- Excerpt of Swiss Politics for Complete Beginners
An Egyptian friend asked me: “By the way, who’s the Swiss president?” I remained silent. I was a Swiss citizen; a journalist, writing on a regular basis about Swiss politics. I could name every member of the government, his/her ministry, his/her political party, his/her canton of origin, and part of his/her political agenda… and yet, I wasn’t sure about the name of the president. Was it… this one? Or wait… No, this one…
- Excerpt of Le TraîtreA man sat in a corner, looking absent. His face was swollen and there was dried blood under his nostrils. I sat down opposite him.
– Who did this to you?
He nodded in the direction of the door.
– Darb (blows).
I’d often heard about the violence of the Egyptian police. At the time it seemed to me a problem far removed from my own life.
- Excerpt of O Grande Dia
One side of Ronildo was proud to have taken part in the bate-bola outing. The other was immune to joy and satisfaction. He had managed to keep his worries at bay throughout the night and into the early morning, but now that he was awake and full, they came back with greater force. Marlon Brando had sent him a message two days earlier. He wanted his money by the end of the month, i.e. in a week’s time - Excerpt of Les mémoires de Satan
Adam had put his hand on Eve’s kidney. The snake fell silent, as if sensing something, and came to stand between Adam and her. We were so close that I could feel their breath on my face. There was a magical second, when we realised that we had crossed an invisible boundary and that there was no turning back. Then everything changed and the four of us rolled onto the grass. - Excerpt of Le Génie de l’aubergine
One morning, when Grrbzqt the cockroach woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible human being. He had the smooth, pale skin of this species, two pairs of mismatched legs and a few hairs on his head for antennae. After his first gasp of disgust, he called his mother.