Amiante
Synopsis
It strikes the imagination, dying in a tornado, it’s even horrible. I remember seeing a space shuttle explode, that was pretty horrible too. I sincerely hope he didn’t suffer. I suffered from him.
Thetford Mines, flagship of Quebec’s asbestos industry, summer 1986. Nine-year-old Steve Dubois and ten-year-old Poulin indulge in the pleasures of friendship. The summer season is punctuated by adventures on the high spoil tips and escapes through half-forested, half-lunar landscapes. The days of the two inseparables pass in idleness and innocence, on their bikes or lying in their cabin among the pines.
This short and moving novel, with its sharp and precise style, tells the story of a tragedy that takes place in the 1980s, in the town of Thetford Mines, Quebec, that is back then one of the world’s asbestos mining capitals. In the summer of 1986, 9-year-old Steve Dubois tragically loses his best friend in a play-related accident. This dramatic event affects the beginning of a suffering adolescence, filled with guilt and rage, which culminates in a desperate act. A sensitive and social novel in the vein of Nicolas Mathieu, Amiante tells the story of a particular distress in a dying industrial landscape. The entire story is told from Steve’s point of view. Sébastien Dulude tells the story of a fragile, flammable youth in a working-class American Dream that is losing momentum.
Marketing Information
- Long English synopsis available