Two young writers who grew up in the shadow of the huge chimney of a copper refinery in Rouyn-Noranda speak out. They refuse to be lulled by the songs of gold that have silenced the people who built the city and enriched the foundry owners for many decades. Subtly and poetically, they illustrate the love-hate relationship they maintain with the "piles of slag and copper." This passionate dialogue hit Quebec bookstores like a tornado and will echo in mining towns across Canada.

Gabrielle Izaguirré-Falardeau's profile page

Jean-Lou David's profile page

Mary O'Connor (PhD) is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and Women's Studies and Principal Investigator at the McMaster Research Centre for the Promotion of Women's Health. She has published on cultural and feminist theory, on women with disabilities, on health promotion, and on the determinants of health. She has been a member of the Health Canada Round Table on Population Health and Health Promotion (1996) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Health Theme Advisory Committee (1998).

Mary O'Connor's profile page

"Books like Arsenic mon amour are vital in illuminating specific areas with specific issues — disturbing yet beautifully rendered. . . filled with passion and poetic talent." Emma Dollery, The Montreal Review of Books

"Arsenic mon amour belongs to a long tradition of grassroots activism that has ebbed and flowed cyclically since the foundry was built almost a century ago. . . . The authors' intimate and heartfelt approach inspires not only a profound reflection on how big industry exploits the territory but also a declaration of love for a region, its magnetic landscapes, its creative silence and places that recall the solidarity of the people." Le Devoir

"Arsenic levels in the air are not really discussed. The toxic chemical is an allegory used to challenge the prevailing logic of regional development that weighs on everybody's mind. . . . The letters are poetic, almost violently emotional, romantic, and heartbreaking . . ." Pascal Chevrette, Les cahiers de lecture de l'Action nationale.