HAUTE-FOLIE

Antoire Wauters

Éditions Gallimard, 176 pages, 2025

Why you should take a look at it?
√ A multi-generational family saga of tragedy and resilience
√ Rich emotional depth and complex characters
√ A powerful exploration of memory, legacy and healing

Haute-Folie follows the tragic lineage of the Lafleur family, spanning multiple generations and exploring theme of trauma, silence and the search of identity. A darkly beautiful novel—intimate, poetic, and unforgettable.

After a fire destroys their farm, Haute-Folie, Gaspard and Blanche struggle to rebuild their lives with their newborn son, Josef. Gaspard enters a deal with a wealthy farmer, Jünger, to finance the farm’s restoration, but is deceived into selling his remaining livestock cheaply, deepening the family's financial ruin. Haunted by past failures—including his father’s similar mistakes—Gaspard is overwhelmed by guilt and ultimately takes his own life.

Years later tragedy continues as their infant daughter, Jeanne, also dies. Blanche, consumed by grief and a desire for revenge, murders Jünger and then kills herself, leaving Joseph an orphan, under the care of his uncle Léo and aunt Anna.

As Josef grows up, he struggles with the burden of his family’s troubled past and the mysteries surrounding his parents’ deaths. During the war, he avoids military service with help from Fermine whom he loves. After the war, restless and searching for meaning, Josef leaves Fermine and his adopted family to travel widely, taking on different jobs while wrestling with his identity and inherited traumas.

He eventually returns to the village of his birth and becomes a stonecutter. He falls in love with Juliette, who is Jünger’s daughter. They marry, and Josef briefly reclaims Haute-Folie, only to flee into a hermetic existence in the mountains.

In his old age, Josef—known as “Grand Homme”—lives in a cave where he meets a troubled boy named Gaspard, a descendant grappling with his own family struggles. Josef shares stories and wisdom, forming a meaningful bond before passing away in the cave. The young Gaspard honors Josef’s memory and keeps their connection secret.

Years later, the grown Gaspard, now a fisherman, reflects on his family’s legacy. Despite his mother’s efforts to bury the painful past, Gaspard uncovers Josef’s hidden notebooks, revealing the full Lafleur story. He comes to understand the deep wounds that haunted their history and embraces his heritage, vowing to share the story so the silence and suffering won’t persist.

Antoine Wauters is the author of many books including Mahmoud ou La montée des eaux (Prix Wepler-Fondation La Poste and Prix du Livre Inter), published by Editions Verdier, and Musée des contradictions (Goncourt Prize for Short Stories), published by Editions du sous-sol. His work has been translated into many languages.