“This first novel by Jean F. Boily is a work of immense beauty. The short, incisive sentences, mixing tenderness and crudeness, without artificial stylistic effects, hit the nail on the head. The author’s fluid, poetic and sagacious pen (in the manner of Francis Ouellette) spares us not an ounce of truth or violence. A name to remember, absolutely.”  —Le Devoir

“Despite the title, the story is anything but gentle, rather intense, downright trashy in parts. Because Boily’s writing is devilishly sharp and perfectly colorful.” — La Presse

“At school, they decided to call me Big Softy and the nickname stuck, despite my best efforts to shake it off. I was chubby, too. Porky. An easy target. I knew I shouldn’t overeat, but what good is your conscience when your taste buds are bewitched? My addiction had already taken hold.”

Big Softy is the coming-of-age story of a young boy who trades his small town for what he thinks will be a better life in the big city. Readers follow him on the roller coaster of addiction, punctuated by witty anecdotes about the dark side of life working in kitchens. A gripping picaresque novel rife with twists and turns.

“When you’re being stepped on all the time, you get used to dying a little. To detached myself from this feeling, I’d shut down. I’d walk off my silent blues from home, to school, to the pool, observing the lives of others with envy. Most of my social life was spent with my father at the chic La Gourde bar on Thursday and Friday nights, waiting for my mother to finish work at 9pm. Sipping Shirley Temples in the hushed atmosphere brightened by payday booze, I’d get addicted to sugar while responding to the repetitive banalities of adults with little talent for talking to teenagers.”

The author’s extraordinary talent for storytelling shines through as he deftly shifts between comedy and tragedy using language that is flavorful and accessible.