Editorial review
On the Fence: Growing up bilingual in Québec
By Sandra Thériault
“Who do you think you are?” author Sandra Thériault’s father often used to ask her, and in her memoir, On the Fence: growing up bilingual in Québec, she moves through the pieces of her life to answer this complex questio...
Reviewed by CANREADS
“Who do you think you are?” author Sandra Thériault’s father often used to ask her, and in her memoir, On the Fence: growing up bilingual in Québec, she moves through the pieces of her life to answer this complex question. Hers is the story of a dysfunctional family: an only child with a narcissistic father and aloof mother.
Despite speaking English and French, that affords Thériault an insider's understanding of both cultures in her province, it sets her apart within each linguistic group, and adds another layer to her struggles, which she vividly renders: frequent moves, rundown homes, lack of basic necessities. Thériault learns self-reliance early on, as she endures her parents' erratic life choices, then progressively finds her own place in the world.
The society in which her youth unfolds, widely controlled by the Catholic Church, keeper of faith and language in Québec, compels Thériault to finally establish her own convictions and values, and set off on her road toward emancipation.
At once a study of family history, a meditation on adversity, and an argument for forging your own path, On the Fence: growing up bilingual in Québec is a poignant, engagingly told journey of identity and self-discovery within the boundaries of a province in turmoil.
—CANREADS BOOK REVIEW