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Adieu,
Betty Crocker
by François Gravel
Translated by Sheila Fischman
Novel
ISBN: 1-896951-60-0
5.125" x 7.625"
Hardcover
$22.95
165 pages
BISAC Codes
FIC019000
Fiction/Literary
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Adieu,
Betty Crocker
by François Gravel
Translated by Sheila Fischman
Adieu, Betty Crocker continues
the very well received Fillion Family Saga, which began with A
Good Life and was followed by The
Extraordinary Garden. In this, the third volume, Benoît
investigates the life of his mother's sister, Arlette, who was a
domestic presence in the extended family, but who remained a mystery
to her nephew.
Arlette's story appears simple at the first: she was a traditional
stay-at-home mother in the 1960s and 1970s, with a home in the suburbs
of Montreal, two children, and a husband who drove buses. She was
always prepared for visitors, with Rice Krispies Squares or cookies
on her ultra-spotless table.
When her husband died in a freak accident, she was left financially
well off; she should have been comfortable. But something was wrong
— something on which Benoît is not able to put his finger.
Through beautiful prose and a glorious translation, the reader discovers
the story of Arlette in the voices of her nephew, her son, her daughter,
and, finally, herself. A tragedy, the story of Arlette is also a
story of grace, courage under pressure.
Praise for The Extraordinary
Garden
"... a clean, taut novel that slices through emotion,,,"
—Quill & Quire
"... a collaboration of two geniuses.The result is a haunting
and impossible to forget novel and a stunning testimony to the translator's
art."
— The Edmonton Journal
About François
Gravel.
About Sheila Fischman. |
