Gaétan Soucy (21 October 1958 – 9 July 2013) was a Canadian novelist and professor.

Life

Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec, Soucy studied

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

, completed a master's degree in philosophy, and studied Japanese language and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. Soucy has written four novels. His first two, ''L'Immaculée conception'' (translated as ''

The Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth wh ...

'' by

Lazer Lederhendler Lazer Lederhendler is a Canadian literary translator and academic."A literary translator's colourful, unlikely tale". ''Montreal Gazette'', December 17, 2016. A four-time nominee for the Governor General's Award for French to English translation, ...

) and ''L'Acquittement'' (translated as ''Atonement'' by

Sheila Fischman Sheila Leah Fischman (born 1 December 1937) is a Canadian translator who specializes in the translation of works of contemporary Quebec literature from French to English. Born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, she was brought up in Ontario. She hold ...

) are extraordinary, dark and baroque works. His third novel, '' La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes'' (translated as ''The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches'' by Fischman) caused a sensation in Quebec and was immediately translated into more than ten languages. His fourth novel, ''Music-Hall!'', was published in 2002, and translated as ''Vaudeville!'' by Fischman. ''La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes'' was chosen for inclusion in the French 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

Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

in 2004, where it was defended by actor, film director, screenwriter, and musician

Micheline Lanctôt Micheline Lanctôt (born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian actress, film director, screenwriter, and musician. Biography Lanctôt was born in Frelighsburg, Quebec. Her post-secondary education was in music, fine arts, and theatre at École de musique ...

. He died on 9 July 2013 in Montreal of a heart attack.

Awards and recognition

*Nominated for the Prix Renaudot, for ''La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes'' *

Prix Ringuet The Prix Ringuet is a Canadian literary award, presented each year by the Académie des lettres du Québec to an author from Quebec for a book of French-language fiction. First presented in 1983 as the Prix Molson, the award was later renamed for ...

from the

Académie des lettres du Québec The Académie des lettres du Québec is a national academy for Quebec writers. It was founded as the Académie canadienne-française in 1944 by Victor Barbeau and a group of writers. In 1992 it changed its name to the Académie des lettres du Qué ...

, for ''La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes'' *Prix du grand public La Presse/Salon du livre de Montréal, for ''La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes'' *''

'', shortlisted for the 2006

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried competition be ...

Bibliography

*''L'Immaculée conception'' (1994) (translated as ''

''; published in France as ''8 décembre'') *''L'Acquittement'' (1997) (translated as ''Atonement'') *'' La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes'' (1998) (translated as ''The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches'') * ''Music-Hall!'', (2002) (translated as ''Vaudeville!'')

References

External links

Soucy, Gaétan
at ''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

''
Critical bibliography database (Auteurs.contemporain.info)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soucy, Gaetan 1958 births 2013 deaths Canadian male novelists Writers from Montreal Université de Montréal alumni McGill University alumni Canadian novelists in French 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian male writers French Quebecers