Bertrand Vac

Bertrand Vac
Born Aimé Pelletier
(1914-08-20)August 20, 1914
Saint-Ambroise-de-Kildare, Quebec
Died July 23, 2010(2010-07-23) (aged 95)
Montreal, Quebec

Bertrand Vac was the nom de plume of Quebec novelist and surgeon Aimé Pelletier (b. Aug. 20, 1914, Saint-Ambroise-de-Kildare, Quebec; d. July 23, 2010, Montreal).[1][2]

History

Cynicism saves you a lot of time.
Bertrand Vac, Mes pensées "profondes" (1967)[1]

Aimé Pelletier, writing as Bertrand Vac, developed a literary career while working for over fifty years at the Verdun General Hospital as a surgeon and, in semi-retirement, as a surgical assistant. His literary activities were initially hidden from his medical colleagues.[1]

Pelletier was born the eighth of ten children to the local surgeon at Saint-Ambroise-de-Kildare, Quebec. The family later relocated to Joliette, Quebec. Pelletier, originally wishing to become an architect, was persuaded to become a doctor by his father. Pelletier graduated from the Laval University medical school in 1939.[1][3] He volunteered for service during the Second World War, and was with the medical corps both during the war and until 1946. He worked in field hospitals behind the front lines in France, particularly during the Battle of Normandy, when he arrived in France as part of the Normandy Invasion.[1][4]

Pelletier's nom de plume was developed in France. After the war, Pelletier chose to study surgery in Paris, where his colleagues preferred to call him "Bernard", rather than "Aimé". Vac was chosen as his literary surname because it represented the Hindu God of Speech.[1]

Pelletier wrote fourteen books during a sixty year literary career, primarily with publisher Le cercle du livre de France, later known Les Éditions Pierre Tisseyre.[1] He won the Prix du Cercle du livre de France on three occasions.[4] Pelletier is also believed to be the first Quebec writer to publish a detective novel (L'assassin dans l'hôpital, 1956).[1] As Bertrand Vac, Pelletier has been the subject of academic commentary and analysis.[5]

Pelletier's novels, such as Louise Genest (1950) and Saint-Pépin, P.Q. (1955) are considered to have influenced a generation.[6] The themes of adultery in his early works were groundbreaking at that particular time in the history of Quebec literature.[1] Many of his works are particularly referenced to Montreal's Golden Square Mile, where Pelletier lived for over half a century.[6] None of his works have been translated from the original French.

Pelletier's ashes are interred at his ancestral cemetery, located in Sainte-Mélanie, Quebec.[7]

Bibliography

Original Works

Anthology

Other

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Philip Fine, Montreal surgeon led parallel life as writer. The Globe and Mail, October 13, 2010; www.theglobeandmail.com
  2. ↑ French Wikipedia profile of Bertrand Vac; www.fr.wikipedia.org, as referenced to Frédérique Doyon, Décès de l'écrivain Bertrand Vac. Le Devoir, July 28, 2010; www.ledevoir.com.
  3. ↑ Pelletier's obituary at the Union des Écrivaines et Écrivains Québecois states that he graduated from the Université de Montréal medical school, rather than the Université Laval; www.uneq.gc.ca.
  4. 1 2 Union des Écrivaines et Écrivains Québecois, Obituary of Bertrand Vac; www.uneq.qc.ca.
  5. ↑ See, for example, Anna Schoderboeck, The element of frustration in the French-Canadian novel 1940-1954. Doctoral dissertation, The University of Western Ontario, 2006; www.gradworks.umi.com.
  6. 1 2 Uncredited, Publication announcement of À mon seul désir; www.quebec-amerique.com.
  7. ↑ Obituary, Aimé (Bertrand Vac) Pelletier; www.inmemoriam.ca.
  8. ↑ Memoir
  9. ↑ With a focus on the society of Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon, Quebec. See Obituary, Aimé (Bertrand Vac) Pelletier; www.inmemoriam.ca.
  10. 1 2 Commentary
  11. ↑ Non-fiction essay
  12. ↑ Book of aphorisms.
  13. ↑ Considered to be the first detective novel published by a Quebec writer.
  14. ↑ A satire concerning the rural bourgeois and political corruption, referenced to Joliette, Quebec.
  15. ↑ The story of a soldier returning to a domestic life in Canada that he finds boring, compared to his love affair with a woman in France.
  16. ↑ The story of a rural homemaker who escapes an abusive husband and falls in love with a Métis man.
  17. ↑ Jean Clovis Lallemand (1898-1987) was one of the founders of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, who also established prizes for musical composition and was a lifelong financial patron of classical music, particularly in Montreal and area. He was admitted to membership in the Order of Canada in 1968. See Isabelle Papineau-Couture, Biography of Jean Lallemand, L'Encyclopédie Canadienne/Encyclopédie de la musique au Canada; www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com.
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