Novel
Swallowed
- Publisher
- Véhicule Press, “Esplanade Books” series
- Published
- September 1, 2020
- Pages
- 260
- Price
- $22.95
- ISBN
- 9781550655537
- Language
- English
On the publisher’s site (opens in a new tab) In bookstores (opens in a new tab)
The team behind the book
- Translation
- Madeleine Stratford
A New Translation of Réjean Ducharme’s Debut Novel That Rocked a Generation
In 1966, Réjean Ducharme, then a 24-year-old unknown, published L’Avalée des avalés, the debut novel that would go on to serve as a zeitgeist for several generations of French-Canadian readers.
Over the last fifty years, it has become a cornerstone for a culture, taught in high schools and universities as the foundation of modern Québécois literature. Astoundingly, an English-language edition of the book hasn’t been in print since 1968, and has never before been available in Canada.
Reviews
“[T]he result [of reading the new translation] is wild. Page-long paragraphs see Berenice contemplate world domination, analyze her own skeleton, and rave about sex. She mashes up mythologies, going from philosophical to crude in staccato outbursts. Many passages present a kind of phenomenology of rage at her subordination by her parents, the surrounding society, and even language itself. In response, she takes words and reshapes them, flinging insults and inventing narratives as a form of armour to protect her individuality.” — Amanda Perry, Literary Review of Canada
“More than just a marquee translation of 2021, Stratford’s contemporary interpretation of this 1966 Québécois masterpiece (yes, masterpiece is the word for it) should create a crater of literary significance that spans at least a decade in either direction, a five-alarm barnburner of a book whose inferno is likely observable from space.” – Justin Walls, Du Mois Monthly
Description from the publisher Véhicule Press, seen in October 2026 · Source ↗
Also by Réjean Ducharme
-
À quelle heure on meurt? Martin Faucher, Réjean Ducharme
-
Le Lactume Réjean Ducharme
From Véhicule Press
-
We Drove All Day for This Bruce Taylor
-
Qaf’s People Sadiqa de Meijer
-
My Summer Vacation Zeenat Nagree
-
Cannibal Rats Richard Greene
-
Morgan’s Castle Jan Hilliard
-
How to Move On Joel Yanofsky
-
Private Number David Homel
-
Fan Mail Jason Guriel
-
The Inferno Dante Alighieri
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Quietly, Loving Everyone Curtis John McRae
