Benoit, Jacques 1941-

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BENOIT, Jacques 1941-

PERSONAL: Born November 28, 1941, in Saint-Jean, Quebec, Canada; son of Jean-Marie (an immigration official) and Yvette (Deneault) Benoit; married Michelle Gelinas; children: Elisabeth, Frederique. Education: Degrees in literature from University of Montreal and McGill University.

ADDRESSES: Home—4139, av. Old Orchard, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4A 3B3.

CAREER: Journalist and author.

MEMBER: Union Écrivaines; Quebec writers group.

AWARDS, HONORS: Province of Quebec award, 1968, for Jos Carbone; Judith-Jasmin Award, 1976; Canada Heritage Award, 1977.

WRITINGS:

Jos Carbone, Editions du Jour (Montreal, Quebec), 1967, translated by Sheila Fischman, Harvest House (Montreal, Quebec), 1974.

Les Voleurs, Editions du Jour (Montreal, Quebec), 1969.

Patience et Firlipon, Editions du Jour (Montreal, Quebec), 1970.

La Maudite Galette (screenplay), CINAK Cie Cinématographie, 1972.

(With Denys Arcand) Réjeanne Padovani (screenplay), CINAK Cie Cinématographie, 1973.

Les Princes, Editions du Jour (Montreal, Quebec), 1973, translated by David Lobell as The Princes Oberon (Montreal, Quebec), 1977.

L'Extréme Gauche, La Presse (Montreal, Quebec), 1978.

L'Affaire Coffin (screenplay), Films Cine Scene/Productions Videofilms, 1979.

Gisèle el le serpent, Libre Expression (Montreal, Quebec), 1981.

Les Plaisirs du vin, Libre Expression (Montreal, Quebec), 1985.

SIDELIGHTS: Jacques Benoit is a native of Quebec, and though his primary occupation is journalism, he has written several novels. However, as Jacqueline Viswanathan noted in the Dictionary of Literary Biography, "It is not easy to situate Jacques Benoit in the context of contemporary Quebec literature."

Benoit's first novel, Jos Carbone, won the Province of Canada Award in 1974 and impressed readers with its originality. Jos and his girlfriend, Myrtie, live in a forest cottage surrounded by only the wilderness and their intense love for each other. Their peaceful lives are disrupted when a stranger arrives and threatens to take over Jos's home and Myrtie. The story involves a manhunt through the forest, which ends in murder, after which Jos and Myrtie return to their wilderness utopia. The story is, in many ways, similar to a fairy tale, but there are modern elements and vivid descriptions of the real world. The characters seem to be pushed by a sort of primitive instinct, which inevitably erupts in violence.

This instinctual violence can be found in all of Benoit's novels. For example, in the political satire Les Voleurs, three convicts are released from jail by their victim, a bishop. Later, he attempts to enlist their help to rig a political election, and they brutally beat him. In contrast, Les Princes is a novel about a haunting world inhabited by Blue Men, Monsters (half man, half animal), and Dogs. These creatures live in an oppressive world and are driven by instinct. Starvation forces a Blue Man to kill and eat a Dog, which leads to a vicious fight, and eventually, both groups are exterminated in the mutual slaughter. The world Benoit creates in this novel could be viewed as social commentary: man is basically an animal, motivated only by instincts and a drive for power.

In addition to writing fiction, Benoit has compiled a series of his award-winning articles on the radical Left into a book titled L'Extréme Gauche.