Hunting Houses

As I understand it, Fanny Britt is something of a celebrity in the world of Quebec literature. What she writes is critically acclaimed, with good reason. We recognize her writing, and we don't forget it. Her essay Les tranchées had impressed me, so much so that seven years later, I decided to read her first novel: Hunting Houses.

Summary

Tessa is a mother of three children. She is bitter: she expected to have a nice happy life, and she realizes that happiness does not come automatically when you have a loving husband, a paying job and three beautiful children. She blames the universe. So when she runs into a childhood sweetheart again and he asks her out on a date, she wonders if life hasn't thrown her a lifeline to make up for it.

Impressions

The premise is not particularly original. People frustrated by not being perfectly happy, we know that. And in a way, this is what is special: the identification with the characters is almost total. The book and its precise and ironic style automatically transports us into an extremely familiar environment, home, in a way. Especially since it takes place in Montreal. I felt like I was walking through my neighborhood and seeing through my neighbor's eyes.

Then I started to get scared. The man in question, Tessa's childhood sweetheart, turns out to be a jerk. We learn that he was ten years older than Tessa at the time, slept with her for six months, only to leave her because his girlfriend was back in town. That's right, he had a girlfriend the whole time. Tessa had her heart broken into a thousand little pieces. But instead of thinking something like "What a jerk, I hope he suffers", she remembers all the beautiful love she felt for him, all the beautiful moments they spent together (i.e. all the wild sex they had), and regretting that exciting time in her life.

NOO! YOUR HUSBAND IS AWESOME! DON'T DO THAT!

The suspense was unbearable. I was ready to disown Fanny Britt and throw the book out the window if Tessa decided to have this affair and left, happy as a twenty year old, with her "true" love. I had no choice but to read the whole thing almost in one sitting to find out.

I'm not telling you the ending. But it is perfect.

I have seen several reviewers take this book very seriously, calling it "striking" and "shocking". I didn't. It's intriguing, that's for sure, but mostly it made me laugh. There is a lot of irony in Fanny Britt's work, and that's what struck me most. It didn't upset me, on the contrary, it confirmed what I already knew.

So, yes, go ahead and read it. I wish you a good time.