Translated from French by Howard Scott

A young woman arrives in Quebec from France and one day embarks on a journey along the north shore of the St Lawrence River. Beyond Tadoussac, well into Innu territory, she stops at Ekuanitshit. Here she meets two sisters, Penassin and Nuenau, and their father, Shimun, who invite her and make her one of their family. She learns of Innu folklore, their way of life, their joys, and their attachment to the north. She joins Shimun and others into the heart of the Quebec-Labrador Peninsula. "We walk, we paddle, we admire the lake, the mountains, we hunt, we cut our wood, we don't stop for a moment," says Nuenau. "You have to come with us to understand."

Following Shimun paints a stirring picture of the Innu people, for whom the call of the land exerts a magnetic pull and the spirit of hospitality still dictates how they treat unexpected guests.

Laure Morali's profile page

Howard Scott is a Montreal literary translator who works with fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. His translations include works by Madeleine Gagnon, science-fiction writer Élisabeth Vonarburg, and Canada’s Poet Laureate, Michel Pleau. Scott received the Governor General’s Literary Award for his translation of Louky Bersianik’s The Euguelion. The Great Peace of Montreal of 1701, by Gilles Havard, which he co-translated with Phyllis Aronoff, won the Quebec Writers’ Federation Translation Award. A Slight Case of Fatigue, by Stéphane Bourguignon, another co-translation with Phyllis Aronoff, was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award. Howard Scott is a past president of the Literary Translators’ Association of Canada.

Howard Scott's profile page

"In a language that derives its poetry from the landscapes that its author crosses, this story provides us with a double lesson in generosity, highlighting the sense of hospitality of the Innu, but at the same time reflecting Laure Morali's infinite gratitude to those who revealed it to her." --Dominic Tardif, Le Devoir

"[Laure Morali] gives us the moving chronicle of an encounter with a territory, a people, and an exceptional being in her story Following Shimun." --Marie-France Bornais, Journal de Montréal

"A very beautiful story. [...] A magnificent, deeply human book." --Marie-Andrée Lamontagne, Parking nomade (Radio VM)

"A vibrant story." --Louis-Philippe Ouimet, Le Téléjournal (Radio-Canada)

"During a journey through Innu territory, a woman meets an Elder who invites her to camp with him on the banks of the Manitou River, in the company of other Elders from the 11 Innu communities of the Quebec-Labrador peninsula. In the tent, fishing, or walking leisurely, the woman slowly learns her nomadic pace of life. Fall will soon take us back to hectic schedules, this story provides a great excuse to relax and is a magnificent tribute to Indigenous people." --Julie Roy, L'actualité

"I read and reread this slow, poetic account of her three-month stay in Nutshimit, in 1996, in the company of this Innu from the Quebec-Labrador peninsula. The improbable and delightful friendship of an old Indigenous man married to the territory and an adventurous young Breton woman makes the human race more relatable. If Robert Lalonde has no equal in dissecting the herbarium for us, the poet whom Shimun called "Naure" has conquered the rhythm of the North and its wild nature, its sacredness, the slowness that makes lace with silence." --Josée Blanchette, Le Devoir