Réjean Ducharme
Encyclopedia
Réjean Ducharme is a Quebec
novelist and playwright
who currently resides in Montreal
. He is extremely reclusive and has not appeared at any public functions since his first successful book was published in 1966. A common theme of his early work is the rejection of the adult world by children.
Ducharme's L'avalée des avalés (The Swallower Swallowed) was chosen for inclusion in the French
version of Canada Reads
, broadcast on Radio-Canada
in 2005, where it was defended by actor
, Sophie Cadieux
. L'avalée des avalés eventually won the contest. It is also worth mentioning that this book, the first published by the author, was a candidate for the Prix Goncourt
even though the author was at the time very young and unknown.
In the movie Léolo
the main character spends much of his time reading and thinking about L'avalée des avalés.
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
novelist and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
who currently resides in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. He is extremely reclusive and has not appeared at any public functions since his first successful book was published in 1966. A common theme of his early work is the rejection of the adult world by children.
Ducharme's L'avalée des avalés (The Swallower Swallowed) was chosen for inclusion in the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
version of Canada Reads
Canada Reads
Canada Reads is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC.-Overview:During Canada Reads, five personalities champion five different books, each champion extolling the merits of one of the titles. The debate is broadcast over a series...
, broadcast on Radio-Canada
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
in 2005, where it was defended by actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, Sophie Cadieux
Sophie Cadieux
Sophie Cadieux is a Quebec actress. She studied theater at the Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Montréal from 1998 to 2001...
. L'avalée des avalés eventually won the contest. It is also worth mentioning that this book, the first published by the author, was a candidate for the Prix Goncourt
Prix Goncourt
The Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year"...
even though the author was at the time very young and unknown.
In the movie Léolo
Léolo
Léolo is a 1992 film by Quebecois director Jean-Claude Lauzon.The film tells the story of Léo Lauzon , a young boy living in a Montreal tenement with his dysfunctional family. He uses his active fantasy life and the book L'avalée des avalés by Québécois novelist Réjean Ducharme to escape the...
the main character spends much of his time reading and thinking about L'avalée des avalés.