Coupe sombre

by Oscar Peer, Marie-Christine Gateau-Brachard (Translator)

Un accident de chasse, le procès, la prison. Simon a pris un homme pour une bête, son ami Luzi avec qui il avait eu une dispute la veille. De retour au village après ses trois années d’enfermement, il doit affronter les regards, il faut être endurant comme un âne pour vivre avec. Pour retrouver une dignité et éprouver sa force et sa solitude, Simon accepte une tâche qu’on ne souhaiterait même pas au diable : une coupe de bois dans l’endroit le plus reculé et le plus difficile de la région.

Une histoire de grandeur humaine dans la nature, d’obstination et de fureur, dans une écriture elliptique et dense.

Oscar Peer, né le 23 avril 1928 à Lavin et mort le 22 décembre 2013 à Coire, est un romancier, dramaturge et philologue suisse qui écrit en romanche et en allemand.

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Oscar Peer was a Swiss novelist, playwright and philologist. His works were written in Romansch and German, and comprised epic novels, short stories, and drama. He was also well known for his Ladino-German dictionary.

Reviews

[Sidonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

ün da meis cudeschs predilets :)

[Pascale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite similar in style and theme to Peer's "The Old House", this rural tragedy centers on Simon, a decent guy whose life goes awry after he has the misfortune of shooting a mate while hunting. Because Simon had dared to take sides against the wealthiest members of his community in the past, they give hime a hard time when he comes home at the end of his sentence. Homeless, Simon fixes himself a precarious home in a disused watermill and is befriended by little Otto, who insists on helping him chop down trees in a particularly inhospitable part of the forest. After Otto is nearly killed by a falling tree, Simon insists on carrying on the work by himself, which proves suicidal. Simon is a recognizable type, the strong, proud and stubborn loner who lives and dies on his own terms, but the story is well told.