On the outskirts of a big city, in the middle of a wood disfigured by an abandoned construction site, a group of people who have had more than their share of hard knocks is just getting by. They are all living with the imminent threat of a landslide. But they meet up every day at the local café, Le Cran d’Arrêt (The Switchblade) where talkative Comdinitch tells his tall tales.

The Cran d’Arrêt’s regulars, a rogue’s gallery of endearing characters, find a refuge in a run-down bar on the outskirts of a large city. The torrential rain, the mud and the absurdity of their situation all contribute to their exclusion from ordinary life. But the most important thing is still there: the warmth of shared humanity. Their daily reunion is a celebration. Gathered around Comdinitch, the teller of larger-than-life stories, they laugh, they cry, they lend each other a helping hand.

This bittersweet comedy is borne aloft by a spoken style that is both virtuoso and affectionate. Readers will sense a range of different influences: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Simenon, Céline, Beckett, Lemaitre and more.

A debut novel that leans towards darkness while also paying tribute to the French language and celebrating alterity and difference.