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La Petite et le Vieux
Elle se nomme Hélène, mais se fait appeler Joe parce qu'elle veut vivre en garçon comme lady Oscar, son héroïne de dessins animés préférés qui est le capitaine de la garde rapprochée de Marie-Antoinette. Comme elle, elle aimerait vivre à une autre époque et réaliser de grands exploits, car elle a l'âme romantique et un imaginaire avide de grands drames. Mais elle doit se contenter de passer les journaux, puis de travailler comme serveuse dans une salle de bingo. Après tout, au début du roman, elle n'a que huit ans, même si elle prétend en avoir dix.
235 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2010
47 people are currently reading
683 people want to read
About the author
Marie-Renée Lavoie
30 books175 followersMarie-Renée Lavoie a un don particulier pour les dialogues vivants, les héroïnes truculentes et la poésie du quotidien. Depuis La petite et le vieux (Éditions XYZ), son premier roman plusieurs fois primé, elle ne cesse d’étonner et d’émouvoir avec ses fictions qui sonnent fabuleusement vrai.
Elle a aussi conquis le public jeunesse avec La curieuse histoire d’un chat moribond, la série Zazie et Le dernier camelot (Éditions Hurtubise).
Marie-Renée Lavoie est née en 1974 dans le quartier Limoilou, à Québec. Elle détient une maîtrise en littérature québécoise de l’Université Laval. Elle enseigne présentement la littérature au collège Maisonneuve.
Elle a aussi conquis le public jeunesse avec La curieuse histoire d’un chat moribond, la série Zazie et Le dernier camelot (Éditions Hurtubise).
Marie-Renée Lavoie est née en 1974 dans le quartier Limoilou, à Québec. Elle détient une maîtrise en littérature québécoise de l’Université Laval. Elle enseigne présentement la littérature au collège Maisonneuve.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews
March 23, 2021
4,5 💫
Une très grosse lecture (pas en terme de pages 😅 mais d’impact)
L’écriture est tout simplement délicieuse. C’est un mélange de fluidité, de poésie, de raffinement et tout ça en sortant des sentiers battus.
Cette plume si douce nous permet de découvrir Hélène (Joe) et de l’adopter immédiatement. À travers ses yeux on découvre son idole, Lady Oscar. On rencontre sa famille la famille d’Hélène et qui elle est à travers eux et de manière individuelle. On l’a suit dans ses emplois, ses moments difficiles et sa découverte des injustices de la vie. On ressent sa bonté et son grand cœur dans toutes ses interactions autour d’elle.
On s’attache immédiatement à tous les personnages qui gravite autour d’Hélène. Cé toute. 😉
J’ai été portée par l’histoire d’une si grande simplicité mais avec un si grand impact. Il y a de ses réflexions qui sont des perles au travers du roman.
Une très grosse lecture (pas en terme de pages 😅 mais d’impact)
L’écriture est tout simplement délicieuse. C’est un mélange de fluidité, de poésie, de raffinement et tout ça en sortant des sentiers battus.
Cette plume si douce nous permet de découvrir Hélène (Joe) et de l’adopter immédiatement. À travers ses yeux on découvre son idole, Lady Oscar. On rencontre sa famille la famille d’Hélène et qui elle est à travers eux et de manière individuelle. On l’a suit dans ses emplois, ses moments difficiles et sa découverte des injustices de la vie. On ressent sa bonté et son grand cœur dans toutes ses interactions autour d’elle.
On s’attache immédiatement à tous les personnages qui gravite autour d’Hélène. Cé toute. 😉
J’ai été portée par l’histoire d’une si grande simplicité mais avec un si grand impact. Il y a de ses réflexions qui sont des perles au travers du roman.
July 22, 2025
J’ai vraiment tout adoré de ce livre, autant l’histoire que le personnage principal que l’écriture. C’était vraiment excellent.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ : Adoré
🎧🙉 : Audio
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ : Adoré
🎧🙉 : Audio
January 10, 2025
Wow ! Quelle belle surprise ce livre ! Une écriture belle, des personnages intéressants et une touche d’humour qui m’a fait rire à des nombreuses reprises.
November 8, 2019
Un livre à la fois sensible et terre-à-terre, ancré dans la vie québécoise urbaine des années 80, celle des quartiers pauvre.
J’ai été enchantée par le réalisme des situations et l’émotion toujours si doucement amenée.
Des personnages francs, concrets, qui ont leurs moments de tendresse, leur moments de gloire et de faiblesse.
La sortie de l’enfance d’Hélène, la perte de ses illusions, suit en parallèle la progression de sa série télé préférée qui image et illustre toutes les émotions qui la chamboulent.
Un bijou à lire.
J’ai été enchantée par le réalisme des situations et l’émotion toujours si doucement amenée.
Des personnages francs, concrets, qui ont leurs moments de tendresse, leur moments de gloire et de faiblesse.
La sortie de l’enfance d’Hélène, la perte de ses illusions, suit en parallèle la progression de sa série télé préférée qui image et illustre toutes les émotions qui la chamboulent.
Un bijou à lire.
December 8, 2024
J’ai eu du mal à embarquer dans la cinquantaine de premières pages, mais finalement j’ai beaucoup aimé ce livre. Particulièrement à cause de la sensibilité de Joe, dépeinte avec beaucoup de talent et me ramenant à ma propre sensibilité d’enfant. Elle amène la protagoniste d’une part à beaucoup de rêverie enfantine et naïve, mais en même temps à beaucoup de lucidité crue et de tentatives pour rectifier ce qui n’est pas acceptable autour d’elle.
Moi perso j’ai encore du mal avec mon inner child pis ce livre-là m’a comme aidée à faire preuve d’un peu plus de tendresse à son égard.
Une histoire un peu average mais vraiment bien écrite. (D’ailleurs j’ai pas vu le film pis je me demande vraiment comment ça rend à l’écran? Tsé vu que l’intérêt est surtout dans le monologue interne.)
Moi perso j’ai encore du mal avec mon inner child pis ce livre-là m’a comme aidée à faire preuve d’un peu plus de tendresse à son égard.
Une histoire un peu average mais vraiment bien écrite. (D’ailleurs j’ai pas vu le film pis je me demande vraiment comment ça rend à l’écran? Tsé vu que l’intérêt est surtout dans le monologue interne.)
March 9, 2019
J'ai bien aimé ma lecture : le style est original et intéressant, les personnages sont attachants et on adhère facilement à l'histoire. J'ai beaucoup aimé la façon dont l'autrice dépeint un quartier précis d'une époque précise, par le biais du regard d'une enfant quelque peu atypique. Seul bémol : j'ai trouvé par moments que la narration n'était pas tout à fait crédible (certaines pensées ou réflexions seraient difficilement attribuable à une enfant de 8-10 ans...).
February 10, 2022
Même si ce roman aborde des thématiques très sombres, c'est mis de l'avant de manière très douce, vu par les yeux d'un enfant. C'était très coloré, j'ai adoré!
February 18, 2024
Bien écrit, émouvant!
March 22, 2017
Merveilleusement tendre, de belles réflexions de la part d'une jeune fille qui aimerait être un garçon. Elle compare sa vie à un téléroman d'époque qui l'aide à prendre certaines décisions dans sa jeune vie. C'est drôle et touchant.
November 19, 2017
Coup de coeur !
January 19, 2025
J'avais très peu d'attentes pour ce livre, comme je n'avais pas particulièrement aimé d'autres romans de cette autrice. Et quelle belle surprise! J'ai tellement aimé ma lecture, wow!
March 6, 2020
" j'avais, moi, formidablement envie de vivre. "
September 22, 2024
Our little protagonist in this story, Helene, is a drama queen whom we meet when she is about eight. We don’t really ever know her age for sure because she lies about it all the time to suit her needs, and when we meet her she is saying she is ten so she will be allowed to deliver the morning newspapers.
She is a good student though and a good person, although she ‘can be a pain sometimes’. She asks questions, all the time, sometimes impertinently and has a vivid imagination, most of which is centered on and animated by her hero Oscar, and while precocious and adventurous she’s somewhat taciturn and careful around people. She is tremendously sensitive and insightful to what is going on around her. She’s an interesting little character.
The events in this story – in the original French version it’s titled La petite et le vieux (the little girl and the old man) – take place in the early 1980’s. She lives a middle-class life with her three sisters, her 34-year old Irish-backgrounded mother and her kindly but strict closet-alcoholic born-old-looking emotionally-broken-down teacher of a father in what seems to be a rather poor and dense neighborhood in Quebec City (the Limoilou parish not far from the Maizerets Pond Park where she goes often on her ‘white steed’ to be by herself and think). Of her sisters, there is Jeanne, an older cynical know-it-all who inherited her hatred of everything from her maternal grandfather whom we never meet and the one who wants to escape her background, and Helene’s younger sisters, Margot who has an obsession with cats and is especially obsessive over with high-heel shoes, and Catherine, the youngest and Helene’s favorite. Of her mother, Helene reflects that she is really good woman, wife and mother, a quality that is noticeable ‘when she forgets to be strong’. They all live in what seems to be the second floor of a three-story type of townhouse popular in much of the province of Quebec, especially in its larger cities such as Montreal and Quebec City where this story takes place. She is a small girl – and perhaps the first part of the title of the French book ‘La petite’ reflects that but she has a powerful idea of who she thinks she is.
Helene intermixes reality and fantasy to suit her needs. For example, when she can, Helene goes by the name Joe partly because she has no intention of ever being a woman, and mostly because of her 17th Century TV cartoon hero, Oscar, Helene’s alter-ego, a cavalier who masquerades as a man (since women certainly could not lead a military group at that time) and captain of a bunch of fearsome elite soldiers serving as Marie Antoinnette palace guard, leading her band of soldiers into all kinds of heroic exploits in allegiance to their Queen and the glory of France, all just prior to the French Revolution. Helene has two personally traumatic periods in her life: one is the French Revolution and how it changes her thinking about things and how impactful Oscar's death is for her; the other is puberty when breasts appear out of nowhere.
I suppose Helene might be considered a tom-boy but really she is more of a free-spirit and a slave to her imagination and verve and spirit of independence. She bicycles everywhere and her mornings begin very early with her trudging through the neighborhood delivering newspapers. It’s during one of these mornings that she meets Roger (i.e. le vieux) who has recently moved into the basement in the next-door building. He’s ancient and rough and his first words on seeing Helene are ‘Hey Sweetie’, condescendingly asking her how her petit frame can handle carrying around a huge sack of newspapers. In other words, they basically speak the same language, and he and Helene hit it off almost immediately. The cover of the English version of the book has an accurate picture of blond-haired Helene sitting on a crate, with her bike close by, next to Roger sitting on his old dilapidated ‘fake leather throne’ with his ever-present never-empty two-four of O’Keefe beer next to him. Helene’s first face to face encounter with him, whom everyone, including Helene herself, avoided as he seemed truly scary, was when Margot takes a few gulps from a bottle of Javex in the bathroom which she had thought of as a carton of milk and she cries loud enough to wake the dead and is promptly saved through the help of ‘Mister Roger’, after which he becomes an ever-present presence of the family. “Go see Mister Roger” becomes a mantra used by their busy mom to treat all kinds of ailments, whether life-saving or planter warts.
We know very little of Roger though – except he’s a widower and has three presumably adult children – and likely never will learn much more than that. Roger’s old and, as Helene knows well, is simply waiting to die, as he deeply misses his wife. So, it is not a surprise when he does die. How Helene reacts is typical of who she is and how she thinks about things. At the wake in the Church basement, ironically a place where Roger would not have been caught dead in and Helene knows this and is sympathetic to the old man’s plight, she is stoic. At least until someone brings up something of his past and she tears up, quietly gushing in fact, in spite of herself. Until then though she had what she worriedly called a ‘frappe de sécheresse lacymale’ – a worrying inability to mourn Roger’s death i.e. dry eyes, this compounded by a strong sense of guilt that she had been the one to have caused his death. She knows this, and knows that everyone knows this as well. She had challenged Roger to a snow shoveling competition one morning to clear out the laneway as fast as possible. Already hospitalized in the summer with some heart problem, he of course collapsed and died during the frantic and competitive shoveling contest. “I practically killed him’, she muses. But it goes to the heart of their relationship that he had accepted and when he keeled over Helene wasn’t sure if Roger’s last words had been ‘Dammit!’, or ‘See you soon’. We know for sure, even if Helene doesn’t, that it was probably see you soon.
I liked the story a lot. I read Wayne Glady’s translation which was good, and when I finished felt sad that Helene had grown up. I really liked author Marie-Renee Lavoie’s creation. She reflected that somewhat unique way that Quebeckers have of seeing the world, a jewel in the presence of English almost everywhere else.
The book ends with a nineteen-year-old Helene, pretending of course to be old enough so as to land a job that she wants, as she’s only seventeen. It’s not her fault she’s small for her age.
Edwin
She is a good student though and a good person, although she ‘can be a pain sometimes’. She asks questions, all the time, sometimes impertinently and has a vivid imagination, most of which is centered on and animated by her hero Oscar, and while precocious and adventurous she’s somewhat taciturn and careful around people. She is tremendously sensitive and insightful to what is going on around her. She’s an interesting little character.
The events in this story – in the original French version it’s titled La petite et le vieux (the little girl and the old man) – take place in the early 1980’s. She lives a middle-class life with her three sisters, her 34-year old Irish-backgrounded mother and her kindly but strict closet-alcoholic born-old-looking emotionally-broken-down teacher of a father in what seems to be a rather poor and dense neighborhood in Quebec City (the Limoilou parish not far from the Maizerets Pond Park where she goes often on her ‘white steed’ to be by herself and think). Of her sisters, there is Jeanne, an older cynical know-it-all who inherited her hatred of everything from her maternal grandfather whom we never meet and the one who wants to escape her background, and Helene’s younger sisters, Margot who has an obsession with cats and is especially obsessive over with high-heel shoes, and Catherine, the youngest and Helene’s favorite. Of her mother, Helene reflects that she is really good woman, wife and mother, a quality that is noticeable ‘when she forgets to be strong’. They all live in what seems to be the second floor of a three-story type of townhouse popular in much of the province of Quebec, especially in its larger cities such as Montreal and Quebec City where this story takes place. She is a small girl – and perhaps the first part of the title of the French book ‘La petite’ reflects that but she has a powerful idea of who she thinks she is.
Helene intermixes reality and fantasy to suit her needs. For example, when she can, Helene goes by the name Joe partly because she has no intention of ever being a woman, and mostly because of her 17th Century TV cartoon hero, Oscar, Helene’s alter-ego, a cavalier who masquerades as a man (since women certainly could not lead a military group at that time) and captain of a bunch of fearsome elite soldiers serving as Marie Antoinnette palace guard, leading her band of soldiers into all kinds of heroic exploits in allegiance to their Queen and the glory of France, all just prior to the French Revolution. Helene has two personally traumatic periods in her life: one is the French Revolution and how it changes her thinking about things and how impactful Oscar's death is for her; the other is puberty when breasts appear out of nowhere.
I suppose Helene might be considered a tom-boy but really she is more of a free-spirit and a slave to her imagination and verve and spirit of independence. She bicycles everywhere and her mornings begin very early with her trudging through the neighborhood delivering newspapers. It’s during one of these mornings that she meets Roger (i.e. le vieux) who has recently moved into the basement in the next-door building. He’s ancient and rough and his first words on seeing Helene are ‘Hey Sweetie’, condescendingly asking her how her petit frame can handle carrying around a huge sack of newspapers. In other words, they basically speak the same language, and he and Helene hit it off almost immediately. The cover of the English version of the book has an accurate picture of blond-haired Helene sitting on a crate, with her bike close by, next to Roger sitting on his old dilapidated ‘fake leather throne’ with his ever-present never-empty two-four of O’Keefe beer next to him. Helene’s first face to face encounter with him, whom everyone, including Helene herself, avoided as he seemed truly scary, was when Margot takes a few gulps from a bottle of Javex in the bathroom which she had thought of as a carton of milk and she cries loud enough to wake the dead and is promptly saved through the help of ‘Mister Roger’, after which he becomes an ever-present presence of the family. “Go see Mister Roger” becomes a mantra used by their busy mom to treat all kinds of ailments, whether life-saving or planter warts.
We know very little of Roger though – except he’s a widower and has three presumably adult children – and likely never will learn much more than that. Roger’s old and, as Helene knows well, is simply waiting to die, as he deeply misses his wife. So, it is not a surprise when he does die. How Helene reacts is typical of who she is and how she thinks about things. At the wake in the Church basement, ironically a place where Roger would not have been caught dead in and Helene knows this and is sympathetic to the old man’s plight, she is stoic. At least until someone brings up something of his past and she tears up, quietly gushing in fact, in spite of herself. Until then though she had what she worriedly called a ‘frappe de sécheresse lacymale’ – a worrying inability to mourn Roger’s death i.e. dry eyes, this compounded by a strong sense of guilt that she had been the one to have caused his death. She knows this, and knows that everyone knows this as well. She had challenged Roger to a snow shoveling competition one morning to clear out the laneway as fast as possible. Already hospitalized in the summer with some heart problem, he of course collapsed and died during the frantic and competitive shoveling contest. “I practically killed him’, she muses. But it goes to the heart of their relationship that he had accepted and when he keeled over Helene wasn’t sure if Roger’s last words had been ‘Dammit!’, or ‘See you soon’. We know for sure, even if Helene doesn’t, that it was probably see you soon.
I liked the story a lot. I read Wayne Glady’s translation which was good, and when I finished felt sad that Helene had grown up. I really liked author Marie-Renee Lavoie’s creation. She reflected that somewhat unique way that Quebeckers have of seeing the world, a jewel in the presence of English almost everywhere else.
The book ends with a nineteen-year-old Helene, pretending of course to be old enough so as to land a job that she wants, as she’s only seventeen. It’s not her fault she’s small for her age.
Edwin
August 29, 2021
Relecture avec mon oeil d'enseignante, en espérant que mes élèves apprécient leur lecture!
September 11, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
J’ai préféré ses autres romans. Belle plume
J’ai préféré ses autres romans. Belle plume
June 24, 2024
3.5- 4 étoiles. C'était bon, bien écrit. Plusieurs phrases coup de coeur. J'ai apprécié le personnage principal avec son imagination et sa sensibilité débordante qui fait mal.
October 10, 2024
Une relecture alors qu'une dizaine d'années se sont écoulées depuis la première.
L'écriture est sublime. La toute dernière ligne est magnifique dans sa simplicité, grandiose dans son message.
L'écriture est sublime. La toute dernière ligne est magnifique dans sa simplicité, grandiose dans son message.
November 26, 2024
Magnifique figure de style. Poétique et touchant!
October 22, 2025
L'un de mes livres préférés. J'ai déjà le goût de le relire.
September 27, 2020
Belle histoire représentant bien la vie des familles dans les blocs appartements de quartiers peu favorisés de grande ville, avec des personnages attachants et bien campés. La jeune fille y vit des aventures qui l'a font prendre de la maturité à travers des rencontres avec des gens mémorables.
September 13, 2015
Recensione presente nel blog www.ragazzainrosso.wordpress.com
Hélène ha otto anni (anche se dice di averne dieci) e vive in un quartiere popolare di Québec. Hélène, per tutti Joe, adora lady Oscar e, proprio come la sua eroina, vorrebbe essere dotata di coraggio e determinazione. Monsieur Roger, vicino ottantenne che trascorre le giornate a bere birra e fumare in attesa della morte, dopo un iniziale periodo di battibecchi, diviene per la piccola Joe un punto di riferimento e un angelo custode sempre pronto ad aiutarla a crescere.
“Mi ero davvero creduta invulnerabile. Io che avevo seguito così fedelmente tutti i combattimenti di Oscar, dovevo per forza sapermi battere.”
Ho acquistato questo libro attratta dal suo titolo, infatti anch’io, proprio come la protagonista, adoro lady Oscar, ma sono costretta a confessare che il romanzo ha deluso le mie aspettative.
La trama in sé ha buone possibilità, è originale e dà spazio a tematiche complesse quali: l’amicizia, l’infanzia, i sogni, tuttavia il ritmo narrativo, decisamente lento, rende la lettura particolarmente ostica.
Hélène è una bambina cresciuta in fretta. Suo padre vive in uno stato di malinconica frustrazione e sua madre è molto severa. Hélène assumerà le redini della famiglia, non solo badando alle sorelline, ma soprattutto lavorando come distributrice di giornali prima e come cameriera in una sala bingo poi, per regalare ai suoi cari un’esistenza un po’ meno grigia. L’incontro col vecchio Roger rappresenta per lei una rinascita: finalmente qualcuno si prende cura di lei e le insegna a conoscere la vita. Per certi versi commuoventi, i comportamenti della piccola si specchiano in quelli della sua eroina ed ecco che l’autrice inserisce descrizioni degli episodi del celebre cartone animato, che se da una parte mostrano alla giovane protagonista quanto l’esistenza non è sempre rosea e le rivoluzioni cambiano il corso della Storia, dall’altro suscitano nel lettore l’effetto nostalgia nei confronti di un’infanzia ormai ampiamente superata.
Dal punto di vista stilistico il romanzo si caratterizza per una prosa estremamente studiata, decisamente poco adatta a una giovane narratrice, che, per quanto matura, resta pur sempre una bambina.
Il coinvolgimento emotivo da parte del lettore è quasi del tutto assente. Risulta molto difficile “entrare” nel romanzo, si ha la sensazione di osservare la vicenda da un angolino nascosto senza avere alcuna possibilità di palesarsi.
Un romanzo di formazione che, a mio parere, non decolla.
Hélène ha otto anni (anche se dice di averne dieci) e vive in un quartiere popolare di Québec. Hélène, per tutti Joe, adora lady Oscar e, proprio come la sua eroina, vorrebbe essere dotata di coraggio e determinazione. Monsieur Roger, vicino ottantenne che trascorre le giornate a bere birra e fumare in attesa della morte, dopo un iniziale periodo di battibecchi, diviene per la piccola Joe un punto di riferimento e un angelo custode sempre pronto ad aiutarla a crescere.
“Mi ero davvero creduta invulnerabile. Io che avevo seguito così fedelmente tutti i combattimenti di Oscar, dovevo per forza sapermi battere.”
Ho acquistato questo libro attratta dal suo titolo, infatti anch’io, proprio come la protagonista, adoro lady Oscar, ma sono costretta a confessare che il romanzo ha deluso le mie aspettative.
La trama in sé ha buone possibilità, è originale e dà spazio a tematiche complesse quali: l’amicizia, l’infanzia, i sogni, tuttavia il ritmo narrativo, decisamente lento, rende la lettura particolarmente ostica.
Hélène è una bambina cresciuta in fretta. Suo padre vive in uno stato di malinconica frustrazione e sua madre è molto severa. Hélène assumerà le redini della famiglia, non solo badando alle sorelline, ma soprattutto lavorando come distributrice di giornali prima e come cameriera in una sala bingo poi, per regalare ai suoi cari un’esistenza un po’ meno grigia. L’incontro col vecchio Roger rappresenta per lei una rinascita: finalmente qualcuno si prende cura di lei e le insegna a conoscere la vita. Per certi versi commuoventi, i comportamenti della piccola si specchiano in quelli della sua eroina ed ecco che l’autrice inserisce descrizioni degli episodi del celebre cartone animato, che se da una parte mostrano alla giovane protagonista quanto l’esistenza non è sempre rosea e le rivoluzioni cambiano il corso della Storia, dall’altro suscitano nel lettore l’effetto nostalgia nei confronti di un’infanzia ormai ampiamente superata.
Dal punto di vista stilistico il romanzo si caratterizza per una prosa estremamente studiata, decisamente poco adatta a una giovane narratrice, che, per quanto matura, resta pur sempre una bambina.
Il coinvolgimento emotivo da parte del lettore è quasi del tutto assente. Risulta molto difficile “entrare” nel romanzo, si ha la sensazione di osservare la vicenda da un angolino nascosto senza avere alcuna possibilità di palesarsi.
Un romanzo di formazione che, a mio parere, non decolla.
July 30, 2014
Roman tendre sur le passage à l'adolescence d'une enfant de Limoilou. L’héroïne tente de vivre sa vie et rêve d'aventures. Elle désire vivre avec intensité et s'invente des histoires quelle partage avec ses soeurs. Elle découvre l'amour de ses parents et se fait des amis inhabituels qui l'accompagnent dans ses découvertes de la vie. Humour, vivacité, tendresse. J'ai adoré la façon d'écrire de l'auteur, ce livre m'a procuré de la douceur et des sourires.
March 4, 2020
C'est mon deuxième roman de Marie-Renée L'avoir, après avoir lu un plus récent :"les Chars meurent aussi." Beaucoup de similitude entre les deux, d'où un style et des thèmes qui m'apparaissent propre à cette autrice. Les personnages sont attachants, colorés, réalistes et j'ai souris et même ris plusieurs fois. Un roman avec de petits drames, des petites anecdotes mais où l'on retrouve toujours un grand optimisme.
August 22, 2011
Une ancienne prof de mon Cégep qui se transforme en auteur dont les affiches font 8 pieds au Salon du Livre : je n'en attendais pas moins de cette enseignante lumineuse, passionnée et inspirante! C'est un pan de son enfance qu'elle nous ouvre, avec tout ce que cet âge a de naïf et de périlleux!
January 21, 2019
Ideal si al leer buscas un vecindario lleno de vida, de gente que de tan real parece salida de tu propio vecindario, si te sabes reír de la muerte y de las observaciones de una niña que se toma muy en serio eso de estar viva.
December 13, 2018
At first, I was not quite sure what to make of this book. Actually, I am still not quite sure what to make of this book, but overall I enjoyed the read.
At the beginning, I was frustrated by this cynical, articulate eight-year-old protagonist. What eight year old, I asked myself, would speak that way, think that way, behave that way?!? Then I realized: 1) the narrator was an adult, looking back on childhood; and 2) I was an eight year old who spoke a lot like that, thought a lot like that, and behaved a lot like that. Like Joe, I was a parentified child who behaved much like an adult from a very young age. Then 3) the irritation I had been feeling at the start of the was not so much that I could not believe the eight-year-old character, but in fact because this character hit me much too close to home.
Aside from the relevancy to my life, this book touched me in other ways. It is character- more so than plot-driven, but I found the characters to be interesting and well developed. The interactions between the characters, especially through the eyes of an eight-nine-ten year old protagonist rang true to me. Additionally, I found that Joe/Isabelle-8/Helene* to be a perceptive, sensitive, complex individual. I did not alway like her but did always find her interesting.
*This character insisted on being called Joe throughout. However, her actual name bizarrely switced from Isabelle (the number due to an abundance of students with that name) to Helene somewhere in the middle of the book with no explanation. I found that confusing and detracting from the book.
The book is also well-crafted. Lavoie's use of language and/or Grady's translation work (I suspect the former with skilled and careful translation by the latter), was exquisite. So many times, I thought 'that was the perfect word for this situation/emotion/action/etc.'. I think to the deft use of language gave the book heft. It is a chewy book, providing a lot to think over and chew on a long the way. I think also, that this skilled use of language allowed Lavoie to pack so much information, characterization, mood, and other details into what is ultimately a fairly short book (just shy of 160 pages).
Overall, a solid read. I will read other work by this author.
Note: I gave this book a full review because this book was published by Anansi Press.
I used to give full reviews for all of the books that I rated on GR. However, GR's new giveaway policies (Good Reads 2017 November Giveaways Policies Changes) have caused me to change my reviewing decisions. These new GR policies seem to harm smaller publishing efforts in favour of providing advantage to the larger companies, (GR Authors' Feedback) the big five publishers (Big Five Publishers). So, because of these new GR policies from now on I will be supporting smaller publishing efforts by only giving full reviews to books published by: publishing businesses outside the big five companies, indie publishers, and self-published authors. This book was published by one of these smaller publishing efforts so I have given it a full review.
At the beginning, I was frustrated by this cynical, articulate eight-year-old protagonist. What eight year old, I asked myself, would speak that way, think that way, behave that way?!? Then I realized: 1) the narrator was an adult, looking back on childhood; and 2) I was an eight year old who spoke a lot like that, thought a lot like that, and behaved a lot like that. Like Joe, I was a parentified child who behaved much like an adult from a very young age. Then 3) the irritation I had been feeling at the start of the was not so much that I could not believe the eight-year-old character, but in fact because this character hit me much too close to home.
Aside from the relevancy to my life, this book touched me in other ways. It is character- more so than plot-driven, but I found the characters to be interesting and well developed. The interactions between the characters, especially through the eyes of an eight-nine-ten year old protagonist rang true to me. Additionally, I found that Joe/Isabelle-8/Helene* to be a perceptive, sensitive, complex individual. I did not alway like her but did always find her interesting.
*This character insisted on being called Joe throughout. However, her actual name bizarrely switced from Isabelle (the number due to an abundance of students with that name) to Helene somewhere in the middle of the book with no explanation. I found that confusing and detracting from the book.
The book is also well-crafted. Lavoie's use of language and/or Grady's translation work (I suspect the former with skilled and careful translation by the latter), was exquisite. So many times, I thought 'that was the perfect word for this situation/emotion/action/etc.'. I think to the deft use of language gave the book heft. It is a chewy book, providing a lot to think over and chew on a long the way. I think also, that this skilled use of language allowed Lavoie to pack so much information, characterization, mood, and other details into what is ultimately a fairly short book (just shy of 160 pages).
Overall, a solid read. I will read other work by this author.
Note: I gave this book a full review because this book was published by Anansi Press.
I used to give full reviews for all of the books that I rated on GR. However, GR's new giveaway policies (Good Reads 2017 November Giveaways Policies Changes) have caused me to change my reviewing decisions. These new GR policies seem to harm smaller publishing efforts in favour of providing advantage to the larger companies, (GR Authors' Feedback) the big five publishers (Big Five Publishers). So, because of these new GR policies from now on I will be supporting smaller publishing efforts by only giving full reviews to books published by: publishing businesses outside the big five companies, indie publishers, and self-published authors. This book was published by one of these smaller publishing efforts so I have given it a full review.
January 2, 2021
5 ⭐️
Avertissement: mentions de décès/mort, grossophobie, accident de la route
Je ne suis pas généralement fan des romans de type tranche de vie, mais celui-là m'a bien plu. C'est peut-être les références à Canal Famille (mon enfance!), ou bien le ton sur lequel l'histoire est livrée.
Je n'étais pas certaine si ce serait une histoire mettant en vedette un personnage transgenre, étant donné qu'Hélène préfère se faire appeler Joe et ne veut pas devenir une femme. J'avais même un peu peur que ça devienne une mauvaise parodie. Mais on se rend rapidement compte que c'est en fait le sexisme de la société des années 80 (malheureusement encore quelque peu présente aujourd'hui) qui la pousse à vouloir être un garçon, couplé à la vision de son héroïne préférée qui vivait dans une société encore plus sexiste.
Le féminisme de ce roman se veut tout en douceur et s'insinue entre les lignes de façon si subtile qu'on ne s'en rend compte que vers la fin. Tout comme le commentaire sur le classicisme. Présent, sans frapper le lecteur. Juste assez pour apprécier au tournure d'une phrase de gamine rendue poétique par la plume d'une auteure devenue adulte.
Je ne sais pas si je lirai d'autres livres de Marie-Renée Lavoie, mais je recommenderai assurément celui-ci.
Avertissement: mentions de décès/mort, grossophobie, accident de la route
Je ne suis pas généralement fan des romans de type tranche de vie, mais celui-là m'a bien plu. C'est peut-être les références à Canal Famille (mon enfance!), ou bien le ton sur lequel l'histoire est livrée.
Je n'étais pas certaine si ce serait une histoire mettant en vedette un personnage transgenre, étant donné qu'Hélène préfère se faire appeler Joe et ne veut pas devenir une femme. J'avais même un peu peur que ça devienne une mauvaise parodie. Mais on se rend rapidement compte que c'est en fait le sexisme de la société des années 80 (malheureusement encore quelque peu présente aujourd'hui) qui la pousse à vouloir être un garçon, couplé à la vision de son héroïne préférée qui vivait dans une société encore plus sexiste.
Le féminisme de ce roman se veut tout en douceur et s'insinue entre les lignes de façon si subtile qu'on ne s'en rend compte que vers la fin. Tout comme le commentaire sur le classicisme. Présent, sans frapper le lecteur. Juste assez pour apprécier au tournure d'une phrase de gamine rendue poétique par la plume d'une auteure devenue adulte.
Je ne sais pas si je lirai d'autres livres de Marie-Renée Lavoie, mais je recommenderai assurément celui-ci.
August 31, 2023
La petite et le vieux ... chiné sur un marché , posé sur une étagère et oublié .. Il aura fallu un challenge, encore une fois, pour que je m'y plonge. Il aura fallu une L.C pour que je le termine.
Hélène ou plutôt Joe a toujours rêvé d'être un garçon. Quelle idée d'être née fille ... Bref elle fait avec et à 8 ans elle se la joue comme Oscar, son héroïne préférée. Pas de Marie-Antoinette à la protéger mais c'est tout comme. .. Famille oblige la maman C'est-toute , la chef de famille , le Papa qui se meut dans la vie jusqu'à l'heure de l'apéro, et ses 3 soeurs Jeanne l'aînée toujours à râler, et les amours de Margot et de Catherine... et puis il y a Roger , le vieux ronchon, le râleur invétéré toujours le juron à la bouche et la bouteille à la main.. mais voilà c'est Roger, son vieux rien qu'à elle ....
Voilà le décor est planté, Montréal, le quartier français, la petite misère , la faconde québécoise et la pinte de bière sur son balcon avec tous les voisins sur les leurs..
Un roman sur l'enfance, sur les rêves qui ne deviendront pas des réalités , ses illusions qui volent en éclat et sur la vie qui continue vaille que vaille .
Après un début fastidieux, la narration a trouvé son rythme et j'ai pris enfin plaisir à ma lecture.
Hélène ou plutôt Joe a toujours rêvé d'être un garçon. Quelle idée d'être née fille ... Bref elle fait avec et à 8 ans elle se la joue comme Oscar, son héroïne préférée. Pas de Marie-Antoinette à la protéger mais c'est tout comme. .. Famille oblige la maman C'est-toute , la chef de famille , le Papa qui se meut dans la vie jusqu'à l'heure de l'apéro, et ses 3 soeurs Jeanne l'aînée toujours à râler, et les amours de Margot et de Catherine... et puis il y a Roger , le vieux ronchon, le râleur invétéré toujours le juron à la bouche et la bouteille à la main.. mais voilà c'est Roger, son vieux rien qu'à elle ....
Voilà le décor est planté, Montréal, le quartier français, la petite misère , la faconde québécoise et la pinte de bière sur son balcon avec tous les voisins sur les leurs..
Un roman sur l'enfance, sur les rêves qui ne deviendront pas des réalités , ses illusions qui volent en éclat et sur la vie qui continue vaille que vaille .
Après un début fastidieux, la narration a trouvé son rythme et j'ai pris enfin plaisir à ma lecture.
January 16, 2022
3,8 stars, de mes souvenirs (if I remember correctly)
yes; I am bilingual, and had to read this for a french class about a year ago.
Although I don't remember that much about it, I remember how it made me feel; watching a young girl lose her innocence too early can't leave you emotionless.
I will leave a few quotes I used in my essay, in the hopes that, if you are interested in reading a french written story, you might consider it as a pretty accessible, non-classic, non-children french book :
"Alors je lui racontais des histoires pour lui faire croire encore un peu à sa jeunesse."
"Et rien ne changeait, ni les plis d'inquiétudes dans le visage de ma mère ni l'accablement de mon père. Je lançais des gouttes d'eau sur une immense terre asséchée."
"(...) la belle sert toujours devant et récolte de généreux pourboires; la laide reste derrière avec son salaire de misère et ne sort que pour vider les poubelles."
yes; I am bilingual, and had to read this for a french class about a year ago.
Although I don't remember that much about it, I remember how it made me feel; watching a young girl lose her innocence too early can't leave you emotionless.
I will leave a few quotes I used in my essay, in the hopes that, if you are interested in reading a french written story, you might consider it as a pretty accessible, non-classic, non-children french book :
"Alors je lui racontais des histoires pour lui faire croire encore un peu à sa jeunesse."
"Et rien ne changeait, ni les plis d'inquiétudes dans le visage de ma mère ni l'accablement de mon père. Je lançais des gouttes d'eau sur une immense terre asséchée."
"(...) la belle sert toujours devant et récolte de généreux pourboires; la laide reste derrière avec son salaire de misère et ne sort que pour vider les poubelles."
April 12, 2023
C'était une lecture agréable, toutefois oubliante, mais enchantante dans le moment. Ou on explore avec détails la vie quotidienne d'une jeune fille qui s'ouvre au monde adulte en essayant de prendre part des responsabilités parentales que ses parents négligent avec le temps. Elle tente tant bien que mal de combler ce manque d'affection et de présence parentale en cherchant guidance avec sa serie de bandes dessinées préférées et en offrant de l'affection maternelle à ses petites soeurs. Elle fait preuve d'une force mentale qui la rend dévouée dans ses projets, déterminée et perséverante.
Elle se propulse au-devant des jeunes de son âge et c'est sa grande expérience de la vie qui va la permettre de la sortir de ce coin perdu plus tard.
C'est une bonne lecture pour un jeune adolescent qui se peine à se découvrir et qui passe à travers ses épisodes de doutes et de désorientation tout seul.
Elle se propulse au-devant des jeunes de son âge et c'est sa grande expérience de la vie qui va la permettre de la sortir de ce coin perdu plus tard.
C'est une bonne lecture pour un jeune adolescent qui se peine à se découvrir et qui passe à travers ses épisodes de doutes et de désorientation tout seul.
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