Short story collection Rivières-aux-Cartouches, defended by Gabriel Robichaud, wins Combat national des livres
Rivières-aux-Cartouches by Sébastien Bérubé, defended by actor, poet, playwright and singer Gabriel Robichaud, has won Combat national des livres 2023 after the four-day debate on ICI Radio-Canada Première.
Published in January 2023, Rivières-aux-Cartouches: Histoires à se coucher de bonne heure is a linked short story collection that features interconnected characters that all live in a fictional village of Madawigouche and spanning over many years.
Robichaud said in a statement that the book is a love letter to the Atlantic region that speaks honestly about the reality of life in those small New Brunswick villages even if Madawigouche is fictional. Madawigouche is a portemanteau of the Madawaska and Restigouche regions in New Brunswick.
Rivières-aux-Cartouches is not yet available in English.
Bérubé is mostly known as a poet and singer-songwriter from Edmunston, N.B. His writing is often inspired by the Acadie region and he says he wants to bring more attention to the literature coming from the region. Bérubé's previous books include the poetry collections Maudire les étoiles, Là où les chemins de terre finissent and Sous la boucane du moulin.
The debates took place from May 15-18, 2023. The show was moderated by Marie-Louise Arsenault, host of Radio-Canada's Tout peut arriver.
The final two contenders were Rivières-aux-Cartouches and L'incendiaire de Sudbury, which was defended by journalist Brigitte Noël. The final books were decided by an online public vote and the winner was named by a jury comprised of members of the audience from across the country that were brought in virtually for the final show.
Each of the Combat national des livres contenders represented different regions of Canada:
- Xavier Watso, representing the First Nations, Inuit and Métis nations, defended Le baiser de Nanabush the French translation of Drew Hayden Taylor's Motorcycles and Sweetgrass
- Brigitte Noël, representing Ontario, defended L'incendiaire de Sudbury by Chloé LaDuchesse
- Gabriel Robichaud, representing the Atlantic region, defended Rivières-aux-Cartouches by Sébastien Bérubé
- Patricia Bitu Tshikudi, representing Western Canada, defended Le radeau by Jean-Pierre Dubé
- Gilles Renaud, representing Québec, defended Nous étions le sel de la mer by Roxanne Bouchard
Two of the five books are available to read in English: Drew Hayden Taylor's Motorcycles and Sweetgrass and Roxanne Bouchard's We Were the Salt of the Sea translated by David Warriner.
L'averti by Vanessa Léger won the 2022 edition of the book debate. The book was defended by singer and actor Serge Brideau. Robichaud's win makes it the second year in a row that the Atlantic region wins the Combat national des livres.
