La bouche pleine ("Mouth Full")

I love foreign literature, of course, but I have to say that when I come across good Quebec literature, I get excited. I read it out loud, and it flows. It's kind of like the difference between reading a play and talking in real life. I understand the jokes for real, and I find them funny. I almost forget that I'm not chatting with my best friend. I love it. And that was my experience with La bouche pleine ("Mouth Full")by Elisabeth Massicolli.

Summary

Camille, a 26 year old Montrealer, works as a copywriter in a company, fools around with her best friend Julianne, and is desperately looking for a not too bad guy who will love her by swiping on Tinder and flirting at the Taverna. She's heartbroken, but not enough to stop trying.

When you put it that way, it doesn't sound so bad. But her heart is about to explode. She's been offered a job that doesn't fit like her by a man who looks more like he wants to sleep with her, she's forgotten a couple of times that there are other people on earth who deserve attention besides her, her sessions at the shrink's office aren't helping her much, and she just met a guy who looks nice. Uh-oh.

Impressions

I am 25 years old, Camille is 26. I'm from Montreal, she is too. And it hasn't been long enough since I stopped being a desperate single woman to forget what it's like. I chose this book because I thought I would relate: I had no idea how much.

Elisabeth Massicolli is a feminist, and it shows. In her novel, I felt understood as a woman. There are the messages Camille receives on Tinder:

hey

u up???

wanna fuck

…

bitch

ur not even pretty

- Alessandro, 36 years old

There's her need to tell guys she has a boyfriend so they'll leave her alone. There are the shady guys who claim to see great potential in her. There are the shitty feelings the day after a party where she just drank too much for nothing. And there's a lot more. It's crude. It's not soft.

But I also laughed a lot. Camille has a very good sense of humor. I loved the dialogues. And there is a cat named Tourtière ("meat pie").

A beautiful mixture of lightness and depth. To put in the hands of young women who, at times, find life hard.