The Price of the Difference

In *Friedli the Strong-Willed and Other Stories*, Carl Spitteler portrays characters whose uniqueness clashes with the cruelty of the world around them. These six stories—three of which have never before been published in French—invite readers to rediscover the literary power of the Swiss Nobel Prize winner.

«Those who love nature with a sincere love have their favorite places to which they keep returning, even if they have since discovered more spectacular landscapes.» These are the opening words of “Xaver Z’Gilgen,” the first of six tales and short stories collected in *Friedli the Strong-Willed and Other Stories*. And it takes Carl Spitteler (1845–1924) just a few lines to transport us to one of those landscapes that Swiss literature has made its own: mountains, valleys, villages, and familiar paths.

However, for this Swiss writer—along with Hermann Hesse—who is the only one to have won the Nobel Prize in Literature, nature does not