'So many pages of rich prose, upsetting, but reflecting the warm essence of life in this novel--a meditation on death.' Express 'A disturbing novel but a realistic one, anchored in the daily, the concrete, a savvy mixture of life and death, landscapes and short thoughts, obsessed by the father's role in a son's life. A novel to be devoured in one go.' Le Monde 'Chessex, a prominent Swiss writer, died in 2009 at age 75. He was the first non-French citizen to win the Prix Goncourt, France's most prestigious literary award. Readers of this particular novel, which is one of Chessex's many, will quickly understand why he was so honored. Read him for the historical context and for the sheer beauty of his prose'. Booklist