Occupation writer Role Novelist Name Nelly Arcan | Children none Albums Putain | |
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Books Putain, Whore, Hysteric, Burqa of Skin, Folle Died September 24, 2009 (aged 36) Montreal, Quebec Born March 5, 1973 (age 36), Lac-Mégantic, Quebec Similar André Brassard, François Dompierre, Denise Filiatrault | ||
Claudia larochelle rend hommage nelly arcan
Nelly Arcan (March 5, 1973 – September 24, 2009) was a Canadian novelist. Arcan was born Isabelle Fortier at Lac-Mégantic in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.
Contents
- Claudia larochelle rend hommage nelly arcan
- Claudia larochelle raconte son amie nelly arcan six ans apr s sa mort
- Biography
- Death
- References
Claudia larochelle raconte son amie nelly arcan six ans apr s sa mort
Biography
Arcan's first novel Putain (2001; English: Whore (2004)), caused a sensation and enjoyed immediate critical and media success. It was a finalist for both the Prix Médicis and the Prix Fémina, two of France's most prestigious literary awards. It contains similarities between the prostitute Cynthia in the novel and Arcan's own experience as a professional escort sex worker.
Putain was followed with three more novels that established her as a literary star in Quebec and France. Her second novel Folle (2004), like her first, is semi-autobiographical and scandalous, and was also nominated for the Prix Femina. A third novel A ciel ouvert appeared in 2007. L’enfant dans le miroir (2007) is a coffee-table illustrated book on beauty. Arcan had recently completed her fourth novel Paradis clef en main (2009; English: Exit (2011)) when she committed suicide. She also wrote several short stories, opinion pieces and columns for various Quebec newspapers and literary magazines.
Arcan was thin, busty and beautiful, as Linda Leith said, "Nelly Arcan’s physical presence was too eye-catching to ignore. She would have turned heads on a movie set. The literary set had never seen the like. Picture Marilyn Monroe at the age of 28 getting short-listed for the Booker Prize and the Dublin IMPAC prize for her first novel. And then writing a second novel that gets nominated for the Dublin IMPAC prize again."
Death
Arcan was found dead in her Montreal apartment on September 24, 2009. She hung herself. She had just finished writing her last book, Paradis, Clef en main, whose narrator is left handicapped after a failed suicide attempt. She had attempted suicide previously. On September 3, 2009, three weeks before her death, Arcan published a story in her weekly column in the Quebec French-language weekly Ici magazine entitled "Prends-moi, ou t’es mort" ("Take Me, or You're Dead"), detailing an experience with a stalker.
She is buried in Québec's Eastern Townships. Lac-Mégantic's municipal library, assembled from many of the over a hundred thousand books donated after fire destroyed the original library during 2013's Lac-Mégantic derailment, is named « La Médiathèque municipale Nelly-Arcan » in her honour.
Director Anne Émond's 2016 film Nelly is based on Arcan's life.