“Mi hermano y yo tuvimos que hacernos cargo del Universo, pues una mañana sin avisar, porco antes del alba, papá entregó su espíritu. Sus despojos crispados en un dolor del que sólo quedaba la corteza, sus decretos de súbito convertidos en polvo, todo eso yacía allí en el cuarto desde el cual papá todavía la víspera nos ordenaba todo. Mi hermano y yo necesitábamos órdenes para no borrarnos por trozos, era nuestro mortero. Sin papá nada sabíamos hacer. Apenas podíamos vacilar, existir, temer, sufrir”. Así comienza un relato intenso e imposible de contar, a la vez divertido e imponente, lleno de sorpresas y de encanto, narrado en una lengua al tiempo titubeante y deslumbrante. Esto prueba dos cosas: que la literatura es una fiesta del lenguaje y que Gaétan Soucy ocupa un sitio único e indiscutible entre nosotros.

... What?

No, not as good as the reviews will have you believe.

A story that will send chills down your spine. I remember thinking, what kind of person could have come up with a story like this?!
A good friend of mine actually had the author as a philosophy professor and he was apparently quite boring. Not at all what I would have expected. ( )

> On se demande où Gaétan Soucy va chercher tout ça! Et puis on ne se le demande plus, prêt à entrer dans le jeu d'un romancier exceptionnel et extraordinaire […]. En quatre ans seulement, depuis L'Immaculée Conception jusqu'à La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes, sans oublier L'Acquittement, un jeune homme qui aura bientôt quarante ans a pu produire une oeuvre qui le situe naturellement parmi les plus grands écrivains québécois. Chez Soucy, l'espoir ne fait pas vivre, seulement souffrir. C'est sa manière à lui d'entrer dans le sempiternel débat québécois sur l'indépendance. À reculons, en tournant le dos. Plus positivement: en s'imposant aujourd'hui parmi les meilleurs romanciers d'expression française et, sans doute, la plus incontestable révélation de ces dernières années. »
—Renaud-bray.com

> Une belle imagination, mais aussi et surtout une écriture vive et libre tout à fait séduisante.
—La Croix

The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches is a novel by Canadian writer Gaetan Soucy.

The story begins with two siblings living on a large estate alone with their father. When the father dies suddenly, the children know they have to take care of the burial, which means leaving the estate, which they've never done, and travelling to the nearby village.

The siblings are teenagers, which takes a moment for the reader to discover, as their language, behavior, and lack of knowledge of the outside world leads one to think that they're small children. The older sibling has a skewed view of reality, believing that fictional places, as well as far away nations like Japan, lie just beyond the grove of trees surrounding the estate. It's obvious that their father has kept them developmentally and emotionally stunted, but to what purpose?

Slowly, the truth comes to light, and the circumstances of the children's lives on the estate is revealed. The language of the book comes from the mind of the older sibling, which at times is convoluted or confused. I can understand why this might be distracting, but this character's interpretation of the world only enhances the ominous atmosphere.

This story is grotesque and twisted, and many of the scenes are disturbing. I wouldn't recommend this book to everyone, but would suggest this book for those who like challenging language, puzzling characters, and aren't bothered by unsettling or gruesome descriptions. If you have ever read The Wasp Factory and survived, then you'll be okay.

Translated from the French, the book is only about 150 pages, so it's a quick read, and there is no time wasted and no piece of the plot that isn't crucial. I recommend you read it in one sitting . . . if you can handle it. ( )