In 1970s Switzerland, high up in the Valais mountains, is a village where everyone knows everything and no one says anything.
Jeanne learns from an early age to dodge her father’s abuse, but her mother and sister resign themselves to his brutality. One day when she is eight he attacks her viciously, angered by her self-assurance. Convinced that the village doctor will put an end to their nightmare, she is shocked by his silence.
From then on, Jeanne’s hatred of her father and her disgust at the doctor’s cowardice drive her on. At boarding school she experiences five years of respite, but is then triggered by an unbearable replica of the violence that started it all. Moving to Lausanne, unable to come to terms with her past and to engage fully with life, she nevertheless finds solace in the arms of lovers and in the waters of Lake Geneva, while further tragedy fuels her rage.
My Favourite is a powerful novel about departure and return, of love, guilt and shame, and the paralysing effects of trauma. Sarah Jollien-Fardel forcefully describes the price to be paid for Jeanne’s hard-won emancipation, as history inexorably repeats itself.
Accolades
Prix du Goncourt des détenus 2022
Choix Goncourt de la Suisse 2022
Prix du roman Fnac 2022
Prix de la librairie Millepages 2022 (Vincennes)
Shortlisted for the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens 2022
Longlisted for the Prix Audiolib 2023
Longlisted for the Prix du Barreau de Marseille 2023
Longlisted for the Festival du premier roman de Chambéry 2023
Longlisted for the Prix Goncourt 2022 (1st list)
Longlisted for the Prix des lecteurs de la Ville de Lausanne 2023
Longlisted for the Prix Envoyé par La Poste 2022
‘Beguiling… shows the corrosive nature of revenge’
— The Financial Times
‘A sparklingly written novel of a young woman’s trauma and liberation’
— The Irish Times
‘Excellent.’
— The Daily Mail
‘An emotive, complex novel that asks biting moral questions.’
— Foreword Reviews
‘It boldly examines the ruptures violence inflicts on individuals, families, and communities and is an urgent social critique on themes such as trauma, ignorance, and resilience.’
— nb. Magazine
‘A moving depiction of a childhood soaked in acts of domestic abuse and neglect. It is narrated in a collated, reserved even voice, stripped of unnecessary sentimentality yet burning with suppressed anger, luring us into the depths of raw, uneasy moments from the narrator’s past. The novel grapples with questions about how society often closes their eyes to the brutality of domestic abuse and the marks it leaves on children. About what it means to become a young woman and build a life away from home penetrated by doubt of self-worth and inflicted guilt. A poignant story, narrated with finesse and boldness.’
— Nataliya Deleva, author of Arrival and Four Minutes
‘Exceptional, moving and fierce.’
— Libération
‘The strength of this debut novel … is due as much to the physical description of this middle-aged patriarchal dictator as to the manner in which Jeanne, “born dead”, tells of her escape and survival.’
— Le Nouvel Observateur
‘A violent man makes life hell for his wife and daughters. This book is a remarkable debut.’
— Le Monde Des Livres
‘One can hardly believe that this is a debut, as its Swiss author, Sarah Jollien-Fardel, demonstrates her mastery and composure during the implacable outcome of events and human behaviour.’
— L’Express
