I've lived in Montreal, Québec most of my life, but somehow I managed to read my very first Michel Tremblay this month (even though most kids read this author in high school), this was Ç'ta ton tour, Laura Cadieux. I really loved this novella about a woman from Montreal in the late 60s who has been spending the last decade or more looking forward to her biweekly sessions in her gynaecologist's waiting room where she's been going for weekly injections to help her shed weight. Most of the novel describes the conversations and dynamics of the women who regularly meet in this waiting room, the French Canadian 'regulars' being at war with some newcomers (such as nuns and Greek immigrants), and this a fascinating exploration of a woman's word, at which Tremblay is apparently a specialist. Written in 'joual', which is a local dialect spoken mostly by the uneducated 'masses' was a bit trying at first, but I soon was able to tap into the tone of the thing, since it's the language often heard in the street, and had a thought for translators around the world, who must have done an amazing job at translating Temblay's work into other languages, for the universal appeal of his stories and characters to shine through. Looking forward to reading his famous play Les Belles Soeurs next. ( )

Monologue humoristique d'une femme trop grosse qui prend des piqûres minceur; à travers elle on rencontre toute une panoplie de personnages cocasses; un coup de maître ( )