Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The Main

I arrived in Montreal last night. I'm presently a couple of chapters into The Main by Trevanian, set in the city in the early 1970s. The first chapter sets out the sense of place of The Main - Boulevard St Laurent in the heart of the city. I've been wandering around today and made a bee-line for The Main to see what it was like. I thought it might have been gentrified in the intervening 40 years, but it is still quite down at heal and had the feel of a liminal space, with its mix of immigrant shops and sex show places. It certainly hasn't been yuppified. Good to have the place in my head now as I read.

1 comment:

Maxine Clarke said...

I remember reading novels by Trevanian, possibly even in those 1970s to which you refer! (Can't recall any details, though.) Hope you are having a nice time in Montreal.