LA PROMESSE

"La Promesse" is an insightful account of the frailty of ideals and the difficulty of helping those whose lives touch us. It is also a moving portrayal of friendship among women.

Louise is a journalist covering events in strife-torn Afghanistan. Carole, her closest friend, is the chief of staff for the mayor of Montreal. Louise is in a stable relationship but has always shunned motherhood. As for Carole, widowed and on the brink of 40, she is increasingly tormented by the thought of having children. On assignment in Kabul, Louise makes the acquaintance of Soraya, a young Afghan woman forced into marriage with a violent man from whom she has fled. She lives in a shelter run by Farida, who fights on behalf of the victims of "honour killings." Touched by these two courageous women and Soraya's distress, Louise promises to help the young woman. She promises to support her when she seeks shelter in Montreal. As a result of this promise, Soraya leaves her country and culture for the first time in her life, beginning the long journey to a faraway land where, at last, she can choose how to live and whom to love. In this debut novel, journalist Michèle Ouimet reveals a fine ability to create intense and vivid character portraits. The novel provides a bittersweet view of the world of journalism and deftly explores women's role in it. Michèle Ouimet is journalist for a newspaper in Montréal. She has covered wars (Syria, Iran, Afghanistan) dangerous zones (Rwanda genocide, revolution in Egypt), natural disasters (tsunami in Japan, earthquake in Haïti). La Promesse is her first novel.