My Favourite, Sarah Jollien-Fardel (translated by Holly James)
In a society increasingly aware of the lasting effects of trauma and the consequences of collective inaction, Sarah Jollien-Fardel's My Favourite, translated by Holly James, is strikingly relevant. This novel confronts urgent issues of abuse, silence, and complicity, exposing how societal neglect compounds personal suffering and the resilience needed to break free from cycles of violence.
At just over 200 pages, My Favourite has earned critical acclaim, including a place on the French Goncourt Prize longlist, and inaugural accolades such as the English PEN Award and the Goncourt des Détenus - a literary prize awarded by incarcerated individuals in France. Yet, these prizes alone don’t quite capture the visceral power of this remarkable example of Swiss fiction. This novel simply cannot be summarised in one review - it demands to be read to be fully felt. Jollien-Fardel takes an insurmountable subject with sensitivity in a prose that is concise and, at times, almost clinical; however, she never loses sight of the fragile humanity underpinning her characters. She introduces readers to a world where true freedom remains just out of reach and where the scars of previous generations threaten to spill over into the lives of the next. Can anyone truly escape trauma’s grip, or does it become a permanent stain on identity itself? But don’t be misled; this isn’t solely a tale about the paralysing effects of intergenerational violence. It’s also a story of survival.
Set in a quiet, watchful village high in the Valais mountains of 1970s Switzerland, we meet Jeanne, a young girl whose life is domineered by her father’s brutal hand. While her mother and sister resign themselves to his abuse, Jeanne clings to a defiant resilience – until a single act of self-assurance ignites her father’s rage. A simple phrase, “my dear friend,” spoken in imitation of the village doctor, incites her father’s wrath. When Jeanne turns to the doctor for help, he ignores her plea and is indifferent to her plight. This teaches Jeanne a painful lesson: her suffering will go unacknowledged, even by those with the power and authority to protect her. The doctor’s inaction deepens her sense of isolation and later cultivates resentment toward those who uphold silence. Her disgust for cowardice, and her mother’s failure to safeguard her, births a painful awakening and becomes a defining part of her struggle, tempering her hatred for her father with a simmering defiance against a world indifferent to her suffering.
Jeanne eventually finds a reprieve, first by moving to boarding school, and later to the city of Lausanne. However, the weight of her unresolved trauma weighs heavy on her attempt to build a life away from her past; although she feels liberated from her family’s cruelty, she is disconnected from the world around her. Jeanne seeks healing in the confines of her intimate relationships, but finds herself unable to fully connect, harbouring a painful belief that she is deserving of suffering. Heartbreakingly, Jollien-Fardel delicately exposes a profound truth: for those conditioned to expect pain, love and beauty can feel foreign, almost perilous. This complexity is one that My Favourite confronts candidly, refusing to waver from the delicate interplay between trauma and the deep-seated longing for kinship.
In this tender exploration of violence’s legacy, Jollien-Fardel nimbly considers Jeanne’s internal fear of inheriting her father’s heinous behaviours as she learns to navigate her own complex relationships. Locked in a “merry-go-round of grief, love, values and treachery,” Jeanne is burdened with the need to heal from her past and challenge the haunting reality that her family’s violent legacy might yet live on through her. Has his violence seeped into her psyche? Can she resist the tendencies born of her childhood trauma, especially in her most vulnerable relationships?
The Swiss landscape is an integral and unforgettable part of Jeanne's journey, acting as a formidable character and an ominous companion. Jollien-Fardel cleverly personifies the mountains as relentless, silent witnesses to Jeanne’s suffering, presenting them as an omnipresent force that echoes the community's disregard for the events happening around them. Their towering beauty and serenity form an austere, almost ironic contradiction to the atrocities and degradation hidden behind closed doors, symbolising entrapment and reflecting the oppressive isolation of Jeanne’s existence.
Slowly, Jeanne emerges as a character defined not only by the brutality she endured but also by her quiet defiance. Jollien-Fardel’s skill in crafting Jeanne’s voice - steady, nearly factual, yet burning with suppressed rage - invites us to confront her horror without flinching. Her self-worth twisted by violence and neglect, continues to evolve, even as her trauma travels with her. Jollien-Fardel infuses Jeanne’s narrative with a defiance that grows into a source of inner strength, transforming her from victim to survivor. My Favourite avoids the simplicity of a “redemption arc.” Jeanne’s emancipation, if it can be called that, is painstakingly earned but always precarious - a hard-won, tenuous victory always at risk of collapsing.
Holly James’s translation must be highly commended for its exceptional preservation of the story’s emotional and cultural nuances. Her translation goes beyond linguistic accuracy, capturing the rhythm and intensity of Jollien-Fardel’s writing with extraordinary fidelity. By doing so, English-speaking readers fully experience Jeanne’s simmering fury and internal struggle with remarkable clarity and impact without feeling alienated.
In a similar vein to Annie Ernaux’s A Man’s Place, which provides a candid examination of family and memory, and Douglas Stuart's Shuggie Bain, which explores the quiet strength of those who persevere in the face of adversity, My Favourite transcends the typical survival narrative. 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. Jeanne’s story is truly unforgettable. It urges us to confront our personal wounds and embark on the challenging journey toward self-acceptance and healing.
It is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the courage it takes to pursue freedom, even when freedom itself feels almost impossible.
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