Happiness Has a Slippery Tail Book launch and tribute to Abla Farhoud

Schedule

Thu Nov 20 2025 at 05:00 pm to 07:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Librairie Paragraphe | Montréal, QC

Advertisement
Happiness Has a Slippery Tail is the translation of the acclaimed novel Le bonheur a la queue glissante by Abla Farhoud.
About this Event

The University of Ottawa Press and Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore are pleased to invite you to the launch of , the English translation of Le bonheur a la queue glissante by the late author Abla Farhoud. This intimate evening will pay tribute to the celebrated novelist and playwright, who sadly passed away in 2021, by revisiting one of her landmark works. Translator Judith Weisz Woodsworth will share her experience working on the translation and, together with Alecka Farhoud, singer-songwriter and daughter of the author, will present a reading of selected passages in memory of Abla Farhoud.

This event is presented in both French and English.



About the book
This novel paints the portrait of a Lebanese family that has settled in Montreal. The central figure is Dounia, a 75-year-old mother and grandmother. Hers is a story of loss—she first leaves her own village to live in her husband’s hometown, and then is wrenched from her homeland, not once but twice, to live in a strange land whose language and customs are foreign to her.
Dounia can neither read nor write, and she speaks only Arabic. Illiterate yet perceptive, nourished by Lebanese proverbs and pearls of wisdom, she has a unique and captivating voice. She struggles, yes, but manages to achieve fulfilment in her new world: “My home is where my grandchildren are, clinging to my neck, calling me Sitto Dounia […] in my language. I want to die where my children and my grandchildren live.”



About the translator

Judith Woodsworth is a translator and Distinguished Professor Emerita at Concordia University. A specialist in translation history and theory, she has published Translators through History (with Jean Delisle), the monograph Telling the Story of Translation: Writers Who Translate, and the edited volumes The Fictions of Translation and Translation and the Global City: Bridges and Gateways. She has translated novels by Pierre Nepveu, Abla Farhoud, and Felicia Mihali, and was the receipient of the 2022 Governor General’s literary award for French-English translation for History of the Jews in Quebec by Pierre Anctil. She was founding president of the Canadian Association for Translation Studies. Woodsworth holds a PhD in French literature from McGill University.



About the author

Born in Lebanon in 1945, Abla Farhoud immigrated to Canada in 1951. She later moved back to Lebanon and spent some time in France. She studied theatre at the Université du Québec à Montréal and wrote several plays. In 1998, she published her first novel, Le bonheur a la queue glissante, for which she was awarded the Prix France-Québec – Philippe Rossillon. A number of acclaimed novels followed.
Abla Farhoud passed away in 2021. She is survived by her children—musician Mathieu Farhoud-Dionne, also known as Chafiik, and singer-songwriter Alecka Farhoud.

Advertisement

Where is it happening?

Librairie Paragraphe, 2220 Avenue McGill College, Montréal, Canada

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Tickets

CAD 0.00

Icon
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
University of Ottawa Press (PUO-UOP)

Host or Publisher University of Ottawa Press (PUO-UOP)

Ask AI if this event suits you:

Discover More Events in Montreal

Lancement collectif de l'A\u00c9QJ
Thu, 20 Nov at 04:00 pm Lancement collectif de l'AÉQJ

Librairie Bertrand

RGCS Lecture, Daniel Lee: Excessive Beneficence
Thu, 20 Nov at 04:30 pm RGCS Lecture, Daniel Lee: Excessive Beneficence

Thomson House Restaurant/Bar/Cafe and Reception Hall

Connect-Bio : R\u00e9inventer le pr\u00e9clinique pour r\u00e9duire l\u2019usage des animaux
Thu, 20 Nov at 04:30 pm Connect-Bio : Réinventer le préclinique pour réduire l’usage des animaux

Grande Bibliothèque de BAnQ

BUSINESS
Opening night \/ Global Art League winner\u00b4s exhibition: Quintin Per\u00e9z
Thu, 20 Nov at 06:00 pm Opening night / Global Art League winner´s exhibition: Quintin Peréz

1844 william street, Montreal, QC, Canada, Quebec H3J 1R5

ART EXHIBITIONS
Trouve l'imposteur
Thu, 20 Nov at 06:00 pm Trouve l'imposteur

Aux Angles Ronds - Espace créatif

6 \u00e0 9 Festif pour RH et gestionnaires - \u00c9dition #3
Thu, 20 Nov at 06:00 pm 6 à 9 Festif pour RH et gestionnaires - Édition #3

85 Rue Saint-Paul O

Caf\u00e9 & Chapters
Thu, 22 May at 07:00 pm Café & Chapters

Café Toranj

MEETUPS ART
Book launch: Bob Silverman, The Impossible Hero
Tue, 21 Oct at 05:00 pm Book launch: Bob Silverman, The Impossible Hero

Vélo Québec - Maison des cyclistes

ART LITERARY-ART
Novelists
Tue, 21 Oct at 07:00 pm Novelists

L'Escogriffe Cafe Bar

TRIPS-ADVENTURES
Confessions of Thomas Mann, Confidence Man | ACHTUNG FILM!
Wed, 22 Oct at 06:00 pm Confessions of Thomas Mann, Confidence Man | ACHTUNG FILM!

Cinémathèque québécoise

ENTERTAINMENT ART
Women on the Run Book Club w\/ Iva - The Princess of 72nd Street
Wed, 22 Oct at 06:30 pm Women on the Run Book Club w/ Iva - The Princess of 72nd Street

Librairie Saint-Henri Books

ART
NOVELISTS | Bar L'Esco | Montr\u00e9al
Wed, 22 Oct at 08:00 pm NOVELISTS | Bar L'Esco | Montréal

l'Escogriffe Bar Spectacle

ART LITERARY-ART
Michael Finnerty Book Launch
Thu, 23 Oct at 05:00 pm Michael Finnerty Book Launch

2220 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, Canada, Quebec H3A3P9

BUSINESS WORKSHOPS
October Translation Book Club
Thu, 23 Oct at 07:00 pm October Translation Book Club

1841-A rue Sainte. Catherine Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada, Quebec H3H 1M2

MEETUPS
Mother of God Book Launch w\/ Sara Peters and Nour Abi-Nakhoul
Fri, 24 Oct at 06:30 pm Mother of God Book Launch w/ Sara Peters and Nour Abi-Nakhoul

Librairie Saint-Henri Books

ART LITERARY-ART
Lancement (Montr\u00e9al) - Samy
Sat, 25 Oct at 10:00 am Lancement (Montréal) - Samy

Librairie Raffin - Plaza St-Hubert

Candle Selling
Sat, 25 Oct at 10:00 am Candle Selling

Montreal, Qc, Canada

Lancement - Charlie 1
Sat, 25 Oct at 05:00 pm Lancement - Charlie 1

Librairie un livre à soi - Montréal

What's Happening Next in Montreal?

Discover Montreal Events