Ronald Sutherland (1933- ) has written a book of vignettes, "The Massawippi Monster and Other Friends of Mine" (2004 Borealis), and the novel "How Elvis Saved Quebec" (2003 Borealis). After completing his Ph.D., he taught at l'Université de Sherbrooke and founded the discipline of Comparative Canadian Literature. He has written scholarly essays and books, including "Second Image" and "New Hero." Other novels include "Lark des Neiges" and "Where Do the MacDonalds Bury their Dead."

The humourous and whimsical vignettes in this collection were published in a number of newspapers, including the Montreal Gazette, Toronto Globe and Mail and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Some have been reprinted in anthologies, some have been incorporated into textbooks and training manuals, and one was quoted in the Canadian Parliament, leading to a government protest which dissuaded the United States from dumping radioactive waste materials in Northern Vermont by the Canadian border. Many of the vignettes are about the adventures, problems and challenges of raising a family of five, four girls and a boy, to presumed maturity.

Residents of a small Quebec village, half French and half English, are feuding as the Referendum on Seperation from Canada approaches. Meanwhile, an Arab entrepreneur is busy buying property (restaurant, hardware store, marina, large houses), and an Abenaki Indian with a law degree from McGill has arrived in town, allegedly for the spring fishing.