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Posted: Monday January 23, 2012

Jean-François Beauchemin

Jean-François Beauchemin has been called “one of the best-kept secrets” of Quebecois literature. He is the recipient of the 2005 Prix France-Québec / Jean Hamelin for Le jour des corneilles and the 2007 Prix des libraires for La fabrication de l’aube. Most recently, Beauchemin wrote a trilogy of semi-autobiographical books exploring “the tragic beauty of the world,” which, like Turkana Boy, explore grief, wonder and the nature of the soul. Le Jour des Corneilles is presently being adapted as an animated film. He lives in Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs, Quebec, and writes works of fiction, autobiography and poetry—none of which has previously been translated.

Photo courtesy of Martine Doyon

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QUOTES OF NOTE

Turkana Boy

“Reading Jean-François Beauchemin is an experience in itself. It’s like an exercise in meditation; like pausing in front of a particular image, in a suspended moment. It is him in the image—as he projects himself—but it is ourselves that we see, or rather those aspects of our own lives which have escaped us.”
—Le Devoir

“[Jean-François Beauchemin] is an author known for his writings about life, full of deep and heartfelt reflection. He opens the door wide to allow us into the core of his being. He is the kind of person you meet and with whom, after the first sentence, and without quite knowing why, you are talking earnestly about the meaning of life.”
—Le Passe Mot

“An excellent novel and an extremely beautiful reflection that will move the reader deeply.”
—Radio-Canada

“Grace of writing, depth of feeling and a plea for the beauty of things: Jean-François Beauchemin continues to set himself apart as a remarkable novelist.”
—ELLE Quebec

“The universe of Jean-François Beauchemin’s novels is haunted by the ghost of childhood—its naiveté and purity as much as its cruelty and wildness.”
—Voir

“Beauchemin’s writing falls on us like a mist, like sorrow, slowly, in the soft nightfall of things.”
—Radio Basse-Ville

Turkana Boy
Jean-François Beauchemin
Translated by Jessica Moore
Fiction

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts; the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF); and the Province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council for our publishing activities.