Gaétan Soucy
Encyclopedia
Gaétan Soucy is a Canadian
novel
ist and professor
.
Born in Montreal
, Quebec
, Soucy studied physics
at Université de Montréal
, completed a Master's degree in philosophy
, and studied Japanese language
and literature
at McGill University
.
Soucy has written four novels. His two first, L'Immaculée conception (translated as The Immaculate Conception
by Lazer Lederhendler
) and L'Acquittement (translated as Atonement by Sheila Fischman
) are extraordinary, dark and baroque works. His third novel, La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes (translated as The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches by Fischman) caused a sensation in Quebec and was immediately translated into more than ten languages. His fourth novel, Music-Hall!, was published in 2002, and translated as Vaudeville! by Fischman.
La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes was chosen for inclusion in the French
version of Canada Reads
, broadcast on Radio-Canada
in 2004, where it was defended by actor
, film director
, screenwriter
, and musician
Micheline Lanctôt
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist and professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
.
Born in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Soucy studied physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
at Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
, completed a Master's degree in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, and studied Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
and literature
Japanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
.
Soucy has written four novels. His two first, L'Immaculée conception (translated as The Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the English translation by Lazer Lederhendler of Gaétan Soucy's French novel, L'Immaculée conception, first published in 1994....
by Lazer Lederhendler
Lazer Lederhendler
Lazer Lederhendler is a Canadian literary translator and academic. A four-time nominee for the Governor General's Award for French to English translation, he won the award in 2008 for his translation of Nicolas Dickner's novel Nikolski...
) and L'Acquittement (translated as Atonement by Sheila Fischman
Sheila Fischman
Sheila Leah Fischman, CM is a Canadian translator who specializes in the translation of works of contemporary Quebec literature....
) are extraordinary, dark and baroque works. His third novel, La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes (translated as The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches by Fischman) caused a sensation in Quebec and was immediately translated into more than ten languages. His fourth novel, Music-Hall!, was published in 2002, and translated as Vaudeville! by Fischman.
La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes was chosen for inclusion in the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
version of Canada Reads
Canada Reads
Canada Reads is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC.-Overview:During Canada Reads, five personalities champion five different books, each champion extolling the merits of one of the titles. The debate is broadcast over a series...
, broadcast on Radio-Canada
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
in 2004, where it was defended by actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
Micheline Lanctôt
Micheline Lanctôt
Micheline Lanctôt is an actress, film director, screenwriter, and musician.-Biography:Lanctôt's post-secondary education was in music, fine arts and theatre at Collège Jésus-Marie in Outremont, and in art history before switching to film animation, which she...
.
Awards and recognition
- Nominated for the Prix Renaudot, for La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes
- Prix Ringuet de l'Académie des lettres du Québec, for La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes
- Prix du grand public La Presse/Salon du livre de Montréal, for La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes
- The Immaculate ConceptionThe Immaculate ConceptionThe Immaculate Conception is the English translation by Lazer Lederhendler of Gaétan Soucy's French novel, L'Immaculée conception, first published in 1994....
, shortlisted for the 2006 Scotiabank Giller PrizeScotiabank Giller PrizeThe Scotiabank Giller Prize, or Giller Prize, is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English the previous year, after an annual juried competition between publishers who submit entries...
External links
- Soucy, Gaétan at The Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian Encyclopedia is a source of information on Canada. It is available online, at no cost. The Canadian Encyclopedia is available in both English and French and includes some 14,000 articles in each language on a wide variety of subjects including history, popular culture, events, people,...
- Critical bibliography database (Auteurs.contemporain.info)