Giller Prize Spotlight: Éric Chacour
September 12, 2024
Éric Chacour’s debut novel What I Know About You, translated by Pablo Strauss, has been longlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize.
Born in Montreal to Egyptian parents, Éric Chacour has shared his life between France and Quebec. A graduate in applied economics and international relations, he now works in the financial sector. What I Know About You is his first novel.
What inspired you to write What I Know About You?
Mainly, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. I wanted to tell my version of this iconic love story from English literature. I imagined it between two men, in Egypt that my parents knew and whose stories I grew up with.
What do you hope readers take away from What I Know About You?
I believe that one of the particularities of Canadian French literature is that it is at the confluence of two traditions: one, North American, which favours the rhythm of a story and its various twists and turns, and the other, more French, which seeks a certain elegance in the way of saying things. If readers take away from this novel a story that kept them in suspense and a few lovely sentences, I would be the happiest of authors.
Where is your favourite place to write and what is your process?
In my bed. Which perhaps explains the fifteen years it took to complete this first novel!
I need a very precise plan which describes, scene after scene, the characters present, the information they exchange, the elements that seem likely to make the reader want to turn the page… Once my plan is complete, I then write the novel out of order, because I know that I will eventually land on my feet.
Is there an activity you do to help inspire writing?
Drink “white coffee,” a few drops of orange blossom water in hot water with sugar. I don’t know anything better for inspiration.
What’s a book you recommend others read and why?
Dandelion Daughter by Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay (translated by Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch), an autofiction in which the author recounts the evolution of her gender expression from her youth to her adult life. It is written with enormous emotional power and simplicity at the same time. It was awarded with the Prix des Libraires du Québec and a sequel seems to be in preparation.