Synopses & Reviews
An enchanting story of twins, fame, and heartache by the much-praised author of Lullabies for Little CriminalsHeather ONeill charmed readers in the hundreds of thousands with her sleeper hit, Lullabies for Little Criminals, which documented with a rare and elusive magic the life of a young dreamer on the streets of Montreal. Now, in The Girl Who Was Saturday Night, she returns to the grubby, enchanted city with a light and profound tale of the vice of fame and the ties of family.
Nineteen years old, free of prospects, and inescapably famous, the twins Nicholas and Nouschka Tremblay are trying to outrun the notoriety of their father, a French-Canadian Serge Gainsbourg with a genius for the absurd and for winding up in prison. “Back in the day, he could come home from a show with a paper bag filled with womens underwear. Outside of Québec nobody had even heard of him, naturally. Québec needed stars badly.”
Since the twins were little, Étienne has made them part of his unashamed seduction of the province, parading them on talk shows and then dumping them with their decrepit grandfather while he disappeared into some festive squalor. Now Étienne is washed up and the twins are making their own almost-grown-up messes, with every misstep landing on the front pages of the tabloid Allo Police. Nouschka not only needs to leave her childhood behind; she also has to leave her brother, whose increasingly erratic decisions might take her down with him.
Review
Praise for Lullabies for Little Criminals
“Lullabies for Little Criminals is a beautiful book, all the more remarkable because its harrowing tale is (virtuosically) told without a trace of self-pity or bathos. There are phrases here that will make you laugh out loud, and others that will stop your heart. A definite triumph.” —David Rakoff
Review
Praise for The Girl Who Was Saturday Night“A marvelously intriguing novel of a family in dissolution, each member of which is richly and memorably characterized. . . . The book is beautifully written, particularly rich in simile and metaphor . . . Compulsively readable, The Girl Who Was Saturday Night is a delight for any night.” —Michael Cart, Booklist (starred review)“ONeills language . . . is what I find so beguiling about her work. Similes blow up the ordinary. Hyperbole extends throughout . . . ONeill exceeds at inventing a place where magic really happens, where the mundane came become extraordinary.” —Liz Fischer Greenhill, The Rumpus“What really shines here is ONeills writing. The author stuns with the vivid descriptions and metaphors that are studded throughout the book . . . O'Neills writing grows ever more distinct and direct.” —Kirkus“In her indelible portrait of troubled but lovable twin picaros Nouschka and Nicolas Tremblay, Heather ONeill beautifully depicts what its like to burn a little brighter than everyone else. A book for those of us who feel too much, The Girl Who Was Saturday Night perfectly captures the sad, strange moment when you realize youre no longer young.” —Marjorie Celona, author of YPraise for Lullabies for Little Criminals“[Lullabies for Little Criminals] is a beautiful book, all the more remarkable because its harrowing tale is (virtuosically) told without a trace of self-pity of bathos. There are phrases in here that will make you laugh out loud, and others that will stop your heart. A definite triumph.” —David Rakoff, author of Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish“A deeply moving and troubling novel.” —Julie Wheelwright, The Independent (London)“A nuanced, endearing coming-of-age novel you wont want to miss.” —Heather Birrell, Quill & Quire (Canada)
Synopsis
An enchanting story of twins, fame, and heartache by the much-praised author of Lullabies for Little Criminals
Heather O'Neill charmed readers in the hundreds of thousands with her sleeper hit, Lullabies for Little Criminals, which documented with a rare and elusive magic the life of a young dreamer on the streets of Montreal. Now, in The Girl Who Was Saturday Night, she returns to the grubby, enchanted city with a light and profound tale of the vice of fame and the ties of family.
Nineteen years old, free of prospects, and inescapably famous, the twins Nicholas and Nouschka Tremblay are trying to outrun the notoriety of their father, a French-Canadian Serge Gainsbourg with a genius for the absurd and for winding up in prison. "Back in the day, he could come home from a show with a paper bag filled with women's underwear. Outside of Quebec nobody had even heard of him, naturally. Quebec needed stars badly."
Since the twins were little, Etienne has made them part of his unashamed seduction of the province, parading them on talk shows and then dumping them with their decrepit grandfather while he disappeared into some festive squalor. Now Etienne is washed up and the twins are making their own almost-grown-up messes, with every misstep landing on the front pages of the tabloid Allo Police. Nouschka not only needs to leave her childhood behind; she also has to leave her brother, whose increasingly erratic decisions might take her down with him.
About the Author
Heather ONeill is a contributor to This American Life, and her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, among other publications. Her novel Lullabies for Little Criminals, an international bestseller, won the Paragraphe Hugh McLennan Prize for Fiction and the Canada Reads competition in 2007; was short-listed for six prizes, including the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Governor Generals Literary Award; and was long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. She lives in Montreal, Canada.