L'APPEL DU HUARD

A QUEST FOR IDENTITY THAT ASKS PROBING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE INDIGENOUS ASSIMILATION SYSTEM IN QUEBEC.

Janie is 40 years old and works as a criminal lawyer in Montreal. Truth be told, she has a hard time letting go of things. Especially her father, Leo, whose influence has done her no favours in life. A rebellious soul, always distant and rarely there for her at all, Leo has always fascinated Janie and fuelled her imagination and defiance. One day, Janie is surprised to receive a message from a stranger who claims to be a friend of her father's. The mysterious woman paints an improbable and intriguing picture of Leo that makes Janie question everything she thought was true about her father that has defined her until now. Faced with this revelation,
she leaves everything behind and heads north in search of her origins. Through her journey she comes to see that every life is made up of both truths and lies.

EXCERPT
My father slithered his way into my life like a snake slinks through the long grass. He wormed his way into my weaknesses, wound himself around me and left me numb when he left.
He stirred anger—and love—in my mother, instilled fear in my brother, and sparked joy in my sister. In me, he spurred fascination. How could I have made him the centre of my universe? Most of the time, he was never there, or never said a word.
Even now, as far as I can recall, there were always parts missing from every grand story he told. He told them so well, though. I really wanted to believe them, so I pretended.

Lily Gaudreault trained in translation and administration before building a career in project and event management on the Montreal cultural scene. She is a founding member of the accessibility-focused
arts and culture organization Culture Montréal. The Call of the Loon is her debut novel.