This book has been on my shelf since Christmas 2004. It was part of the Canada Reads selections for 2005, and I had high hopes of reading all of the books before the debates started. Because I was still studying English Lit at the time, my required reading unfortunately took precedent and Volkswagen Blues was left high and hoping for a while.
I don't know if something was lost in translation, but this book is a little strange. I don't really understand the relation happening between "the man" and "the girl" in this novel. I ran it by my bookish friends and they're willing to chalk it up to being just one of those "crazy French" things, but I dunno...
This history aspect of the book is cool. The protagonist picks up a hitchiker, nicknamed, "La Grande Sauterelle" and they set off across Eastern Canada and then the U.S. in search of the protagonist's brother. They end up following the Oregon Trail and learning about it as they travel. So I picked up a few interesting bits of Jeopardy trivia on the way, but...the book seemed a little sparse...and pointless?
Sorry, Jacques Poulin. Perhaps I should try reading this one in its original French...
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