The Angel's Jig
286 pages
Published: April 5, 2016
Fiction / Novels / Historical Fiction
Paperback: 9780864928672 $19.95
Long-shortlisted, 2017 ReLit Awards
Facing the dwindling years of his life, an old man waits for his turn on the auction block, hoping to be sold to a family as decent as the one he is leaving. It is not the first time he has been here, and it may not be the last.
Published: April 5, 2016
Fiction / Novels / Historical Fiction
Paperback: 9780864928672 $19.95
Long-shortlisted, 2017 ReLit Awards
Facing the dwindling years of his life, an old man waits for his turn on the auction block, hoping to be sold to a family as decent as the one he is leaving. It is not the first time he has been here, and it may not be the last.
Mute in life but loquacious on the page, the old man tells the colourful story of his rootless life. Abandoned by his family and first auctioned off at the age of seven — "Ladies and gentlemen, this boy may not be a rare gem, but he is certainly worth a look" — he moves from one farm to another, taking comfort from the people around him.
Daniel Poliquin's picaresque novel revisits an all-but-forgotten era, when orphaned children and the elderly poor were auctioned into a form of indentured servitude. Narrated through the eyes and ears of an unforgettable protagonist, The Angel's Jig is a joyous meditation on identity and the unpredictable voyage of existence.
A French language finalist for the 2015 Trillium Book Award, Le Vol de l'ange now appears in this lyrical translation by award-winning translator Wayne Grady.
Daniel Poliquin's picaresque novel revisits an all-but-forgotten era, when orphaned children and the elderly poor were auctioned into a form of indentured servitude. Narrated through the eyes and ears of an unforgettable protagonist, The Angel's Jig is a joyous meditation on identity and the unpredictable voyage of existence.
A French language finalist for the 2015 Trillium Book Award, Le Vol de l'ange now appears in this lyrical translation by award-winning translator Wayne Grady.
+Show more
Author
Daniel Poliquin is one of Canada's leading French writers. His novels and translations have won or been shortlisted for several major awards, including the Governor General's Award, the Grand prix du Journal de Montréal, the Prix littéraire Le Droit, the Trillium Book Award, and the Giller Prize. He is also a Chevalier de l'Ordre des arts et lettres and a Member of the Order of Canada. He lives in Ottawa.
Wayne Grady is an award-winning author and translator. He won the Governor General's Award for his translation of Antonine Maillet's On the Eighth Day.
Wayne Grady is an award-winning author and translator. He won the Governor General's Award for his translation of Antonine Maillet's On the Eighth Day.
Awards
Shortlisted: ReLit Awards
Reviews
"Poliquin delivers a thoroughly enjoyable odyssey about a memorable, yet perplexing character and a shocking custom that has all but disappeared from our collective memory." — Quill & Quire
"A warm and whimsical meditation on one man's life and the web that connects him, even isolated by his self-imposed silence, to the lives of those around him." — Publishers Weekly
"A joy to read." — Atlantic Books Today
"A warm and whimsical meditation on one man's life and the web that connects him, even isolated by his self-imposed silence, to the lives of those around him." — Publishers Weekly
"A joy to read." — Atlantic Books Today
