In 2022 and 2023, the young Swiss author Elliot Mazzella has exclusively published his novel The return in the columns of Regard Libre, in episodic form, in the old soap opera tradition. Here are all the episodes already published:
Episode 1/15
After years away, Joseph returns to his native village.
Episode 2/15
After years away, Joseph returns to his native village. His return is eagerly awaited by all, and a great feast will be given in his honor - or so he thinks.
Episode 3/15
After years away, Joseph returns to his native village. When he arrives at the village gates, things don't go as planned: nobody seems to recognize him. Thinking it's a joke, Joseph agrees to fight with his old friend, Pierre. The fight soon turns to Pierre's advantage. Joseph loses consciousness and, in the middle of the night, the men take him back to the village. The stranger is lodged with the widow, Agathe.
Episode 4/15
Joseph's return does not go according to plan. Expecting a hero's welcome, the young man is lynched on the doorstep of his native village. After a brief deliberation, the men decide to put him up with the widow Agathe. This sudden appearance seems to stir up old sorrows within her. Joseph learns that his father, Stéphane, was once loved by the widow.
Episode 5/15
Barely back in his native village, where he thought he'd be welcomed as a hero, Joseph stays with the widow Agathe until the village decides his fate: should he be sent back to where he came from as a stranger, or should he be given time to prove that he really is the Joseph everyone in the village knew? The day after his return, Joseph is invited to take part in the daily chores. This is his first test.
Episode 6/15
Barely back in his native village, where he expected to be feted as a hero, Joseph is subjected to various trials. After his first day on the job, Siméon, who appears to be the village chief, confides in him that he once had a special relationship with his father, Stéphane, thus gaining his trust. But Joseph must not forget that in the village, nothing can be taken for granted.
Episode 7/15
Joseph's return does not go according to plan. Sometimes a stranger, sometimes a member of the community, his situation is highly unstable. The collective tasks he takes part in gradually take on the appearance of trials that sometimes put his life in danger. After a mock manhunt, Joseph is entrusted with the pigsty, where, unbeknownst to him, an old acquaintance is waiting for him.
Episode 8/15
Joseph's situation in the village is as unstable as ever. After his encounter with Pierre in the village pigsty, he is left for dead. Pierre, convinced of having committed a fratricidal crime, flees. It is Simeon who brings back Joseph's apparently lifeless body, even though the day before he had ordered his men to hunt him down like an animal.
Episode 9/15
After Joseph's attack, Pierre still hasn't returned to the village. Simeon, who brought the stranger's body home as if it were his own son, seems worried. Joseph, meanwhile, lies in a room where Leila keeps watch. She knows that her father had something to do with the death of her old flame.
Episode 10/15
The slaughter has taken place, and neither Pierre nor Joseph has been present. The brothers, who have always been enemies, find themselves reunited in their shared exile, far from the village. Simeon, for his part, senses an impending catastrophe. Something is amiss in village affairs, and he knows it only too well...
Episode 11/15
Plunged into a feverish sleep, Joseph dreams. With his old friend Pierre, he wanders across a desolate moor. He remembers loneliness, a past that has died inside him. The two friends walk to the edge of the forest, where a woman awaits them. It's Leila. She has a choice to make, and she chooses Joseph. Pierre collapses...
Joseph's convalescence was drawing to a close. Deep in bed, he heard a familiar voice, not that of the previous maid, Agathe. It's her, it's Leila, his childhood sweetheart. Their reunion marks the beginning of a period of peace and reconciliation. Joseph now takes part in village life, working, eating and laughing with those who have perhaps become his own.
Episode 13/15
Joseph's convalescence was drawing to a close. Deep in bed, he heard a familiar voice, not that of the previous maid, Agathe. It's her, it's Leila, his childhood sweetheart. Their reunion marks the beginning of a period of peace and reconciliation. Joseph now takes part in village life, working, eating and laughing with those who have perhaps become his own.
Episode 14/15
Joseph is well and truly back with his family. Everything is going well for him. He works, loves and is loved. At the end of a harvest day, and after an evening of drinking, Joseph returns to Agathe's house where a surprise awaits him. It's Leila. She invites him to leave the village with her...
Episode 15/15
Joseph is up bright and early, preparing to see his grandparents again. As he makes his way through the village, he meets a few villagers who were once so hostile to him. They all show him respect and sympathy, and remember Marguerite and Aimé. His grandmother welcomes him as he would have liked to have been welcomed by the village, at first. They talk about words and books.
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