La Matta

On a summer day, the protagonist returns to a small village high above the sea, where he once spent a summer as a child. Haunting his childhood memories is La Matta, the Madwoman. Two children follow her trail to protect her from herself and from those who might take away what no longer belongs to her. The charm of this tale shimmers like the heat of a summer day. Sounds, scents, and dark dangers surround the innocence of the two children. The village is haunted by Felliniesque figures, a sinister intrigue, as well as the questions raised by madness and the groundless suffering that accompanies it. Adrien Pasquali, born in 1958 in Valais and died in Paris in 1999, described himself as a French-speaking Italian. He wrote nine novels, various short stories, and essays. La Matta was awarded the Prix Lipp in 1994.