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Reading Place: Bodies and Spaces in Québécois Adolescent Literature

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Abstract

This paper examines two Canadian (Québécois) novels for young adults, translated from French to English in Canada: The Road to Chlifa by Michèle Marineau, and Pieces of Me by Charlotte Gingras. We examine the representation of adolescent bodies in space and movement, and how these coming of age narratives play out in relation to discourses about nationality and citizenship. This paper suggests that there are subtle differences in sensibilities in works published in French by Québécois writers and publishers, and that there is evidence of a lingering solitude in relation to young adult literature in Canada. We argue that we need to understand and continue to explicate the complex set of cultural readings and re-readings engendered by these and other coming of age novels that cross real and imagined boundaries of federation and language; that is, we encourage educators to examine representations of adolescent protagonists in relation to the production and reception of literary works that travel within and across our borders.

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Notes

  1. See also Rogers et al., for a similar analysis of these concepts across several recently published young adult novels.

  2. Since 2000, Ouriou has translated five of the eight Québécois novels for young adults that appeared in translation in English in Canada. No children’s book has ever won the Governor General’s Literary Award for French-to-English (Whitfield, 2003). With Pieces of me, Ouriou accomplished this feat in 2009.

  3. Since 2004, at least three other novels for adolescents that have been translated, from French to English: Carmen by Carole Fréchette, in 2005; This Side of the Sky by Marie-Francine Hébert, in 2006; and Pieces of Me, by Charlotte Gingras (2009). Susan Ouriou translated these novels: Carmen and This Side of the Sky for Red Deer Press, and Pieces of Me for Kids Can Press.

  4. Marineau’s novel was published in English before Weblogs became popular; therefore, we could not find any substantive comments from young readers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Language & Literacy Education, University of British Columbia, 2125 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z2, Canada

    Geneviève Brisson & Theresa Rogers

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  1. Geneviève Brisson
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  2. Theresa Rogers
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Correspondence to Geneviève Brisson.

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Theresa Rogers is a Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia, Canada, where she teaches courses in literature teaching, content literacies, and young adult literature. Her work reflects a sociocultural view of literacy practices, and she has written books and articles on literary theory and young adult literature, teaching multiple literacies among youth/adolescents, and critical approaches to teaching literature. Her work has appeared in English Journal, English Education, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Theory into Practice, The Reading Teacher, and Journal of Literacy Research.

Geneviève Brisson is a doctoral student in Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Her research interests include children’s and young adult literature, literacy practices of Francophones in minority settings, identities and discourse, multiple literacies, and children’s in- and out-of-school literacy practices.

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Brisson, G., Rogers, T. Reading Place: Bodies and Spaces in Québécois Adolescent Literature. Child Lit Educ 44, 140–155 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-012-9180-5

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