“Writing is not life, it is survival,” Blaise Cendrars once said. This desire to move forward, to get back in the saddle, to defy the hourglass that is inexorably emptying, prompted Yves Beauchemin, now 82, to publish his ninth novel.
Published at 1:01 am. Updated at 8:15 a.m.
Almost 50 years after L’enfirouapé, a novel that launched him into the limited galaxy of successful authors, Yves Beauchemin launches A Night of Storm, a story centered on the unlikely encounter of a young man, Philippe, who leaves his hometown of Joliette . to settle in Vieux-Longueuil, a place that the author knows well, having lived there since 1976.
This boy, blessed with “vivid eyes” and a “mouth that would make girls want to kiss him,” finds himself in the hospital after a bad fall on an icy sidewalk. When he sees him, emergency doctor Romain Bellerose is petrified: This Philippe looks in every way like the brother he lost as a teenager.
“It all started with a picture: in the winter on Rue Saint-Charles in Longueuil, I saw a young man who slipped and injured himself quite badly. He goes to the emergency room, which brings the other character. “After that you just have to write the novel,” Yves Beauchemin simply confided to me in a very warm conversation.
Someone who has sold books by the thousands is not the type to spend hours analyzing their approach. He has the quality that has always set him apart: the ability to create strong characters that he integrates into a gripping story.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Yves Beauchemin
I made precise plans for my first novels. I’m tired of this because there is a danger of mechanical writing. I wrote my last books like jumping into the sea to swim. It creates more tension.
Yves Beauchemin
As is often the case with Yves Beauchemin, this story is also characterized by human kindness. I mentioned this to the author, who seemed surprised by my observation. “They make me realize that in my stories there is actually a desire to help others… That’s the case with The Coffee Merchant and Juliette Pomerleau. »
This new novel by Beauchemin, some of whose works have been adapted for cinema or television, seems like a real screenplay. We move a little from one scene to the next, as if we were watching a series. Furthermore, it is surprising that this outstanding storyteller has never been entrusted with screenwriting projects.
“People from Radio-Canada once invited me to dinner at Matou. They wanted me to write a television novel. Through my experience at Télé-Québec, I could see that there was always someone at the side of the authors. For me, writing is work that I do alone. I declined this offer. »
When Yves Beauchemin began writing a novel, he rented an office where he went every morning at 9 a.m. He didn’t do it for this project and he regrets it. However, he was able to enjoy the peace and quiet of his chalet. “My method is this: I re-read what I did the day before, correct it and then get back into the story. I’m getting along with three pages a day. If I do four and a half pages, I’m very happy. »
If we summarize after 18 works the various volumes of his works, his children’s novels and his other books, Yves Beauchemin never tried to be different from what he always was. And the enormous success he has had is not a burden. “I think Le Matou and Juliette Pomerleau were exceptional options. My other novels were very successful. If they had repeated that about the cat, I would have been unhappy because it would have become an obsession for me. »
The writing of A Stormy Night, which spanned two years, was possible thanks to a grant from the Conseil des Arts de Longueuil. When Yves Beauchemin told me this, both of my arms fell off. How can an author who has sold a million copies of Le Matou, a novel translated into 17 languages, need financial support?
“Contrary to what you may believe, I am not a millionaire. Let’s say publishers make a lot more money than authors,” he notes.
Tell yourself that if a book is published in South America, it is very difficult to regain copyright. For lawyers, these steps are more expensive than the rights themselves.
Yves Beauchemin
However, distributing his books in France was more lucrative. “That means if you look at France Loisirs, it makes about 50 cents a book. There aren’t many writers who are rich in Quebec. I am lucky to be able to make a living from writing, it is an extraordinary privilege. I would have a hard time complaining about my life. »
Yves Beauchemin states that he applied for this scholarship to “kick himself in the butt”. “When you have a commitment, you have to respect it. »
It is said that this novel “could be” the author’s last. Before I left him, I asked him what would determine whether this would be the case or not. “What would help a lot is if I didn’t die. After a certain age, the thought of death becomes part of our daily lives. I think that’s why I wrote “A Stormy Night.” If you notice, this idea is not present in the book. These are characters who are alive and who live fully. »
In bookstores from September 26th
A stormy night
Quebec, America
304 pages