''An American Story'' (french: Une histoire américaine) is a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

published in 1986 by

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer

Jacques Godbout Jacques Godbout, OC, CQ (born November 27, 1933) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, children's writer, journalist, filmmaker and poet. By his own admission a bit of a dabbler (''touche-à-tout''), Godbout has become one of the most important wri ...

. Its English translation, by Yves Saint-Pierre, was published in 1988.

Plot summary

Grégory Francœur, a brilliant professor from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, leaves his family and political career behind to become the assistant to a distinguished academic in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. Because of a misunderstanding, typical of the ambiguity that has been Francœur's lot in life, he becomes involved in a dangerous case of illegal immigration.

Impact

''Une histoire américaine'' was one of the novels chosen for inclusion in the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

version of ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Frenc ...

'', broadcast on

Première Chaîne A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

in 2004, where it was championed by trade unionist

Gérald Larose Gérald Larose (born October 24, 1945) is a Quebec activist, professor, and former President of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux labour union. He is currently head of the Conseil de la Souveraineté du Québec, Pierre, Samuel, ''Ces Qu� ...

."Radio Canada chooses winner in battle of the books". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', April 4, 2004.

References

1986 Canadian novels Canadian French-language novels Novels set in San Francisco {{Canada-novel-stub