And the Birds Rained Down

(Paperback)

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A CBC CANADA READS 2015 SELECTION!
FINALIST FOR THE 2013 GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD FOR FRENCH-TO-ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Tom and Charlie have decided to live out the remainder of their lives on their own terms, hidden away in a remote forest, their only connection to the outside world a couple of pot growers who deliver whatever they cant eke out for themselves.
But one summer two women arrive. One is a young photographer documenting a a series of catastrophic forest fires that swept Northern Ontario early in the century; shes on the trail of the recently deceased Ted Boychuck, a survivor of the blaze. And then the elderly aunt of the one of the pot growers appears, fleeing one of the psychiatric institutions that have been her home since she was sixteen. She joins the men in the woods and begins a new life as Marie-Desneige. With the photographers help, they find Teds series of paintings about the fire, and begin to decipher the dead mans history.
A haunting meditation on aging and self-determination, And the Birds Rained Down, originally published in French as Il pleuvait des oiseaux, was the winner of the Prix des Cinq Continents de la Francophonie, the first Canadian title to win this honour. It was winner of the Prix des lecteurs Radio-Canada, the Prix des collgiens du Qubec, the Prix Ringuet 2012 and a finalist for the Grand Prix de la ville de Montral.
'Nostalgic and beautifully grotesque, this novel is delightfully baroque and, although short, so striking it will simply never leave you.'
The Coast

Jocelyne Saucier's novels have received countless prizes, including the Prix des Cinq Continents de la Francophonie.

Rhonda Mullins's translation of Saucier's novel Jeanne's Road was nominated for the Governor General's Award.

Reviews

"Nostalgic and beautifully grotesque, this novel is delightfully baroque and, although short, so striking it simply will never leave you." - The Coast

Author Bio

Jocelyne Saucier: Jocelyne Saucier was born in New Brunswick, Canada. She is the author of several novels and the recipient of many prizes, including, for Il pleuvait des oiseaux, the Prix des Cinq Continents de la Francophonie and the Grand Prix de la ville de Montreal. Rhonda Mullins: Rhonda Mullins was a finalist for the 2007 Governor General's Literary Award for Translation for The Decline of the Hollywood Empire by Herve Fischer. She has also translated Jocelyne Saucier's Jeanne sur les routes into Jeanne's Road.