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Translation
The relationship with France is very complex. In many areas, we have difficulty understanding each another. Quebecois values are closer to British than to French.
Can you recommend any books, movies, and music that reflect the Quebec mindset and culture?
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I would caution against reading too much into this as 1) it is only one person's view and 2) the translation is not completely accurate because there is a part missing.
He says "in some ways, values of Quebecers in everyday life are closer to those of the British than of the French".
This does not mean ALL values, only some of them.
So I wouldn't go into Quebec expecting it to be like the UK. Certainly the whole free enterprise and entrepreneurship mentality that anglos (UK, US, English Canada) are known for is not as strong in Quebec as elsewhere, to name just one example. The whole "no sex please, we're British" has no resonance at all here, as Quebecers are probably the least prudish people overall in all of continental North America.
But yeah, Quebec came under British colonialism in 1763 and has lived under that type of system (albeit with a French legal code) or systems inspired by it (modern-day Canada) ever since. So sure, that has led to some influences.
In truth, Quebec is a mish-mosh of influences: French (of course), British, American, Irish, English Canadian, aboriginal, Italian, and even Scandinavian. Some of them due to politics, some to geography, some to demographics.
For example, a typical breakfast in Quebec might include eggs, sausages or bacon as in the UK, but instead of tea like in the UK it will be accompanied by coffee. But it might be accompanied by croissants, or French-style thin crêpes instead of American-style thick pancakes.
Sorry about the frowning emoticon - I meant the opposite! I have wondered if French Canadiens (what is the correct way to write this?) are ambivalent about both the English and the French - the English because they were the colonizers and the French for having abandoned them when they signed the Treaty of Paris.
Any recommendations for books or movies on cultural life in Quebec?
I have wondered if French Canadiens (what is the correct way to write this?) are ambivalent about both the English and the French - the English because they were the colonizers and the French for having abandoned them when they signed the Treaty of Paris.
As for the British, they are pretty much a non-issue in Quebec now, no more than Germans, Swedes, Danes or Australians. Most people even consider England and the UK to be kind of cool. The historical affiliation and any related issues have largely faded away. Few British people live in Quebec at the moment and the local "anglos" are way more like "other Canadians" or even Americans than they are British.
Do you have any thoughts about the following books:
The Fat Woman Next Door Is Pregnant by Michel Tremblay
Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Mysteries, No. 1) by Louise Penny
National Dreams: Myth, Memory, and Canadian History by Daniel Francis
I literally just saw this - Richard Ford is on Stephen Colbert talking about his book, "Canada." In 1989 my husband and I traveled around Nova Scotia and PEI and we felt the same way.
Thanks! This is exactly the irreverent multi-perspective view I have been looking for - I just ordered it from Amazon.
It's actually a really good book - I have read it. It is frank, and neither complacent (Quebecers are the best!) nor overly critical like many Canadian books in English about Quebec (Quebecers are a bunch of baddies!).
Do you have any thoughts about the following books:
The Fat Woman Next Door Is Pregnant by Michel Tremblay
Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Mysteries, No. 1) by Louise Penny
National Dreams: Myth, Memory, and Canadian History by Daniel Francis
Two of the three I am not familiar with.
The only one I know of is the first by Michel Tremblay. He is probably Quebec's most acclaimed playwright, and this is one of his most famous plays.
Other famous works by Tremblay are Les Belles-Soeurs (The Sisters in Law), Albertine en cinq temps (Albertine in Five Times), À toi pour toujours, ta Marie-Lou (Forever Yours, Marilou), and Marcel poursuivi par les chiens (Marcel Pursued by the Hounds).
Some other historical political books:
Impossible Nation by Ray Conlogue
French Canadians by Michel Gratton
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