The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches
CBC Books | CBC | Posted: February 22, 2017 6:52 PM | Last Updated: February 28, 2017
Gaétan Soucy, translated by Sheila Fischman
The peculiar narrator of The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches is an unnamed adolescent unsure of what to make of the world or who they are, even whether they are male or female. When the family patriarch dies, the family's isolation is broken, and shocking secrets are revealed. Filled with intrigue, suspense and flights of fancy, Gaétan Soucy's novel is an original and challenging work of fiction.
From the book
Judging by the solicitude my father showed him, he must have been an important somebody with access to sluts and blessed virgins... as well as miracles up his sleeves, besides that he was mute, he expressed himself through throat sounds, the way dogs do. He also had only one leg, stuck in the very middle like a fool's bauble, and he hopped along this earth like a magpie, propelled by his cane.
From The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches by Gaétan Soucy ©1970, translation by Sheila Fischman ©2000. Published by House of Anansi.