A Nouveau Roman de la route: Marc Séguin's La foi du braconnier and the Challenge of Rewriting. Issue 1 (April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Robert, Julie
• Is Part Of: Australian journal of French studies. Volume 54:Issue 1(2017)
• Page Start: 96
• Page End: 109
• Publication Date: 2017-04
• Subjects: French literature -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; Frans; Filologie; Littérature française -- Histoire et critique -- Périodiques; French literature; Criticism, interpretation, etc; Periodicals; 840.9
• DOI: 10.3828/AJFS.2017.08
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0004-9468

Abstract

Abstract : Québécois novelist Marc Séguin's La foi du braconnier (2009) is a road novel, an iconic American genre centred on the youthful quest for purpose and permissible rebellion against societal norms, reminiscent of Franco-American Jack Kerouac's On the Road . Far from being just another imitator of this genre-defining novel, Séguin's tale of a Québécois-Mohawk poacher who decides to drive a route that spells out FUCK YOU on the North American continent also draws on elements of the Nouveau Roman to posit a fraught relationship between the acts of writing and driving that are central to the road genre. The novel's fragmented narration in particular suggests that the self-expression and personal freedom sought on the road are illusory goals.