Ieu, Joan Pigassa, obrièr del Canal - Miquèla Teisseire, Alan ROCH

Ieu, Joan Pigassa, obrièr del Canal - Miquèla Teisseire, occitan translation by Alan ROCH

In the century of the Sun King, a worker recounts the construction of the Canal du Midi...

A young lumberjack from the Montagne Noire, Jean Pigasse is hired on a Canal du Midi construction site. Over the years, he moved from one canal site to the next, following the work all the way from the Rigole de la Montagne Noire to the sea. Not always a rosy picture of life in the 17th century, when earning a living was no easy matter.
This novel will take you into the daily life of the little people of the time, and follow Jean Pigasse's journey through these difficult but exciting works, as well as the metamorphosis that this gigantic project brought about in the Lauraguais region.
For young and old alike, a fascinating historical novel that brings to life the atmosphere of the great construction sites of the 17th century and the life of the little people of the time.

This is Alan Roch's translation into Occitan (from Languedoc) of Michèle Teysseyre's novel Moi Jean Pigasse, ouvrier du Canal. A novel written in a simple, popular style, with a lively narrative that can be read in one go.
Occitan translation by Alan Roch, with the assistance of M. Braç, C. Canal and M.-A. Jullian.

Vendémias collection, published by IEO Aude (11).

The author:
Alan Roch (Alain Rouch) was born in 1952 in Carcassonne, Aude. A schoolteacher and cultural organizer, he is also an author, translator and storyteller, and was General Secretary of the IEO (1981-1986).

An "audio book" version is also available, in the form of a soap opera in 59 episodes of around 3 to 5 minutes each, on the Occitanica website (CIRDOC).

Presentation to the novel:
This is Michèle Teysseyre's second book about the incredible undertaking of digging the Canal Royal du Languedoc under the reign of Louis XIV. In this novel, based on remarkable historical research, including Michel Adgé's monumental thesis on La construction du canal royal de la jonction des mers en Languedoc (Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier-III, 2011), Michèle Teysseyre brings to life the great adventure of the Canal du Midi through the testimony of Jean Pigasse, a lumberjack from the Montagne Noire region.
Alongside him, we plunge into the atmosphere and daily life of the great 17th-century construction site in Languedoc, in a novel that reveals the author's cinematic touch.