Year of the Drought by Roland Buti

First published in 2014 in Switzerland Year of the Drought by Roland Buti went on to win the prestigious Swiss Literature Prize. Set in the sizzling Summer of 1976 and is a coming of age novel that is just simply beautiful written and a novel that is a must read for anyone who loves great literature.

It is the time of the school holidays and the summer is going to be long and hot and on the family’s farm in Canton of Vaud in Switzerland 13–year-old Gus is the key character in this beautiful novel yet under cloudless skies and endless blue skies this is a tragic story unfolding.

The family have invested everything in thousands of chickens and a modern barn but something clearly is wrong and the heat and drought are now killing the chickens in their hundreds and the crops are now wilting under the baking sun and this is clearly affecting the family and is hitting the farms finances to add to this the arrival of the glamorous Cécile who   is a friend of Gus’s mother and life suddenly changes for Gus, now he dreams of those dreams that have been suppressed until now. Our narrator watches as his family is tested like never before the bonds and ties of family unity are now under the most incredible strain and the novel reaches its finale with great tragedy that cannot be undone. The family is literally blown apart. Roland Buti clearly has written a novel that at times is poetic with some humour a novel that one will read and re-read in the future and one not to be ignored. Beautifully constructed and written it is no surprise The Year of the Drought has won awards and a book I am happy to HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Thank you to Old Street Publishing Ltd for a review copy of Year of the Drought.

 160 Pages.

Year of the Drought by Roland Buti is published by Old Street Publishing Ltd and was published on 12^th September 2017 and is available through Waterstones, Amazon and all good bookshops.