Bonbons Assortis / Assorted Candies
Report an issue
Tell us what's wrong and we'll take a look.
Thanks – we got it. We'll review and follow up if needed.
Bonbons Assortis / Assorted Candies is Michel Tremblay's fourth (and he says last) book of autobiographical narratives inspired by his childhood and youth. Like the previous three volumes, which celebrate the books, plays and films that shaped his imagination and writing life, this collection of eight delightful stories takes us back to Tremblay's formative years in Montreal's Plateau Mont-Royal, offering the reader poignant and joyful childhood memories as varied as the assorted candies his mother hoarded under her bed, to be shared only on the most festive or dramatic of family occasions.
Here we get to see the world through the eyes of young Michel, who is often discovered observing the other nine members of the bustling household on Fabre Street from his hiding place under the dining-room table. His mother, Nana (immortalized in the play For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again), dominates these memories; but the tender, cherished moments shared with his father, along with his prickly paternal grandmother and irascible aunt (who inspired his unforgettable character Albertine), also profoundly shape this child's view of the world. Neighbours, from whom the family haplessly tries to hide their poverty with dignity, brothers and an uncle (who, telephoning from the local tavern, claims to be Santa calling from the North Pole), complete the rich and colourful cast of characters in this exquisite remembrance of childhood past.
Michel Tremblay
A major figure in Québec literature, Michel Tremblay has built an impressive body of work as a playwright, novelist, translator, and screenwriter. To date Tremblay's complete works include thirty plays, thirty-one novels, eight collections of autobiographical stories, a collection of tales, seven screenplays, forty-seven trans¬lations and adaptations of works by foreign writers, ten plays and fifteen stories printed in diverse publications, an opera libretto, a song cycle, a Symphonic Christmas Tale, and two musicals. His plays have been published and translated into forty-three languages and have garnered critical acclaim in Canada, the United States, and more than fifty countries around the world.
More by Michel Tremblay
Linda Gaboriau
Translated by
Linda Gaboriau is an award-winning literary translator based in Montréal. Her translations of plays by Québec's most prominent playwrights have been published and produced across Canada and abroad. In her work as a literary manager and dramaturge, she has directed numerous translation residencies and international exchange projects. She is the founding -director of the Banff International Literary Translation Centre. Gaboriau has won the Governor General's Award for Translation three times: in 1996 for Daniel Danis's Stone and Ashes, in 2010 for Wajdi Mouawad's Forests, and in 2019 for Wajdi Mouawad's Birds of a Kind. She is a member of the Order of Canada and an Officer of the Ordre national du Québec.
Why Readwise Books?
Readwise Books is an ebook & audiobook platform that automatically logs how much you and your friends read, making it fun and easy to read more. Learn more →