For those with more than a casual interest in what the province of Quebec is all about, this book by multilingual Canadian journalist Grescoe is an excellent, evenhanded place to start. The twelve chapters do an admirable job of untangling the complicated web of ethnic, linguistic, political, and religious identities that make up Quebec. Grescoe gets things off to a quick start in the first chapter, providing a grab bag of examples of how the province is different from its Canadian and American neighbors: attitudes toward cheese, margarine, gun control, gay rights, smoking, the legal system, pornography, and more quickly get the point across. The chapter also establishes the tone for the rest of the book, as it ranges freely over the subject matter, sometimes doubling back, sometimes repeating itself, often employing statistics, but always in the service of trying to understand Quebec. Chapter two has a brief history of the province's settlement, and quickly debunks the myth of the prevalence of "pure" francophone founders. This segues into an overview of Quebec's Jews, which leads to a discussion of recent immigration, and the whole notion of how a modern multicultural province can exist with a mythology of racial purity lurking in the background. Chapter three deals exclusively with the influence of France as a "mother country" which naturally leads to the next chapter, which is a lengthy examination of Quebecois French. Here, the author has an embarrassment of riches in terms of examples, however they are perhaps best appreciated by readers with a solid understanding of French.
Grescoe is a journalist, so it's not surprising that he devotes the entirety of chapter five to an exploration of the robust Quebecois print media. It's an interesting way of looking at a place, and not a lens one commonly encounters -- ultimately he concludes that as in many places around the world: "in Quebec, we're not likely to see serious coverage of issues that would threaten political and corporate power." It's a short hop from print to television, which is covered in the next chapter. Obviously television provides an interesting window onto a society and how it views itself -- especially in Quebec, where people watch more TV than in any other province. Grescoe dives right in, examining some of the popular genres and shows, as well as touching upon Celine Dion. The pop culture focus continues in chapter seven, which is a series of 21 brief profiles of Quebecois singers, writers, filmmakers, events, and stuff, most of which will be completely unfamiliar to outsiders (except for Circle du Soleil) but are well known in the province. It's cutely a good chapter to quickly dip into to get a sense of some of the differences discussed throughout the book.
In contrast to the relative lightheartedness of the previous chapter, chapter eight is about Quebec's native population (currently around 75,000 from 11 different Indian nations) and their grievances. As in the rest of the continent, Quebec's native population has gotten the shaft ever since colonizers first arrived. Grescoe talks to various tribal representatives, and an ironically unpleasant picture emerges of a province clamoring for the right of self-determination in order to escape external cultural and economic domination -- only to deny these very same claims by the native population. The next chapter discusses both the actual Quebecois winter and the idea of winter in the province's mythology. This naturally also involves a trip to Florida, where a huge number of retired Quebecois spend the harsh winter months.
Chapter ten is a good overview about the province's economy and business climate, including a visit to multinational transportation giant Bombardier. This is followed by a chapter about religion and change, more specifically about the shocking decline in practicing Catholics in the last forty years. Again, with remarkable evenhandedness, Grescoe finds a lot of good and bad in this cultural development. In many ways, it's a reflection of the same kind of cultural tug-of-wars that have gone on in the U.S. since the '60s, with many of the same tensions. The final chapter attempts to sum up Grescoe's three years of observing Quebec and perhaps unsurprisingly, for better and for worse, he sees increasing globalization as a erosive force on the province's distinct identity.
Grescoe's done a wonderful job of cutting to the core of things while keeping his writing lively and accessible. Each chapter is about a topic that would take an entire book to completely cover, and yet with a mix of on the scenes reportage, statistics, interviews with politicians, businessmen, intellectuals, artists, experts, and people on the street, Grescoe manages to avoid superficiality and present the complex issues. Although occasionally repetitive and cursed with an awful cover, it's highly recommended for anyone with more than a passing interest in Quebec, especially those intending to visit.
