Ne rien avoir ou ne rien être, au gré des variations : une analyse de l’œuvre Nous qui n’étions rien de Madeleine Thien (trad. Catherine Leroux) en tant que « nouveau » roman historique

Abstract

Various Variations from Having Nothing to Being Nothing, an Analysis of Madeleine Thien’s Do Not Say We Have Nothing (and its French Version) as a “New” Historical Novel

Traditionally, historical novels have been subjected to various negative preconceptions and have often been categorized as lowbrow. Despite their popular and commercial success, authors of such novels rarely win prestigious literary awards. However, 'Do Not Say We Have Nothing,' a historical novel by Madeleine Thien published in 2016, was critically acclaimed and received high praise, winning two major Canadian prizes— the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction. It was also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Its French translation, 'Nous qui n’étions rien,' also gained significant recognition, as Catherine Leroux, Thien’s translator, was awarded a Governor General’s Literary Award for the French version in 2019. The novel has been translated into thirteen other languages, another significant sign of consecration. In this paper, two questions will be explored. Firstly: what characteristics of 'Do Not Say We Have Nothing' (and of its French translation 'Nous qui n’étions rien') explain its critical success? Secondly: do these characteristics match those of the 'new' historical novel? 'New' historical novels are here understood as well-documented, complex, and intertextual works that started to appear in the 1980s and tend to break away from the tradition of historical novels based on bewildering action and detailed descriptions, often written in plain language. A general finding is that the appreciations of the juries of two important English-language literary prizes in Canada, as well as many reviews published in different journals and magazines, mention that the book’s complexity and the reflections it prompts are two major positive aspects of the novel. As for the writing itself, whereas Thien’s style has been deemed 'simple,' consistent with traditional historical novels, Leroux’s version does not appear to be as accessible. Nevertheless, it was lauded by critics and the Governor General’s Literary Awards jury. It is worth asking if this more formal and literary style was not seen as an additional strength by the French institution and reviewers. A brief analysis of fiction works winning major prizes in Canada in the years prior to and following 'Do Not Say We Have Nothing' has also been conducted and seems to indicate that historical novels tend to win more prizes in English Canada than in French Canada.