Le Génie de l’aubergine et autres contes loufoques (The Genie of the Aubergine and Other Crazy Tales), illustrated by Claire Gourdin alias Bibidugredin, Atelier du poisson soluble, 1997

A young man wants to marry a fish soup. A bureaucrat discovers that Chile is not in South America, but in the Swiss Alps. The eating habits of the last spaghetti-eating woman in the history of mankind cause her serious problems, in 2053. A collection of really, really crazy tales.

“Eight completely crazy and intertwined stories about policemen, escapees from a psychiatric hospital, a pair of shoes that tortures its owner, an ox that wanted to be as small as the frog… Tragic and farcical, burlesque and bizarre, these stories will delight all grown-up children fascinated by human “madness”.
Elle

“It’s deliciously intoxicating, you let yourself go and lose your footing with delight. It’s written with talent and wit, and it’s full of wacky, full-colour illustrations.”
Griffon

“This is a charming little book for anyone with a modicum of humour”.
Le Journal de Genève and Gazette de Lausanne

“Le Génie de l’aubergine, a collection of crazy stories from the prolific imagination of a journalist, offers a series of tales, each more absurd than the other.”
Le Courrier

“But let’s go back to 25 August 2053. That morning, a ray of sunshine broke through the seasonal smog for the first time. My husband and I sat at the window to enjoy it. The kitchen was buzzing with the sound of the neighbour’s radio: like every day, he was listening to the seven o’clock news, and the noise filtered through the cardboard wall as if it didn’t exist. Then the news broke. After announcing the death of the last Amazon Indian, the announcer continued in a cheerful voice:

“If you have never been able to wrap spaghetti around your fork, rejoice. Long pasta is out of fashion! Nestlu, which controls 61% of the world market, has just announced the launch of a new generation of spaghetti. From now on it will be sold in small blocks of 7 x 4 centimetres.

The advantages of this new formula are numerous: easier storage, easier portioning and, above all, savings in production costs. Thanks to this new formula, Nestlu has announced a 15% price reduction on all its pasta products. So move with the times, eat spaghetti cubes!”

Excerpt from the story “Public confession of the last spaghetti eater”.