In this classic road novel, Jacques Poulin tells the story of a man in search of his brother. The geographical journey — through Detroit, into Chicago, on to St. Louis, along the Oregon Trail and into California — becomes a metaphor for the exploration of the history of the French in North America.

Jacques Poulin, born in 1938 in Saint-Gédéon-de-Beauce, Quebec, is one of the leading novelists of his generation. Author of over a dozen novels, including Volkswagen Blues which introduced him to a wider American and Canadian audience he has received many prizes.

Award-winning translator Sheila Fischman has translated over 150 Quebec novels from French to English, including Michel Tremblay, Marie-Claire Blais and Kim Thúy. She is a recipient of the Molson Prize for the Arts.

Jacques Poulin's profile page

Sheila Fischman's profile page

• Short-listed, Canada Reads

“Jacques Poulin is one of the finest and most underrated novelists in Quebec. Volkswagen Blues confirms his calibre as a writer, and may give him the reputation he deserves.”

The Globe and Mail

“Shares a mix of detached humour, fantasy and compassion with Vonnegut and Salinger.”

Saskatoon Star-Phoenix

“A wonderfully lively and entertaining trip … this book is full of incidental pleasures, odd characters, bizarre incidents, moments of poetry — some of them very comic — that spring as much from the author’s own generosity of spirit as from the richness of things. This is a splendid book.”

The Toronto Star