Words and Music

Marguerite Andersen is a professor of French studies at the University
of Guelph.

Published in French in 1973, under the title Paroles et Musique, and
finally translated by David Lobdell, Words and Music tells the story of
a woman who, believing she is dying, reflects on her life—a life of
work, as a writer, and a life of love. Not only love between men and
women, but also love between women: Maheux-Forcier’s main characters,
who are always female, come to believe that “there are neither men nor
women in this world, but only the desire to love . . . only the great
mystery of living and loving and truth.” Around this basic feeling,
Maheux-Forcier weaves a text of metaphors that is absolutely compelling.

Oberon Press has published this novel, at least in its softcover
edition, in a most inexpensive way, with hardly a title page. On opening
the book, the reader jumps almost directly into the text. In a way that
is a pity: I for one would have liked to read a preface by the
translator, telling of his pleasures and his struggles with the original
version. However, we should be grateful that the book now exists in
English, to further our knowledge of avant-garde writing in Quebec.