Rather late in the development of the novel, The Song Cannot Be Silenced, during a comprehensive developmental edit, we discovered a non sequitor that needed to be resolved.
The protagonist, Jean Chrétien, acquires an embroidered postcard; that is the starting point for the novel. But he doesn’t speak any English; he’s French Canadian, a soldier in the Vingt-Deuxième regiment. The talismanic postcard, on the other hand, was very English: Keep Me In Your Heart.
Could there be another example, a similarly embroidered carte postale, in French? Indeed, there could: Gardez moi votre Coeur, it reads. The meaning of this embroidered message, however, is slightly different to that on the English message: keep your heart for me.
The new carte postale created a convincing opportunity to show the reader, newly embarking on the novel, rather than tell them, that Jean’s native language is French Canadian, and therefore quite strikingly different than the French of the Somme region. But this has to be explained in English, sufficient for an English reader to understand, while also exploring the difference between Québecois and Français. Not an easy ask for an author to accomplish.
When you read the very first scene, consider how much is being shown about Jean, and the young woman selling her cartes postales.
And then, of course, carry on with the story!
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