Kolia, House of Anansi Press (Arachnide), 2013.

Translated by DAVID SCOTT HAMILTON

 

Governor General literary award for fiction in french (2011).

Grand du prix du livre de Montréal (2010)

Combat des livres de Radio-Canada 2011 (french version of CBC Canada Reads)

Elle Magazine (France) Grand prix du livre 2012, longlist

 

SUMMARY

Set against the backdrop of Stalinism and then the collapse of the USSR, Kolia is a luminous and unforgettable story about a boy born in a Siberian Gulag and his eventual freedom and life as a clown in the Moscow circus in the 1960s.

Kolia's life begins in a labour camp in eastern Siberia in 1937. Iosif, a prisoner originally from Western Europe, teaches him the basic knowledge for survival in the harsh environment of the Gulag, but he also teaches him calculus, Russian, and French, before disappearing like most people who have lived in the open-air prison.

After Stalin's death, Kolia is released and he's thrown into Soviet society. He joins a circus in Moscow, where he finds the comfort of a family and is successful until the collapse of the USSR. But the memory of Iosif and the Gulag haunt him all his life.

Kolia is a moving and deeply human novel that beautifully illustrates the resilience of the human spirit.

 

Originaly published in french : L'homme blanc (Le Quartanier, Québec), Kolia (Gallimard, France).

Rights sold : armenian.

Foreign rights : Gallimard

 

 

PRESS CLIPPINGS, REVIEWS

  • "The novel is refreshingly devoid of the self-reflexive pitfalls of first books, and its clean, simple language is memorable without being ornate, accomplished without being showy. What more can you ask? It's a good book." Globe and Mail 
  • "Kolia is a magnificent story and the literary acclaim for this book is well deserved. Leblanc demonstrates how mature Quebecois literature has become, how writers there are now able to look beyond their sense of « je me souviens » to create characters sympathetic to all culture. Kolia is endearing, a survivor, and Leblanc achieves what every writer hopes to do : she makes the reader like Kolia, appreciate his dilemmas, feel glad when he is successful and disappointed when he runs into trouble. Kolia a brilliant addition to the Canadian Literary Canon." Toronto Star 
  • "Works of literary fiction aren't always page-turners, but Kolia definitely is. One gobbles it up, breathless to find out what happens next. Its cumulative power asserts itself only later, in aftershocks." Quill & Quire
  • "[Kolia] is cinematic in its succinct imagery and edits, capturing the most pertinent moments in the fewest details to tell a life story." Salon
  • "Kolia is a strong debut from a promising new literary voice." Cult Montreal
  • "This book is a testimony to the power of fiction." Thomas Hellman, Cinq à six, CBC
  • "...irresistibly colourful." CBC.
  • "Grappling with the gulag", Mike Landry, Telegraph-Journal, 09/14/2013.
  • Sherry Simon, about the new generation of Québec authors (and their translators). National Post.