THE COUNTRY WILL BRING US NO PEACE by Matthieu Simard

Translated by Pablo Strauss

I often wonder if there’s some unwritten law for authors attempting to navigate the rough terrain of grief in their books: let hope remain, even if it’s just a glimmer. Break it and you likely drift into the realm of emotionally manipulative trauma porn (I’m looking at you Yanagihara). In The Country Will Bring Us No Peace, Matthieu Simard manages the almost impossible, breaking the rule without careening into cheap and salacious sensationalism. It’s bleak and harrowing. And tremendously good.

A young couple flee to a country town, hoping to escape the grief of losing their daughter. They want to start anew, have another child, build a new life. But, you know… best laid plans. The town is dying. Its few remaining denizens dour and creepy. Like, Resident Evil 7 creepy (IYKYK). There’s an air of gothic horror to the place; you either get out or sink.

It’s no spoiler to tell you where the couple end up - she mentions early on that they will be remembered as the murder suicide people. Yep, it’s dark. But, somehow, Simard makes it enthralling and emotionally rich, ultimately hitting upon a truth many would fear to express: sometimes grief is too much.

The Country Will Bring Us No Peace by Matthieu Simard (Tr. Pablo Strauss)
Coach House Books, 2019
124 pages