With his immense talent as a storyteller and his gift for bringing colorful and loud-mouthed characters to life, the great Quebec writer Yves Beauchemin is back with a fantastic story this fall. A stormy night. In the universe he created, an emergency doctor receives Philippe, a young 19-year-old patient who has just fallen on an icy sidewalk. Little did he know that this meeting would change many things in her life.
At the hospital, Dr. Romain Bellerose has a funny impression: Philippe looks very similar to his brother, who died a few years ago. Little by little, everyone who is near or far in the two men’s entourage seems to strangely strengthen the bond that binds them together.
Photo provided by Éditions QuébecAmérique
A skilled writer with a subtle sense of humor, Yves Beauchemin is unsurpassed when it comes to describing people and the sometimes realistic, sometimes unbelievable situations in which they must cope. His dialogues are wonderful.
Yves Beauchemin explains in an interview that the novel was born in winter.
“I had decided to write a novel. But I’m not as young as I used to be… so I didn’t know if I would make it to the end. I got a little lazy,” he says.
To motivate himself, he came up with the idea of getting a scholarship… and the city of Longueuil offered one.
“I entered a South Shore writing contest and won. I said to myself: “I have to write the novel!” I no longer have a choice!” I worked very hard. I made about ten versions.
“You also have to say that at 82 we no longer have the energy that we had at 40. It is obvious. But I made it to the end. So we put the ship in the water… and hope the storms don’t get too bad! »
A striking image
The first image that came to mind was that of a young man falling onto the sidewalk in the middle of winter and becoming unconscious. “I felt like it was important. I noted it. It’s not a big event… but he ends up in the hospital and that’s where it all started. He meets an emergency doctor and something happens between them. The whole novel is in there. Philippe reminds him of his older brother, who died when he was 15. »
“A Stormy Night” is a novel that speaks of encounters: those that can be on the order of synchronicities, those that change the course of lives, those that bring with them change and profound development. Good encounters… and others that are less so.
“Philippe comes from Joliette and ends up in Longueuil… and we meet the character of Pablo Michaud, a kind of small-time criminal, and his somewhat worrying connections. A series of events emerge from this meeting. Sometimes pretty tough events. »
Open heart surgery
As the story progresses, the doctor is confronted with something that Yves Beauchemin experienced.
“A few years ago I had open heart surgery. You know, we borrow from all sorts of places to write a novel. Sometimes we borrow from our own lives, from ourselves. I didn’t need to research open heart surgery: I had already done it despite myself. It helped me. »
All the action takes place in Longueuil.
“I chose Vieux-Longueuil, where I have lived for 40 years, because it made my research easier! I know him like the back of my hand. »
With these elements, which he attributes to “laziness” (“no medical research, no location research”), he set off.
“But you still have to work for the rest! »
EXTRACT
“ He moved quickly across the sidewalk, becoming increasingly cold as his foot slipped on a patch of ice. He lost his balance, fell backwards and hit his head hard on the concrete. He lay full length, his backpack thrown on the side of the road, and remained motionless, his mind confused. Violent convulsions twisted the back of his head as he opened and closed his mouth, panting.
Now he felt much less cold. Time seemed to stand still.
Suddenly a woman leaned over him:
– Have you been injured, sir? »