The Grand Melee

The fifth novel in the Desrosiers Diaspora series from Quebecois national treasure Michel Tremblay. It's May 1922, and preparations are in full swing for the marriage of Nana and Gabriel, which will take place the following month. There's just one problem: Nana's wedding dress has yet to be bought. Nana's mercurial mother, Maria, torn between her desire to measure up as a mother and the inescapable constraints of poverty, wonders how to pay for the wedding. And she's not the only one battling demons - the thought of the upcoming reunion unsettles every member of the large and dispersed Desrosiers family. While the wedding invitations announce a celebration, they also stir up old memories, past desires, and big regrets.The Grand Melee extends Michel Tremblay's beloved familial and historical saga, and bridges the Desrosiers Diaspora series and the now-classic Chronicles of the Plateau Mont-Royal. This book includes a newly translated introduction by Michel Tremblay specialist and Editions Lemeac publisher Pierre Filion.

"Michel Tremblay's earthy yet tender perspective as he outlines characters who are vital, engaging, and imperfect … conjures up a vivid specificity of time and place … depictions of deep tenderness, and ultimately … great art." —Danielle Barkley, Montreal Review of Books

Sheila Fischman is the award-winning translator of some two hundred works of contemporary fiction from Quebec. Along with Larry Tremblay, her authors include Hubert Aquin, Anne Hebert, Gaetan Soucy, Marie-Claire Blais, Francois Gravel, and Christine Eddie, among others. She has been a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for French to English Translation fifteen times, and has twice won it for translations of Michel Tremblay's work; she has also received the Molson Prize in the Arts. A Member of the Order of Canada and a chevaliere of the Ordre national du Quebec, she lives in Montreal.

The fifth novel in the Desrosiers Diaspora series from Quebecois national treasure Michel Tremblay.It's May 1922, and preparations are in full swing for the marriage of Nana and Gabriel, which will take place the following month. There's just one problem: Nana's wedding dress has yet to be bought. Nana's mercurial mother, Maria, torn between her desire to measure up as a mother and the inescapable constraints of poverty, wonders how to pay for the wedding. And she's not the only one battling demons - the thought of the upcoming reunion unsettles every member of the large and dispersed Desrosiers family. While the wedding invitations announce a celebration, they also stir up old memories, past desires, and big regrets.The Grand Melee extends Michel Tremblay's beloved familial and historical saga, and bridges the Desrosiers Diaspora series and the now-classic Chronicles of the Plateau Mont-Royal. This book includes a newly translated introduction by Michel Tremblay specialist and Editions Lemeac publisher Pierre Filion.

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