger, pour ouvrir son cœur. Le mien saigne un peu en ce moment 😭
Profile Image for David Germain.
278 reviews10 followers
April 25, 2019
L'inconvénient avec une oeuvre qui a été aussi acclamée par la critique et qui a gagné de nombreux prix, c'est que les attentes sont élevées et on ne peut être que déçu. Ça a été le cas pour moi.

J'ai été inconfortable par cette histoire, car je ne vois pas comment un auteur d'ici au Québec peut faire un texte fictif concernant un attentat suicide en terre d'islam. Je trouve que ça fait un peu imposteur...

De plus, la version audio lue par Sébastien Richard sur Audible manquait de vie à mon avis.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sakina.
679 reviews78 followers
August 7, 2025
ce roman est un coup de cœur que j'ai lu il y a de nombreuses années.
je viens de le relire sous la version en bande dessinée, qui était tout aussi triste et excellente. larry tremblay a écrit un chef-d'oeuf monumental.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
4,185 reviews3,449 followers
June 19, 2017
(3.5) Longlisted for the 2017 International Dublin (formerly IMPAC) literary award, this is the fable-like story of one family in the war-torn Middle East and the way notions of justice and sacrifice drive them to make extreme choices. Tamara and Zahed live with their twin sons, nine-year-old Aziz and Ahmed, alongside an orange grove planted by Zahed’s father. Soulayed, a militant elder from the next village, describes it thus:
Your father, Mounir, worked his whole life on this arid soil. It was desert here. With God’s help your father worked a miracle. Made oranges grow where there had been only sand and stones.

When Mounir and his wife Shahina are killed in a bombing, Soulayed stands among the ruins and counsels Zahed to seek revenge against their enemies by sending one of his sons to be a suicide bomber. There’s no doubt Soulayed is manipulating this grief-stricken family to his own ends, but he isn’t solely to blame when their culture at large romanticizes martyrdom.

Zahed makes his choice, but Tamara won’t accept it. In a clever reprise of the Genesis story of Jacob and Esau, she helps the boys to make a switch right under their father’s nose. The last third of the book, like a coda, zooms ahead 11 years to show us the surviving brother, coming to the end of a four-year theatre training program in Montreal. He’s given a starring role in his teacher’s wartime play but the story line cuts a little too close to the bone, and for the first time he tells a stranger the story of two brothers: one who died and one who lived.

Peirene Press issues novellas in trios. This is the second in the “East and West: Looking Both Ways” series; I’ve also reviewed the first, The Last Summer by Ricarda Huch. Tremblay and Huch both tackle the theme of betrayal and the practice of choosing one person to die for the crimes of the many. The Orange Grove has a simple style that edges towards flatness but is saved by the occasional striking metaphor (e.g. “Minutes stretched out as if made of dough”). A book about suicide bombing could easily turn mawkish, but the restrained narration reins it in to create a tight and fairly engrossing tale of family ties and religious motivations.

Originally published with images on my blog, Bookish Beck.
Profile Image for Cat.
242 reviews18 followers
August 21, 2021
L’auteur réussi à raconter une histoire coup de poing sans jamais nous dévoiler ni l’époque, ni l’endroit. Et pour ça, chapeau ! Est ce au Liban? En Syrie? En Afghanistan ? Je me posais la question durant tout le récit et j’avais hâte de connaître la réponse. Pour finalement me rendre compte que tout le pouvoir de ce livre réside justement dans cette question qui restera toujours en suspens.

Je ne serais pas surprise d’apprendre que cette histoire est lue et étudiée à l’école. Malgré que le livre ne fasse que 160 pages, on y retrouve un tas de questionnements fondamentaux qui rejoignent les plus grands conflits éthiques qu’on a pu voir dans nos cours de philo ..! Je salue la plume de l’auteur, bravo!
Profile Image for Clementine.
315 reviews155 followers
June 27, 2020
A perfect example of a white man writing about things he doesn't understand. The treatment of mental illness here is disgusting. The understanding and sensitivity of the Middle East that would have been required for this book to be impactful and true to its roots are grossly lacking. Worse, there's the not-so-subtle inclusion of a "white saviour" whose existence is to make the MC's trauma "palatable" to the audience.
Profile Image for Marie-Claude Gagné.
461 reviews26 followers
May 4, 2025
Beaucoup aimé. Une famille face à la guerre où tout n’est pas ce qu’il semble être. Deux petits garçons qui se retrouvent vraiment mêlés à des choses d’adultes. C’est captivant et très beau.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Beaucoup aimé

🎧🙉 : Audio
Profile Image for Nikolina Cali.
50 reviews
February 15, 2025
-E përse ia vlen të sjellësh në botë fëmijë, nëse të duhet t'i sakrifikosh si kafshë të mjera që dërgohen në thertore!
Profile Image for Hamid Babayev.
Author 11 books42 followers
July 4, 2023
İlk dəfə səsli kitab kimi qulaq asıb xırdalıqlarını tam duya bilməmişdim kitabın. Fiziki versiyasını əlimə alıb gözümdən qaçan hər xırdalığını hopdurdum canıma və artıq bu gözəl kitabı Azərbaycan dilinə qazandıran nəşriyyatın bir parçası olduğum üçün çox xoşbəxtəm. Mütləq oxuyun, bəzən 120 səhifədə çox şey baş verə bilir.
Profile Image for İnci Zadə.
49 reviews16 followers
July 6, 2023
"Nebula" nəşriyyatının seçimlərinə hər zaman güvənmişəm, amma bu kitab mənim üçün bambaşqa idi. Qısa və axıcı olmaqla yanaşı, müharibənin qaranlıq tərəflərinə dair vurucu məqamlarla dolu bir əsər idi. Əsər azhəcmli olsa da, yazıçı obrazları gözəl işləmişdi. Özümü bəzən Əzizdə, bəzənsə Amiddə tapırdım. Kitabı hələ də oxumamısınızsa, mütləq şans verin.

Xoş mütaliələr!
Profile Image for Valerie Thibaudeau.
335 reviews130 followers
December 7, 2020
Histoire touchante et surprenante sur la guerre, qui est racontée avec l’oeil d’un enfant de 9 ans qui tente simplement d’expliquer la situation et d’en trouver le sens...
Profile Image for Mustafa Rushan.
436 reviews16 followers
August 12, 2023
Oy, oy... yaman dramatik əhvalat idi...
Ətraflı fikirlərimi yazacam...
526 reviews58 followers
January 19, 2022
Двајца браќа, две деца, една завојувана земја.

Браќата Амед и Азиз се близнаци, идентични. Живеат во мирно место, во куќа опкружена со поле од портокали. Бомба им ја урива куќата. Загинува нивната сакана баба.

Во нивниот дом доаѓаат луѓе. Сулаед има змиски јазик. Го повикува татко им на одмазда. И тоа не било каква. Да го испрати едниот син со појас со бомби во самоубиствен напад. Да се одмаздат за куќата и бабата.

Татко им е горд човек. Алах го пратил Сулаед. Но кој син да го испрати? Оној кој боледувал од рак и му се молел со сето срце на Алах да оздрави? Зар да ја погази волјата на Алах? Или оној кој е здрав, за здрав да замине на оној свет? Е тој би бил вистинска благодарност на Бога.

А мајката? Неа никој не ја прашува. Кој син да го жртвува, која рака да ја даде? Двете деца и се две половини од срцето, двете исто болат. Болното дете не ќе живее многу, барем едно живо да и остане.

Приказна која мене ме исполни со гнев и тага. Налик на Модар накит. Ми се плачеше дур ја читав. Колку едноставно ги жртвуваат децата. Децата треба да растат опкружени со љубов, а не да убиваат други луѓе, не да бидат сведоци на смртта околу нив. Бомбаш самоубиец, зошто??? Зошто да убиваш други луѓе? Зошто да испраќаш дете на таква задача? Како може да си го жртвуваш сопственото дете? Било кое дете? Зошто???

Ова е една од оние мали, а скапоцени книгички. Длабоко емотивна и потресна, ми требаше време да се соземам. Ме исполни со тага и бес и гнев. Приказна која е, нажалост, секојдневие во земјите на Блискиот Исток. Приказна која е дел од секоја војна. Приказна која прави да го цените повеќе она што го имате. Зошто некој го нема ни тоа.

Profile Image for Aydan Aliyeva.
90 reviews148 followers
January 18, 2024
Kitabin dilimizdeki versiyasini, keyfiyyetli tertibatini cox beyendim duzu, lakin hekayenin ozu ile bagli teessuratlarim qarisiqdi. Evvela onu deyim ki. bu hekayeye yarashan sonluq, yekunlashdirma bu deyildi, bele olmamaliydi. Sonluq dediyim de mehz son sehifeleri nezerde tuturam ele. Amma bashlangic ve kuliminasiya ela ishlenib. Duygu ve muhakime dolu nuanslar var. Yazici bunu siyasi eser etmediyini vurgulayib deyesen, ona gore de bezi odlari pusgurmeden sondurdum. Amma bele boyuk facie tesviri ucun de mehz islami, islam olkelerini secmesi, yeni come on da... neyse dediyim kimi buralari oturdum getdi. Amma mutleq oxuyun deye bileceyim eserlerdendi. Xususile Ana, ushaqlar ve onlarin icerisinde oldugu situasiyalar olduqca real tesvir olunub. Ana psixologiyasi, ushaq psixologiyasinin ishlenmesi kifayet qeder ugurludur.
Profile Image for Veronika.
70 reviews5 followers
July 14, 2022
Після книги лишається ще більше запитань про війну, ніж виникало досі. Більшість із них не нові, але болять з новою силою. Чому люди вірять гучним промовам? Чому «промовцям» вдається так вдало маніпулювати почуттями? Чому гинуть невинні діти? Чому дітей посилають на смерть? Чому провина з’їдає тих, хто вижив? Чому так складно розказувати власну історію війни? Так багато «чому» без відповідей.
Ця книга не про нашу війну. Але вона про такі ж підступні речі, які роблять вороги на нашій землі. Хай в іншій формі, але суть та ж.

А на початку книги так хотілося побувати в тому помаранчевому саду…
Profile Image for Amina Hujdur.
798 reviews40 followers
June 24, 2022
Potresna i bolna priča o dječaku samoubici u rukama manipulatora rata. Emocionalno, potresno, dira u samo srce. Često potisnuta tema djece i njihove uloge u ratu, u ovom romanu je na jedinstven način obrađena.
Profile Image for Isabelle Lavigne.
40 reviews18 followers
August 4, 2018
Magnifique. Réflexion troublante, enrageante à travers une douce poésie.
Profile Image for Chloé Dumaine.
304 reviews7 followers
January 4, 2023
L’Orangeraie aura traîné dans ma bibliothèque trop longtemps, mais je comprend maintenant pourquoi c’est un livre incontournable de notre temps. À travers un dilemme moral qui emportera un des deux jumeaux, on apprend à connaitre Amed et Aziz.

Le roman reste flou dans son lieu, même si on se doute que cela se passe au Proche-Orient ou au Moyen-Orient. Je crois que cela aide à rendre le dilemme encore plus concret, puisqu’on peut le transposer facilement à travers d’autres situations. Bien qu’il soit question de djihadisme, le dilemme du choix reste crève-coeur. On voit aussi, dans le livre, les méthodes cruelles que les djiadistes ont afin de semer la terreur dans les communautés.

On s’attache aux personnages des jumeaux et il est facile de ressentir leurs émotions tout au long du roman.

C’était mon premier roman de Larry Tremblay et je crois que ce ne sera pas mon dernier. L’Orangeraie m’a donné envie d’emprunter ses autres oeuvres à la bibliothèque.
Profile Image for Sarah-Maude Nobert.
25 reviews1 follower
January 20, 2025
Honnêtement au début je n’avais aucune envie de le lire, mais de plus en plus que ça avançait, plus j’avais envie de continuer la lecture. Pas de plot twist incroyable à en tomber par terre mais c’est très bien écrit et on peut ressentir un peu les choses
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