‘Romance’ by Arnaud Cathrine deserves to be translated into English
This French YA gay romance novel is the first part of a trilogy delving into what it is to be young and yearn for love and, funnily enough, "romance".
It’s the mojito.
It’s just an accident.
It’s because he hasn’t met the right girl.
It’s because I haven’t met the right boy.
It’s just experimenting.
It’s the same for all best friends.
It’s between him and me.
It’s the first and the last time.
It’s nothing.
It will pass.
After the success of his In the Place of the Heart trilogy, Arnaud Cathrine offers us the gift of first love, as if we were there ourselves.
What is it about?
Vince is a teenage boy comfortable enough in his own skin but who can easily lose his temper as soon as someone, at college, insults him for being gay. A very romantic soul, he’s waiting for the love that never comes, determined that his first time won’t just be with some one-night-stand. He has watched every gay film he can, and fallen in love with each of their actors, but when he finally falls in love for real, it’s with Octave, his lifelong best friend.
Why do I want to translate it?
Romance by Arnaud Cathrine is a French YA novel that holds a particular place in my heart. As a young translator trying to get his start in literary translation, it’s a dream of mine to see this book translated into English.
So, a bit about me: I’m a French to English translator and I’ve been living in Paris since those not-so-halcyon days of Covid in 2020. I’m as gay as the day is long (a turn of phrase which admittedly doesn’t work as well in frosty January as it would in balmy August), and my literary tastes pretty much reflect this. My teen years were spent in a tiny Somerset village, so you can easily understand how important YA gay romance novels were to me as an escape (as few there were even so recently as my adolescence).
I’ve read more than my fair share of YA gay romance (not that there are many) in an effort to feel seen on the pages I read, but if I had to pick out one single book that made me feel understood, it would be Romance by Arnaud Cathrine. As soon as I sat down to read it, the main character, Vince grabbed a firm hold of me with his unfiltered raw first-person narration and dragged me into his single minded, determined quest to find Love (the genuine article with a capital L). Through his bouts of swearing and unfortunate fist fights with homophobic bullies, I felt my lips burn and my fists itch. I cringed all-to-knowingly through his failed attempts at dating. I yearned wistfully as he discovered love right where he least expected it in the form of his childhood best friend, then fell with him into the depths as he lost it.
Thank god I decided to learn French!
Since discovering this novel, I’ve perfected my French (as best one can), read Arnaud Cathrine’s two sequels to Romance (did someone say ready-to-go trilogy potential?), had my own trials and tribulations in love (Frenchmen, what can I say?), and have now decided, as 2024 takes its first tentative steps in life, to put my all into getting that first big break in literary translation. This begins with me putting passion first and therefore doing my all to see one of my favourite French novels translated into English.
Who is it for?
In terms of readership, Romance fits into the mid- to late-adolescent part of YA. It’s for the LGBTQ+ kids that loved Heartstopper or Aristotle and Dante, who now want something a bit more in-depth and emotionally raw, but aren’t too keen on something as literary as Call Me By Your Name. It’s for the romantics who dislike Love Simon because it’s just too unrealistic and sweet. Judging by my best friend who gave the attached sample the once over and who is crossing her fingers that you want to read more too, it’s also for twenty-something girls that love a classic friends-to-lovers trope.
About the author
Born in 1973, Arnaud Cathrine began writing at the age of 15, and published his first book, Les Yeux secs, in 1998. Since then, he has published over 20 books, including Pas exactement l’amour (Éditions Verticales, 2015; recipient of the Académie Française Novel Prize) and À la place du cœur – Saison 1 et 2 (Éditions Robert Laffont, 2016, 2017). Arnaud Cathrine has also turned his novel La Route de Midland into a film with Éric Caravaca under the title Le Passager, as well as Je ne retrouve personne, which recently aired on the Arte channel as Neuf jours en hiver. An ex-presenter and producer for the radio station France Culture, literary consultant for the Correspondances de Manosque festival and for la Maison de la Poésie, he adores the theatre and, most particularly, musical readings. In 2008, he collaborated in writing and singing on the book-album Frère animal with Florent Marchet. The corresponding show toured throughout France over a period of three years. Most recently, Octave, the third volume of his Romance trilogy, was awarded the Prix Vendredi 2023 – Jury des jeunes pass Culture prize, chosen by a jury of seven young readers from various regions in France.
Are you a UK- or US-based editor?
If this pitch has piqued your interest, I would evidently be more than happy to discuss this title further!