Helvetiq publishing house has come up with the inspired idea of bringing out its Collection Ramuz Graphique, retelling classic Swiss literature in graphic novels – a format that enables all manner of liberties to be taken with form. “This was a way of connecting young people to the classics and inspiring in them a desire to read the originals,” explains its CEO, Hadi Barkat. “La grande peur dans la montagne” (Great fear in the mountains), which came out in April with illustrations by Neuchâtel artist Quentin Pauchard, is the second in the series. It transports us to the Alpine pastures of Sasseinere, in the French-speaking part of the Valais, to which a handful of peasants young and old are determined to lead their animals. The area had been abandoned 20 years earlier, after several men died in mysterious circumstances. After a few days, the cattle fall sick. The village vet imposes a quarantine. Fears and superstitions start to spread, and the pasture turns into a prison.
Pauchard, who was born in Val-de-Ruz in the canton of Neuchâtel, travelled to Evolène in the canton of Valais to capture the local ambience. He felt that he was walking in the footsteps of Ramuz. “Like a lot of people, I encountered his novels in school, but I didn’t remember them very clearly. As an adult, I’ve taken a lot of pleasure from rediscovering them and seeking to make Ramuz’s work accessible, while still capturing its essence,” he explains. His illustrations use sombre blocks of colour, illuminated in places by rosy or golden rays of sunlight, taking the reader by the hand and drawing them into the book. We share the sense of despair when young Victorine risks all to find her lover, trapped high up the mountain. The men’s fears are transformed into phantoms that rattle the roof at night. The sickness rages. The mountain that should be providing nourishment oppresses the men. Ultimately, the graphic novel sparks a desire to re-read Ramuz.
The same is true of “Derborence”, the first volume in this collection, which was published in 2022. It tells the story of another mountain pasture in central Valais that was devastated by a landslide in 1714. Fifteen people and many hundreds of animals lost their lives. “Ramuz has a sparse writing style,” says Fabian Menor, the young illustrator, who hails from Geneva. “He doesn’t include a lot of descriptions of landscapes or the relationships between people; he simply presents the story. When I read “Derborence”, I filled in the gaps in my own head. I can use my drawings to show what Ramuz did not put to paper.” Gems to discover.
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