While on vacation with her family in Valencia, Claire Halde witnesses a shocking event that becomes the catalyst for a protracted downward spiral and a profound personal unravelling as she struggles to come to grips with her role in the incident. This haunting novel, which unfolds across three timelines set in as many decades, takes the reader on a dark journey through the minds of three women whose pasts, presents and futures are decided by a single encounter on a scorching summer afternoon.

Annie Perreault's profile page

Translator Ann Marie Boulanger was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to an anglophone mother and a francophone father. After earning a college diploma in liberal arts, she heard about an acquaintance who was studying translation… and that’s when the lightbulb went off!

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in translation from Montreal’s Concordia University, she was hired by start-up translation firm Traduction Proteus Inc., which she now owns. When she’s not translating novels and children’s books, Ann Marie is an accomplished medical translator.

A life-long learner, Ann Marie earned an MA in translation studies from Concordia in 2018. She is a mentor, a trainer, and a part-time lecturer in translation studies at McGill University. Her first literary translation, The Woman in Valencia, by Annie Perreault, was named a World Literature Today Notable Translation of 2021. She lives in Montreal with her son.

Ann Marie Boulanger's profile page

“ In candid, free-flowing prose, Perreault explores through (three women) the multiple meanings running can have: both as a means of escape and also a way to push yourself forward.”, Jade Colbert, The Globe and Mail

“A dark debut . . . Bewitching sentences tend to flow out of Quebec, and Perreault's novel is full of them.” Literary Review of Canada

“Perreault excels at creating a sense of place; she makes Valencia feel barren, hot, arid, menacing, and impenetrable. The narrative explores aspects of abandonment, from relinquishing responsibility for family, to surrendering one's own identity. VERDICT In this promising debut novel, Canadian author Perreault creates an unsettling world by digging deeply into her characters? motivations and complexities. ” Library Journal May 2021

“The Woman in Valencia is a wonderful story containing far more questions than answers, and Boulanger has done a great job with Perreault's novel in what is her first full work of literary translation.” — Tony Malone, Tony's Reading List

“QC Fiction, the Canadian imprint that specialises in translating French fiction into English, continues to be innovative: every title in their catalogue is stimulating to read . . . For a while I thought this would have been better as a long short story, but as the various strands of narrative assembled themselves I began to appreciate the author's artistry. Her focus is on the feelings and impulses of her main characters: we get right inside their heads, and the intensity of their emotions is palpable . . . The translation, as always with QC titles, is excellent: idiomatic and smooth.” — Simon Lavery, Tredynas Days

"Translations of French novels by Quebec authors don't always hit the mark in English Canada. 'The Woman in Valencia' does.... These emotions, which many of us have known in life, make the novel and characters very accessible and draw us into the story, if only for a brief time. Perreault certainly has demonstrated an exceptional talent for this genre of fiction-writing, and her translator, Boulanger, impeccable work in rendering the novel into English. ... If and when Perreault picks up the pen to write a new novel, I will eagerly read it. For the time being, I will nurture the tender strokes of unhappiness, the shadowy outcomes and the enduring characters of the women in her first novel. ” (Ian Thomas Shaw, The Ottawa Review of Books)

Journal de Montreal

“A novel in which inaction and avoidance collide, in a masterfully fictionalized retelling of a real-life event experienced by the author. As disturbing as it is moving. ” FIVE STARS (Isabelle Houde, Le Droit)

“With her finely honed writing style, the author explores the themes of avoidance, powerlessness in the face of incomprehension, and empathy as a middle ground. ” (Mario Cloutier, La Presse+)

Salut Bonjour Weekend)

“Alternating between tragedy and light, this debut novel forces the reader to question their own sense of compassion and empathy. ” (Claudia Larochelle, L'actualité)

“A beautiful novel and an engaging style that stays with the reader. ” (Yvon Paré, Littérature du Québec)

“With pitch-perfect prose and an ear for rhythm, Annie Perreault explores the physical and psychological ramifications of anxiety with intelligence and sensitivity.” (Anne-Frédérique Hébert-Dolbec, Le Devoir )