Sommernächte

Thomas, Mehdi, and Louise have known each other since childhood. Back then, Les Verrières was an endless playground. Today, they are adults, their neighborhood has fallen into disrepair, and for one summer, the factory becomes the center of their lives. The factory where their fathers worked for many years and where Thomas and Mehdi have just been hired. The factory is the focus of Louise's dissertation on cross-border workers between France and Switzerland. The children from the lower class longed early for a better life. They find themselves in a sterile world that is even more violent than that of their parents. There are no longer workers, but operators, and the machines shine with a strange beauty. Thomas Flahaut's grand fresco on the power and fragility of social heritage is the novel of a generation with its dreams, hopes, and disappointments. The book received the Roman des Romands award in 2022.