LiteraturSchweiz

Reading tip

Roland Buti, Le Milieu de l’horizon: With a power reminiscent of some of Faulkner’s works, in his novel «Le Milieu de l’horizon» Roland Buti takes us to the small world of a farm in French-speaking Switzerland. Strange and powerful forces are at work under the surface and they are set to destabilise the family life of Gus, a thirteen year-old boy, who terrified and powerless watches a threefold collapse : of traditional agriculture, his parent’s relationship and the innocence of his childhood. All of this takes place in 1967 during the famous drought. Everything goes up in the flames of heat-wave and storm. The old mare Bagatelle finally dies. Passions burn. Everything is consumed in the flames as the author’s sober language reaches a state of incandescence. This is great literature.