There will be no staying

This volume gathers unpublished texts spanning nearly half a century, recorded in countries about which Nicolas Bouvier never published anything during his lifetime. In 1948, at the age of eighteen and full of dreams, he writes his first report on the journey from Geneva to Copenhagen. By 1992, the now-famous writer wanders through New Zealand, tired yet still filled with wonder. In between, we accompany him to diverse travel destinations such as France and North Africa (1957/58), Indonesia (1970), China (1986), and Canada (1991). The records serve as historical documents, but above all, they echo a series of journeys with initiatory character at different stages of life, thus forming a kind of involuntary autobiography. From a rich array of material, snapshots of travel and life emerge, some of which, in their minimalist poetry, are reminiscent of haikus. The texts, carefully compiled by François Laut, reveal Nicolas Bouvier's multifaceted talent: an unparalleled observer and portraitist, as well as a reporter, ethnographer, historian, photographer, and poet.