Regular readers of Yves Beauchemin have to wait seven years before they can get their hands on a new work by the author. However, the latter has not been idle since the publication of his last book, Les empocheurs (2016), in which he focused on corruption.
While he took the time at the beginning of his career to lay out the basic outlines of his works in the form of a plan, the novelist preferred to let the characters of “A Stormy Night” emerge within themselves. So that his story builds and grows naturally.
“At some point I got tired [des plans] because I was worried that my character creation would become a bit mechanical. […] For “A Stormy Night,” the first image that came to mind was a man lying unconscious on the sidewalk in winter,” explains Yves Beauchemin in an interview with Le Soleil.
What was initially a simple vision for Yves Beauchemin was transformed into a novel in which two fates intertwine. That of Philippe, a young man who stupidly fell on an icy sidewalk, and that of Romain Bellerose, the emergency doctor who will take care of Philippe in the hospital.
“It’s a meeting between the 19-year-old and Doctor Bellerose, who is in his late fifties, losing his hair and overweight, is an excellent doctor but is starting to feel the burden of time.” […] Philippe’s project will set everything on fire. It is the shock of generations,” says the author from Rouyn-Noranda.
In the 304 pages of the book we discover a gallery of colorful characters around our two protagonists, who do not belong to the same world, such as Léa and Virginie, the doctor’s daughter and ex-wife, but also Wilbrod, his craftsman. Everyone camped in the heart of Vieux-Longueuil.
“It’s a story about age or laziness!” [rires] I have lived in Vieux-Longueuil for 42 years. So I didn’t have to do any research. […] Not like one of my novels, which takes place in Fermont in the north…
“I had never been there at the time, so I had to fly there and really explore the area and talk to a lot of people. “It was easier there, in Vieux-Longueuil,” explains the man who produced almost twenty works, including Le Matou (1981) and Juliette Pomerleau (1989).
A keen eye
In “A Stormy Night,” Yves Beauchemin draws loved ones who have just been born and others who are many years old. But also several phases of life that we go through in our twenties or even in our fifties. Between the boldness of youth and the wisdom of someone who has lived life.
The author here marks a strong return to the style that won him the love of the audience: by being interested in a fairly normal life; by transforming everyday elements into a romantic and exciting story.
His secret? The authors he read and loved.
“We learn to write by reading. I liked many Russian authors like Gogol, Chekhov, Tolstoy. These are authors that I started reading in middle school without having any writing plans. There was also Molière, Steinbeck. […] Charles Dickens also influenced me a lot. “Oliver Twist is one of the books that made me,” says Yves Beauchemin with passion.
If the author’s works manage to fascinate and resonate with the society in which his readers live, it is partly because he enjoys observing the people around him. Like many artists, Yves Beauchemin knew early on how to refine his pen to meet the pulse of his society.
The author also believes that his view of Quebec, both “critical” and “loving,” has not changed. And this has been the case since the beginning of his career.
“What has changed, however, is that I no longer have the memory that I had! “A doctor told me that our memory begins to decline after the age of 40… It’s been that way for me for 42 years,” jokes the man on the other end of the line.
Far from forgetting the two referendums, the defeat of the Yes vote and Quebec’s provincial status, Mr. Beauchemin nevertheless follows Quebec politics diligently.
Another topic concerns him these days: the environment and the quality of life that young generations will have in the future, including that of his granddaughter, to whom he dedicates “A Stormy Night”.
“We saw the summer we just had… We have increasingly clear signs of environmental problems. […] I have a granddaughter who is one year old. I’m trying to imagine the life she will lead at age 20, when the summers are 45°C and the water has risen…
” […] For at least 20 years, scientists have been warning us that we are heading straight for a concrete wall. We know it, but it’s as if we don’t know it,” remarks the worried writer after watching Clova, the village where he grew up, go up in smoke a few weeks ago.
The specter of retirement
In an interview with Le Soleil in 2021, to mark his 80th birthday and 50-year career, Yves Beauchemin suggested that A Stormy Night would be his last book. But, is this really the truth?
“Whether you are healthy or not, at 82 you are not in good shape every day. The energy is not the same. […] At my age, I wouldn’t commit to a cycle of ten novels. I would be afraid that they would remain unfinished,” the author answers quickly and matter-of-factly.
However, unlike many people who like to dream of a peaceful retirement under the sun, the author faces this phase with uncertainty. Especially after devoting more than half of his life to his job.
“I’m not retired yet! I have a little text that I’ve been thinking about for years,” suggests the man who is a member of the Académie des lettres du Québec and an officer of the National Order of Quebec.
One thing is certain: Yves Beauchemin is always driven by the desire to write stories and also cooks up some ideas. Shorter projects, certainly, but ones that would respect his energy and skills. Because if Mr. Beauchemin says he is still in good health, writing remains a strenuous activity for his body and mind.
“It’s hard to describe… The energy it takes to write is a bit mysterious. Because writing is physical, but also mental.
” […] I think we shouldn’t go further than our biology tells us,” the author concludes.
“A Stormy Night” is available in bookstores.
:quality(95)/ cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/lescoopsdelinformation/XQFU4GKA6JCEJOYINHMHUZILEE.png "Yves Beauchemin has not yet written his last word – Le Soleil 4")