The Grand Melee by Michel Tremblay

The Grand Melee by Michel Tremblay

The fifth novel in the Desrosiers Diaspora series from Québécois national treasure Michel Tremblay.

It's May 1922, and preparations are in full swing for the marriage of Nana and Gabriel, which will take place the following month. There's just one problem: Nana's wedding dress has yet to be bought. Nana's mercurial mother, Maria, torn between her desire to measure up as a mother and the inescapable constraints of poverty, wonders how to pay for the wedding. And she's not the only one battling demons - the thought of the upcoming reunion unsettles every member of the large and dispersed Desrosiers family. While the wedding invitations announce a celebration, they also stir up old memories, past desires, and big regrets.

The Grand Melee extends Michel Tremblay's beloved familial and historical saga, and bridges the Desrosiers Diaspora series and the now-classic Chronicles of the Plateau-Mont-Royal. This book includes a newly translated introduction by Michel Tremblay specialist and Éditions Leméac publisher Pierre Filion.

Michel Tremblay's unique contribution to international culture and literature has been widely acknowledged. He has received eight cultural and literary honors in France, including the Chevalier of Arts and Letters in 1984 and Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters of France in 1991; twenty-one awards in Canada; one each in Italy, Belgium, and Scotland; and the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Festival's award for Long-Standing Public Service in 1989. He was just awarded the Molson Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts in 1994.