Worst Case, We Get Married by Sophie Bienvenu, Translated by JC Sutcliffe

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

Aicha lives with her mother in Montreal’s Centre-Sud neighbourhood. She’s only thirteen but claims to be older. She has never known her father, and resents her mother for leaving Hakim, her stepfather. Her only friends are Mel and Jo, two local prostitutes, and Baz, a musician in his twenties, who comes to her rescue one day and with whom she proceeds to fall in love. Her impossible love for Baz, her precociousness and her rebellious streak come together in an explosive and deadly cocktail. Raw and heartrending, Worst Case, We Get Married is narrated as a confessional statement Aicha gives to a social worker.

From acclaimed Quebecoise writer Sophie Bienvenu, and translated by JC Sutcliffe, comes Worst Case, We Get Married, a powerful and moving coming-of-age novel. Originally published in French in 2011 as Et au pire, on se mariera, the novel was adapted into a film by Bienvenu and Léa Pool in 2017.

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Praise for Worst Case, We Get Married:

“Sophie Bienvenu gets inside the head of a whip-smart, lovesick teenager whose fantasy life bleeds into her reality to chilling effect. Listen to her story and be seduced (and horrified). Worst Case, We Get Married is Quebec lit at its best.”
— Neil Smith, author of Boo

Press Coverage for Worst Case, We Get Married:

Most Anticipated: Our Spring 2019 Fiction Preview —49th Shelf

Globe Books Spring Preview: 37 Books to Dive into as the Weather Warms Up —Becky Toyne, The Globe and Mail

Sophie Bienvenu was born in Belgium. After studying visual communication in Paris, she moved to Quebec in 2001 and quickly established herself as a successful blogger. Her first novel, Et au pire, on se mariera (2011), was adapted into a film by the same name in 2017, and published in English as Worst Case, We Get Married (Book*hug, 2019). She is also the author of two other novels, Chercher Sam (2014), and Autour d’elle (2016), and the poetry collection, Ceci n’est pas de l’amour (2016). She has also written books for children and teens, including the popular YA series, (k). Bienvenu lives in Montreal.

JC Sutcliffe is a writer, translator, book reviewer, and editor who has lived in England, France, and Canada. She has reviewed for the Times Literary Supplement, The Globe and Mail and the National Post, among others. Her recent translations include Mama’s Boy and Mama’s Boy Behind Bars by David Goudreault, and Document 1 by François Blais.