The not-often seen together combination of poetic writing interspersed with historical events and modern-day occurrences with a view to the future marks Francis Catalano’s work as noteworthy. Québec’s past is vividly imagined, and The Origin of the Future reveals the author’s background as a poet as he creates a kind of road trip partway between an essay and a novel. The narrator looks for what has come before him, what has shaped him. There is authenticity in this eclectic mixture of the present day and history, and courage in forging new territory to create an unusually original work.

The central figure of The Origin of the Future is North America. It talks about the origins of the continent: geological (before human beings), human origins (migration of people from Asia), colonial origins (the arrival of Europeans) and the origin of the author’s own presence in North America. Catalano lends his voice to his ancestors, to his Italian grandfather, to his son … who speak through him to tell their little story in America while History is told using a more enigmatic or poetic text, between each chapter. Then come the great outdoors of America, migrations, road trips, family.