Not exactly an easy read, but mostly because Revaz manages to find the voice, the internal voice, of a Swiss farmer living with his wife Vulve in the high mountains. This is not an easy life, with farm labour taking a toll on the whole family. Paul, the rough farmer, decides to employ a Portuguese Labourer to help out during the Summer and Spring months – as soon as he arrives – behaviours adjust amongst this new triangle of adults stuck alone on the farm.
Revaz writing reflects the internal spoken monologue, always in the present tense, and always reacting to events and desires. The only plans in Paul’s mind exist to ensure the survival of his herd of cows. Even his own children are described only as bumbling insects who come to bother him around the dinner table. Only the newly arrived Labourer can ingest a dose of warmth into Vulve’s harsh and abused life, and to help her through her illness. Apparently this novel inspired a 2009 French film called Coeur Animal by Séverine Cornamusaz, which never really got a wide distribution. If the film is anything like the book – it will be a tough 90 minutes to sit through.