French Literature Reviews - 2026

A. Nauroy, Rondes de nuit (reprint)
Writers: Biography, Letters and Memoirs

Review published in Acta Fabula (February 2022, vol. 23, no. 2): "La Suisse d’Henry-Louis Mermod" by Natatcha Lafond.

Rondes de nuit

Amaury Nauroy

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Paperback edition.

Le Bruit du Temps, 2019.

330 p.

€9.00

ISBN: 978-2-35873-136-2

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For a long time, the narrator of Rondes de nuit saw in the figures of Rembrandt’s painting—from which the book takes its title—"a mysterious round of poets," identifying himself with the awestruck child in the center of the composition, "at a loss for words." This singular book is indeed, first and foremost, a gallery of portraits of writers and artists—from publisher Henry-Louis Mermod to the authors he published: Ramuz, Roud, Jaccottet, Chessex—and a remarkably vibrant chronicle of post-war French-Swiss literature that ultimately transcends the geographical borders of a single country.
Yet this "intimate history of seasons and days" can also be read as a *Bildungsroman*: the account of a writer’s vocation who, in the course of the work, deepens his understanding of the painting to perceive in it "the unspoken bond between the living and the dead, without which life itself becomes unbreathable." The two halves of his existence converge, allowing the portrait of his peasant grandfather to finally take its place alongside those of his chosen masters.

This work offers a valuable entry point into the mid-twentieth-century literary landscape of French-speaking Switzerland, often referred to as Suisse romande. By focusing on the influential publisher Henry-Louis Mermod and his circle—which included major figures like Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, Gustave Roud, and Philippe Jaccottet—Amaury Nauroy maps out a distinct regional modernism. This intellectual tradition, though deeply rooted in the Swiss landscape and local sensibilities, maintained a vital, dialogue-rich relationship with broader French letters, bridging geographic and cultural borders through a shared commitment to poetic precision and existential reflection.

Part collective biography and part Bildungsroman, the book explores how a young writer finds his voice by looking at the masters of the past. Through the central metaphor of Rembrandt’s famous painting, Nauroy investigates the continuity between artistic generations and the dialogue between the living and the dead. This volume will appeal to readers of modern European poetry, scholars of Swiss literature, and anyone interested in the history of publishing. It provides an intimate look at how personal memory, family heritage, and literary history intertwine to shape a writer's creative identity.