The Lament of Charlie Longsong

Description

260 pages
$29.99
ISBN 0-670-87350-0
DDC C843'.54

Year

1998

Contributor

Translated by Sheila Fischman
Reviewed by Ian C. Nelson

Ian C. Nelson is assistant director of libraries at the University of
Saskatchewan, and président de la Troupe du Jour, Regina Summer Stage.

Review

Roch Carrier is arguably our nation’s most popular, versatile, and
distinguished man of letters. His writing is noted for a seductive humor
and charm. In The Lament of Charlie Longsong, Carrier adeptly weaves
together the stories of three characters: an old Indian from Arizona who
lost an arm and found a love in Europe during World War II, a historian
who is on a mission to trace a Farmer Dubois through the byways of
pioneer America, and a Québécois poetess who leaves a personal secret
to be discovered in her archived papers.

Carrier’s words forge a particularly articulated contrast between the
Aboriginal voice and that of the academic. Chance and myth join the
charm of a narrative that is filled with hypotheticals and seems to
touch down to reality only when it needs a new, inspired turn of the
plot. And there are many such turns indeed. Along the way, Carrier
writes a paean in praise of French-Canadian explorers of North America
and an oblique apologia favoring fiction above history. Each entwined
storyline is fascinating in itself, yet the points of contact and
contrast are seductively amusing and clever.

When all is said and done, the story is about people taking over
territory (either land or history) and assuming a personal ownership of
it: “It’s my country, brother. Show some respect.” Sheila
Fischman, a two-time winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award
for translation, has produced yet another impeccable example of French
to English translation.

Citation

Carrier, Roch., “The Lament of Charlie Longsong,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed March 29, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/521.