We Will See You Bleed: A book talk with Ron Currie
The Franco-American Collection at the University of Southern Maine invites you to a book talk with Maine Franco-American novelist Ron Currie about his new novel, We Will See You Bleed. Join us at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston campus, 51 Westminster St. in Lewiston, room 170, on September 29, 2026 at 6 pm for the event. There is no fee for our programs, which are made possible by the generous sponsorship of the Québec Delegation in Boston.
Award-winning author Ron Currie dazzled readers last spring with his exhilarating, genre-bending turn to crime, The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne. Named an April IndieNext Pick and a best book of the year by the Wall Street Journal, Vulture, NPR,org, and more, this viscerally drawn literary thriller—centered around a matriarchal crime syndicate in small-town Maine—earned effusive critical acclaim upon publication and has already been optioned by Stranger Things creators, the Duffer Brothers, for production as a Netflix series. Crucially, the novel introduced readers to Babs Dionne, the flawed, complicated, captivating antiheroine at its center, whose ferocious, unbending love for her community and ruthless capacity for violence inspired comparisons to Tony Soprano and Vito Corleone. Such rarified comparisons speak to just how masterfully and reverently Currie has rendered Babs, her kin, and the world she rules with her cast-iron fist—a world in which brutality, identity, and family are the only objective truths.
This summer, Babs Dionne is back and more bitter than ever in We Will See You Bleed, the highly anticipated second novel in Currie’s Waterville trilogy exploring the generations of
Dionne women in Little Canada’s hardscrabble, tight-knight Franco-American community. A prequel to the events of The Savage, Noble Death, this propulsive, epic crime saga transports readers back to the mid-1980s to chart Babs’ violent origin story against the backdrop of a historic labor strike. With the breathless suspense, dark humor, and profound empathy that earned its predecessor national media attention from the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Seattle Times, Air Mail, and more, Currie’s sixth novel weaves together high stakes suspense with deep emotional resonance to craft a small-town story about class struggle and cultural identity that unfolds with the urgency of a Shakespearean drama. The book also features both return appearances from Babs’indelible cast of henchwomen and introduces new characters, including Babs’ late husband Rheal—making this both an anticipated continuation of this world and a fresh entry point for new readers into the Dionne universe.
Unable to join us in-person? Here’s a link to register to attend on Zoom: https://maine.zoom.us/meeting/register/KW0mRcFRRIi62hKAaLh65Q
For more information or to register, contact the FAC archivist, Anna Faherty at anna.faherty@maine.edu or by phone (207) 753-6545. If you have questions about disability access or need to request disability accommodations (e.g. sign language interpreters, materials in electronic format, etc.), please contact Anna. Requests should be made as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for the accommodation process.