What a lovely, gentle book of the passing of days with simple pleasures. I wanted to be riding along with the Driver. ( )

In this Quebecois novel, originally published in French in 1993 and recently reissued in English by Steerforth Press, an unnamed middle-aged man known only as “the Driver” travels in a bookmobile for the provincial Ministry of Culture. He has followed the same route every year through the remote villages along the St. Lawrence River’s “North Shore,” distributing books to the networks of readers that have been established there over time. This summer is to be different. Feeling the approach of old age, the Driver knows he hasn’t the psychological fortitude to cope with the inevitable decline of his body. This will be his last trip. The reader learns that he has brought with him a long flexible hose, which can reach from the back of his vehicle to the driver’s side window.

Before he is to leave Quebec City, he is drawn to the performance of a troupe of musicians, jugglers, and entertainers who have come from France to present at the annual summer festival held near the Chateau Frontenac, an iconic hotel overlooking the majestic St. Lawrence River. He meets Marie, a beautiful woman around his age. She’s the manager for the troupe and a kind of director, who always sits or stands in the front row where she can subtly signal the entrances and exits of the performers. The Driver and Marie have an immediate, almost spiritual connection. Marie has a boyfriend, Slim —an acrobat, tightrope walker, and juggler—but there are suggestions that things may be changing between the two of them.

Before returning to France the members of the troupe want to travel, see something of Quebec and perhaps a little of the States, too. They decide to buy an old bus, outfit it for their needs, and accompany the Driver on his route. Once they get going, Marie often travels in the bookmobile alongside her new friend. They have gentle talks about books and life. When not with Marie, the Driver attends to his book networks, collecting the volumes that were selected, read, and passed from one reader to the next in the chains of bibliophiles, and assisting people with their selection of new books for the months ahead. The Driver has read every book he carries, and he knows his readers well. One of the pleasures of Autumn Rounds was encountering names of writers and books I’d never before heard of. Unfortunately, many of the works of Quebecois writers, if they even make it to English-speaking Canada, are not widely known.

This is a delicate, intimate, and gentle novel about books, their ability to connect people, and the mysterious gifts of love and friendship we may be given when we least expect them. It’s lovely. ( )

An older man, known only as The Driver, operates a bookmobile that makes periodic rounds to Quebec’s rural areas. One evening shortly before his summer tour, he encounters a musical troupe performing in Quebec City. He is enchanted by their devil-may-care approach to life, and they appreciate his devotion to literature and his bookmobile patrons. They decide to embark on tour together. They travel from one rural community to the next, with the troupe holding public performances to raise funds for the next leg of their journey. Sometimes the troupe and the bookmobile separate for a while, reuniting at a previously agreed destination.

The Driver is especially drawn to Marie, the troupe’s manager, finding every possible reason to talk to her or just sit quietly in her presence. He is shy, and Marie is enigmatic and reserved, and yet bonds begin to form. Over the course of the summer The Driver, who was initially thinking this would be his final bookmobile tour, shows signs of reconsidering.

This book is a travelogue of sorts, although I would have enjoyed this aspect more if I were already familiar with Quebec’s landscape. Absent that, it’s a slow, quiet character study about finding love later in life, and in the company of books at that. A very pleasant read. ( )

The writing was lovely as were the literary quotes and the relationships. The ending surprised and somewhat disppointed me. The ending also pleased me. The protagonist is a person worth knowing. ( )

This charming and simple novel takes place in and around Québec City, and the primary character is an older man known as The Driver, who owns an old milk truck that he has converted to a bookmobile. During the autumn months he travels to nearby towns and hamlets, delivering books provided to him by the provincial government, and meeting old and new friends along the way. He enjoys what he does, but he lives alone in a fifth floor apartment, and loneliness is a constant companion that saps his life of satisfaction.

On one summery day he hears a band playing a marching tune, and he decides to go out and investigate this unusual occurrence. The music comes from a band accompanied by a troupe of jugglers, acrobats and singers from France, who are traveling from town to town. While there he meets the manager, a striking woman who resembles an older version of Katherine Hepburn in appearance and manner. The Driver and Marie immediately hit it off, and after spending time together she and the members of the troupe decide to rent an old bus and follow The Driver on his rounds to deliver books in the province, as they need to earn money to allow them to return to France.

The book is filled with rich descriptions of the Québec countryside, along with books and beloved singers of the past. The burgeoning love between The Driver and Marie is quite touching, and I was caught up in their relationship as if they were close friends of mine.

I’ve loved the two books I’ve read by Jacques Poulin, as he is a master storyteller whose books touch my heart. Autumn Rounds is right up there with Mister Blue and Translation Is a Love Affair, and it’s a novel that I’ll certainly read again in the near future. ( )