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I Am a Truck
eBook - 2016
FINALIST FOR THE 2017 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE
A tender but lively debut novel about a man, a woman, and their Chevrolet dealer.
Agathe and Réjean Lapointe are about to celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary when Réjean's beloved Chevy Silverado is found abandoned at the side of the road-with no trace of Réjean. Agathe handles her grief by fondling the shirts in the Big and Tall department at Hickey's Family Apparel and carrying on a relationship with a cigarette survey. As her hope dwindles, Agathe falls in with her spirited coworker, Debbie, who teaches Agathe about rock and roll, and with Martin Bureau, the one man who might know the truth about Réjean's fate. Set against the landscape of rural Acadia, I Am a Truck is a funny and moving tale about the possibilities and impossibilities of love and loyalty.
2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize Jury Citation:
French or English, stick or twist, Chevy or Ford? Michelle Winters has written an original, off-beat novel that explores the gaps between what people are and what they want to be. For a short book I am a Truck is bursting with huge appetites, for love and le rock-and-roll and cheese, for male friendship and takeout tea with the bag left in. Within the novel's distinctive Acadian setting French and English co-exist like old friends – comfortable, supple to each other's whims and rhythms, sometimes bickering but always contributing to this fine, very funny, fully-achieved novel about connection and misunderstanding. And trucks.
"I Am a Truck is a mystery of considerable depth. And it is also very funny."—Atlantic Books Today
"At once charming, funny, bizarre and highly original with a feel-good ending reminiscent of Thelma and Louise's iconic finale."—Canadian Living
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Publisher:
Invisible Publishing
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Add a CommentIntriguing plot twist. Funny, sometimes a bit over the top. Set in rural New Brunswick it is a fast read but not a great read.
This touching Canadian Giller Prize finalist hits you when you read it. Agathe and Rejean Lapointe are to celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary when Rejean's truck, which he loves, is found abandoned by the roadside. While Agathe suspects foul play the cops are convinced he just walked away. Anything else I say will be a spoiler since each line of the beautiful book is relevant to the story. A very powerful book.
What an intriguing discovery this short novel turned out to be! Winters' gentle, insightful sense of irony plays out in her deftly drawn characters: A car salesman clearly unfit for his job who is nevertheless successful at it because of his social ineptness; a gentle giant who takes up a hobby entirely contrary to his nature; his reclusive wife, hiding behind her homely French patois who subconsciously longs to break free and launch herself into the wider world. And throughout the tale there's the presence of Réjean's beloved truck, the only thing in his life that matters to him apart from Agathe. Finally, the whimsical tale and small town New Brunswick setting are a perfect fit for this quirky cast of characters. A quick, enjoyable read.
A quick read, interweaving lives. If I was to make a comparison it would be to Little Red Riding Hood, not for the story line but the feel.
Fast-paced read and very funny at times. Almost reads like a fairytale. Overall a bit light though. I kept hoping for some insight about love or life or marriage or friendship, but it never rose above its own narrative. Still, I recommend.
Nominated for the 2017 Giller Prize