“La Femme du général” is Michel Chevallier’s second novel, after “Rome est une femme”, a crime story, which he published in 2020, when Covid gave us the luxury of time to read. Now that most of us are back in the office, his new book makes for another timely reading in that it relates precisely to office life.
Michel, a true fourth-generation Genevan, drew from two sources to write his new book. One is the true story of Ulrich Wille, who was Swiss army general in WWI and got this position thanks to his dirty tricks and unscrupulous behavior, the other is Michel’s own experience of violence on the workplace. He said he needed understanding what goes through the mind of abusive supervisors, the kind of hyper narcissistic type we tend to see more and more nowadays up the hierarchical ladder.
His challenge was to find a storytelling that would make such an exploration attractive. His answer was to come up with the story of an officer who yearns to become a general in a country that, similarly to Switzerland, only elects one when a war is looming. So, the “general”, as the character is named all through the novel, jubilates to see a war coming. He sends his own son to the border, to show his deep commitment to the common good and his alleged equal treatment of all young men, thus using the flesh of his own flesh to promote his ambitions.
After he scared away all officers who could pretend to be elected, he his chosen to become the general, but the world begins undoing around him, without him noticing. The chaplain of his wife starts courting her, the prisoner of war he gave his wife as aide-de-camp promotes communism in the household and the most revered hermit in the country makes a prediction that he misunderstands and that leads him to wrong decisions.
When we found out that local author, Kathryn Adams, was publishing her 4th book, we thought this would be the perfect stocking stuffer (for yourself as well)! This is a very short Christmas mystery novelette (60 pages), "just a bit of fun for Christmas", Kathryn explains.
Tell us how many in the series and how you were inspired to write this 4th edition.
This is the fourth book in The Grondère Series. It's not a full-length novel, it's a novelette. I have always loved the tradition of Christmas mysteries, be they ghost or crime stories, and I wanted to have a go at the genre. So what better than a ski ghost story, there simply aren't enough of them out there.
Will readers need to have read all 3 beforehand to understand the plot?
Absolutely not. All my books are designed to be read independently of the others and this one, in particular, is a short tale that can be read without any knowledge of the previous editions. I have used my existing characters and location because I wanted to keep my alpine setting.
Van Cleef & Arpels collection
Left: Bouquet clip, 1939. Yellow gold, blue, yellow and pink sapphires, rubies.
The Van Cleef & Arpels boutique in Geneva welcomes the exhibition "Emblematic High Jewelry Creations" from November 23rd to December 30th, 2023. Visitors can discover nearly sixteen historic pieces from the Maison's patrimonial collections.
The exhibition is free and accessible upon reservation. To prepare your venue, follow this link.
The first Geneva boutique, opened in 1960, soon attracted a clientele seduced by the Maison's savoir-faire. In 2013, the exhibition "Van Cleef & Arpels: 50 years of history in Geneva" celebrated the Maison's relationship with Switzerland. Almost 10 years after the opening of this exhibition, the High Jewelry creations are once again displayed in the historical boutique.
Press release from Swiss Post
Foodstuffs that deviate from the norm often end up in the bin. Even though they may not live up to our ideals of beauty, they are of course equally palatable. This stamp takes a stand against food waste. Who’s to say they’re perfect? And what does normal even actually mean? For food, these questions are covered by strict standards. Anything deviating from these standards often doesn’t even make it to sale. Food waste – the squandering of foodstuffs – happens at various stages of the product chain, such as in shops, during processing and in private households.
This isn’t just a pity in terms of resources expended for no reason, it’s also painful on the wallet: according to WWF figures, the average Swiss household throws away more than 600 francs’ worth of food every year. The word “waste” is crossed out on the stamp to make a statement against this form of waste. The three subjects of the photo show that the unshapely can also be visually appealing. After all, is it not precisely their unconventional forms that make them eye-catching? The three mountain potatoes come from an organic farm in the Albula Valley, whose special varieties are liked even by top restaurateurs, delighting many a palate.
With Mother's Day coming up this weekend, you might be in the market to buy a unique piece of art for someone special! If not, maybe for yourself? We love Helen Shapiro's attention to detail and passion, not just for her artwork, but everything she does and what she stands for!
Helen is one busy lady! Not only does she still make her delicious jams and chutneys (see article we published about this a few years ago entitled: Which jam tickles your fancy: Pomegranate/Plum, Apricot/Ginger, or Wisteria Petals?), but she also makes beautiful wall art and jewelry!
Using resin along with her statement 3D cold porcelaine flowers that she crafts herself, Helen incorporate found bits in nature such as sticks and pine cones to add 3D effects.
