On the same fateful day, two adolescents escape destinies that would scar them for the rest of their lives. Romain, awkward and contemplative, resolves to abandon a lineage of wealth. Éléna, resourceful and single-minded, flees a home of blood and thunder. From the initial meeting of these two wounded souls, Christine Eddie weaves a fable for all times.

As the story ensnares others within its elegant web — a doctor nursing a bruised heart, a teacher harbouring dark secrets — the struggles of a family of singular character transform Eddie’s luminous tale into an ode to friendship, a sonnet on our relationship with nature, and a passionate elegy to love.

“[A] timeless love story. … In a slim volume of sparse, poetic prose, Eddie deftly and movingly covers vast territory.”
– Publisher’s Weekly

“Fischman has taken care to retain the French flavour of Eddie’s fable, a gentle touch that contributes to its rich textures … [T]he imagery is so crisp, and the travails of the forest and its inhabitants so heartbreaking, that what is on the page is hard to forget.”
– Quill & Quire

“Eddie is an immensely gifted writer (the book was originally written in French in 2007, and has been translated by Sheila Fischman) who balances her succinct style with a poetic sensibility. Eddie understands subtlety in characterization, and her players are exceedingly real. Their actions, thoughts, desires and fears resonate with us because they’re genuine, not overdone or melodramatic. Eddie conveys these things beautifully. … The Douglas Notebooks is a subtle and deeply poignant story of a man who abandons the modern world and all its material trappings in search of the truth in nature. Perhaps, that’s a wish that no one will ever be able to fully realize, but what’s a fable without a little bit of fantasy?”
– National Post

“The whole story has a dream-like or even mythical quality about it.”
– The Guardian

“In a slim volume of sparse, poetic prose, Eddie deftly and movingly covers vast territory — what is means to be a family; the fragility of life and of nature; the impact of the war in Europe (woven through Gabrielle’s story line) and progress and development.”
– Publisher’s Weekly

“The Douglas Notebooks is a demi-dream of a novella, existing simultaneously in a world of shopping centres and fairy tales. As a fable, it is at once tender and cynical, an ever-turning wheel. … The book itself is beautiful to look at and feels like a kinesthetic keepsake in the reader’s hands.”
– Scene

“Nature’s profound beauty. The healing silence of the forest. The wrenching tragedy of lives of lack and violence intersecting with those of excess and exacting expectations. Delicately crafted and carefully revealed, this is the world of Christine Eddie’s The Douglas Notebooks.”
– Life in Québec

“[F]or all those weary literary wanderers out there, tirelessly hunting through bookshelves both real and digital, this lushly evocative work is indeed a long-searched-for consoling treasure. A skilfully woven combination of magic realism, social commentary, and love story … Eddie creates a world populated with wandering souls, benevolent strangers, evil parents, magical clarinet solos, untimely deaths, and bittersweet endings. It is a fairy tale world for adults evoking the themes of war, love, death, destruction, and reconciliation. So effectively does Eddie draw us into her creation that we never feel the need to locate ourselves in time or place. … Eddie has written a modern fairy tale, full of magical moments and literary elegance, a veritable treasure for any reader who is hunting for a book that will console and inspire.”
– Montreal Review of Books

“A postmodernist, eco-critical study of a landscape uniquely Canadian. … Through her attention to the post-war progress narrative and its destructive effects on the countryside of Rivi&#232re-aux-Oies, Eddie has earned a place among the masters of contemporary fairy tale, offering a wonderfully articulated, thought-provoking, and touching narrative that is at once timeless and topical.”
– Bull Calf

“Eddie slyly hints at the miracles that lie beneath the trappings of everyday life. This compact novel is about so many things: love, music, self-doubt, courage, the transformative power of nature, and all the things that make us human.”
“A charming fable of love and wilderness, exquisitely written and entirely original. Utterly beautiful.”