We are thrilled to welcome Arizona O’Neill and Heather O’Neill to the Festival stage to celebrate Valentine in Montreal , which was originally published in weekly instalments in the Montreal Gazette in the tradition of the serialized novels of Charles Dickens.
This is the unforgettable story of Valentine, a lonely orphan working in a depanneur at a Montreal metro station, who spots her look-alike. As Valentine follows this seeming twin onto the subway and out into the city, her world is changed—she meets gangsters, composers, ballet dancers, and a cricket playing a mournful tune, and she experiences the city in all its teeming energy.
Valentine in Montreal is the playful, moving, and surprising story of a young woman who finds connection and the courage to break free of what has been holding her back. It’s also a celebration of Montreal and its artistry and vibrancy, both above and below ground. Illustrations by graphic artist Arizona O’Neill run throughout.
Books are available from our friends at Perfect Books.
The Ottawa International Writers Festival is supported by generous individuals like you. Please consider subscribing to our newsletter and making a donation to support our programming and children’s literacy initiatives.
Each section is titled after a metro station and immerses the reader in a playful world they’re eager to revisit, with chapter endings that leave them wanting more. Arizona O’Neill’s illustrations add wonderfully to the story, never portraying quite what one expects them to. In this way, they do not simply accompany but enrich, and it is clear that mother and daughter worked together to create this bewitching world.”
We are thrilled to welcome Arizona O’Neill and Heather O’Neill to the Festival stage to celebrate Valentine in Montreal , which was originally published in weekly instalments in the Montreal Gazette in the tradition of the serialized novels of Charles Dickens.
This is the unforgettable story of Valentine, a lonely orphan working in a depanneur at a Montreal metro station, who spots her look-alike. As Valentine follows this seeming twin onto the subway and out into the city, her world is changed—she meets gangsters, composers, ballet dancers, and a cricket playing a mournful tune, and she experiences the city in all its teeming energy.
Valentine in Montreal is the playful, moving, and surprising story of a young woman who finds connection and the courage to break free of what has been holding her back. It’s also a celebration of Montreal and its artistry and vibrancy, both above and below ground. Illustrations by graphic artist Arizona O’Neill run throughout.
Books are available from our friends at Perfect Books.
The Ottawa International Writers Festival is supported by generous individuals like you. Please consider subscribing to our newsletter and making a donation to support our programming and children’s literacy initiatives.
