The Canada Reads blurb for the book:
“The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant is a colourful, loving portrait of life in a Montreal neighbourhood, explored through an enchanting chorus of voices.

One by one, the characters inhabiting the cramped apartments on la rue Fabre emerge: Albertine, sister-in-law of the fat woman of the book’s title, who dreams of a more glamorous life; Marie-Sylvia, who runs the Arc-en-ciel restaurant across the street; Béatrice and Mercedes, two ‘chippies’ who ply their trade under the disapproving gaze of prudish neighbours; Duplessis, Marie-Sylvia’s fickle and always ravenous cat; and a number of pregnant women, who struggle to make ends meet while their men are either unemployed or away at war.

Their stories are relayed in the breezy, comic tones of the gossip the women exchange on the no. 52 Mont-Royal streetcar. Deftly translated into English by Sheila Fischman, Tremblay’s depiction of his childhood neighbourhood is fond but never sentimental. He describes the poverty in matter-of-fact detail and his dialogue is true to the district’s frank, expressive language.

Tremblay allows each of his characters to shine, and fashions a novel that hums with the hustle and bustle of everyday life in a big city.

Published in 1978 as La grosse femme d’à côté est enceinte, the novel was published in English translation by Talonbooks in 1981.”

Other useful links:
the Canada Reads page for The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant

My thoughts:
Before – I’m very optimistic about this one. My mother was born in Montreal in November of 1942, so the “fat woman” of the title might just as well be my grandmother (of course I know that she’s Tremblay’s mother but you know what I mean).
During (30.01.09) – I’m enjoying this so far, despite my general aversion to the paragraphless style. I’m about halfway through and I have a bad feeling that something awful is going to happen to Duplessis (who reminded me immediately of Mottyl, the cat from Not Wanted on the Voyage). Twice so far I’ve wanted to rap Sheila Fischman on the knuckles for saying “should of” instead of “should have”. Aaaack!
After – Loved this book. It seemed so effortless but was in fact extremely complex and multilayered. I really got used to the “megaparagraphs” and came to like the style by the end of the book. So far, it’s my pick to win.

Well, it’s that time of year again! I listened to the broadcast of the launch on the 25th of November, subscribed to the RSS feed on the CBC website, and put all the Canada Reads books on my Christmas wishlist. I’m very interested in the entire slate of books this year (with the exception, perhaps, of Fruit—I’m a little turned off by the whole “talking nipple” thing; seems so juvenile). Only one in the mix that might be considered a proven “classic” though (The Fat Woman Next Door of course.), which is unfortunate. And only one female author, which is also unfortunate.

But anyway, I’m all geared up and ready to begin, just as soon as I’m finished my current read (Roughing It in the Bush). I’ll be reading The Book of Negroes first, as it is the longest of them, and the only one I currently have in my possession. I’m not sure about the order for the remaining books. Perhaps I’ll read them in diminishing order (or perhaps the order in which they arrive from Chapters…).

Some people on BookCrossing have already “signed up” to read this year’s selection with me, and I imagine we’ll have a lively debate as time advances on toward the March 2-6 broadcast of the debates.

This year, I’m planning to do as much of the blog work as I can in advance, so I’ll only have to do the actual “reviews” as I go, so I’m really hoping to succeed in keeping up and being prepared for all of the debates this year.

The 2009 Canada Reads books are:
Nicholas Campbell: The Outlander by Gil Adamson
Jen Sookfong Lee: Fruit by Brian Francis
Sarah Slean: Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richards
Anne-Marie Withenshaw: The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant by Michel Tremblay
Avi Lewis: The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill