A CEO thought he could control everything: a dinner will put him on trial. Sometimes, it only takes a dead battery for an important man to become simply a man. Erik Dogam, CEO of a multinational corporation, had everything planned: his schedule, his body, his travel, his affairs, probably even the amount of oxygen needed for a well-conducted day. A phone failure, however, disrupts the mechanism. And Michel Layaz summarizes his hero even before beginning to dismantle him: "Erik Dogam disliked surprises." Dogam finds himself on foot in the Fribourg countryside, then covered in manure, collected by Fortuna and installed in a house where food is well prepared, where drinking is even better, and where a strange entertainment is practiced: "Here, a bit off the beaten track, we try to determine whether the life lived by such or such a person is worth living." Alizée will be the prosecutor, Gwendoline the lawyer, Fortuna the judge. Madame Fernande watches, Friedrich cooks. Dogam, meanwhile, becomes the defendant. He accepts. He might have been better off asking for the general terms. The pleasure of An Unforeseen Situation arises from this trap set with an almost excessive courtesy. Layaz explicitly reuses the device of The Breakdown by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, but shifts the trial. It is no longer only about bringing forth an intimate fault: the man on trial embodies an economic logic, a way of thinking about the world as a series of objectives, performances, and markets. Dogam does not doubt. "Capitalism is embedded in our flesh, do you understand?" he affirms, with the assurance of characters who take their certainties for natural laws. The success of the book first lies in this voice: dry, precise, mocking without raising the tone. Layaz lets Dogam accuse himself methodically. The more he wants to prove his worth, the more he provides evidence for the dossier. The more he believes himself attractive, the more his blindness becomes comical. Even his brutality presents itself as common sense: "The world is not a children's garden." The glasses are filled, the words loosen, and the dinner turns into a social autopsy. It crunches under the teeth. However, the process has its limits. By accumulating charges against Prospéra - economic concentration, industrial agriculture, soil and biodiversity damage - the mechanism becomes too visible. The interrogation explains more than it suggests; Alizée sometimes resembles less a character than a remarkably documented file. The satire loses some of its venom when it too clearly identifies its target. The female roles themselves remain partly assigned to their judicial functions: one attacks, one defends, the third slices. But Layaz regains his sharpest edge as soon as the trial goes off track. Because defending Dogam soon amounts to humiliating him further: perhaps he is neither demon nor genius of evil, only the zealous executor of a system that thinks for him. "Dogam is neither a devil, nor Macbeth, nor a genius, he is just a scrupulous CEO," pleads Gwendoline. For this man who built his entire identity on mastery and power, the excuse becomes almost an insult. Then Dogam demands what was wanted to be taken from him: his greatness, even if it is criminal. "I am guilty." The formula is wonderful because it sounds to him like a promotion. Even condemned, he wants to remain exceptional. An Unforeseen Situation functions thus like a slow-burning farce: one smiles at the pride of a man, then realizes that the laughter targets something larger. The demonstration is sometimes heavy-handed, but the rhythm, irony, and domestic cruelty of the closed room carry the whole. And when Dogam finally returns to his world, no conversion comes to reassure the reader. "Dogam had regained his nature, his balance, and his clarity. He felt strong. Invincible." The trial is over. The sentence, however, extends far beyond the accused. Other notable literary releases include The Crier by Camilla Läckberg, which opens in suffocation with a young girl struggling and trying to understand what is happening to her. A sentence is enough to install the threat: "She did not want to die." The Indocile Companions by Abdeljalil Lahjomri is an autobiography of a reader, composed through encounters, returns, disagreements, and loyalties. Chat Larme by Hélène Cixous opens the door to the absent, searching in notebooks, photographs, dreams, voices, beloved animals. The Heart of a Child by Laure de Rivières constructs a novel like a house where each room has a hidden door. Checkpoint China by a Franco-Spanish correspondent in Beijing explores a disappearance leading to a forbidden investigation. The River Commander by Yabar speaks fast, crooked, with detours, sudden stops, a joke at the moment something hurts. Resurrection by Leïla Slimani adapts Tolstoy, tightening him, moving him, confronting him with the present. Alaska by Émilien Borie explores cancel culture, shamanic freezing and apartment bike. The Writers in the Mix by Michel Winock gathers three books on writers at the heart of the public debate. We are surrounded by fools by Mathias Moncorgé and Patrick Glâtre explores Jean Gabin beyond the myth. Judith's Scale by Galien Sarde opens with a sentence that drops before the crash: "Even if I don't know, I will soon die." The Clay and the Fire by Ian Manook starts from a poor, heavy, ordinary matter. The Ghosts of Gaza by Alexandra Schwartzbrod is a thriller of anticipation. The Elephant by Patrick Modiano returns to his familiar obsessions: Paris, traces, lost silhouettes, memory that falters, and lives that one believes to recognize behind a window. Day by Day by six authors explores the history of the popular classes in France. Le gene qui ne voulait pas mourir by Jean-David Zeitoun explores the question of what we really inherit. Hierarchy by James Islington starts with "I am suspended." Sorority by Clarence Edgard-Rosa explores why we learn so early to distrust other women. Infierno by Carmen Mola plunges into the slave trade hell of Cuba. Naked women in socks by Cécile Crassous explores the body, its seams and what goes beyond. And if we have greatly overestimated the power of our genes? by Jean-David Zeitoun explores the limits of genetic inheritance. In Hierarchy by James Islington starts with "I am suspended." The Three Hortenses by Adrien Goetz is a historical novel that loses those who read it. Mississippi by an unnamed author explores three women facing the flood and their past. Is it enough to Believe in the Code? by an unnamed author explores a young woman's journey in a start-up. Under the big sun by Pauline de Vergnette sets the family ablaze. Human by Sam Bouffandeau explores the words of the dead. You, Madame by Charlotte Milandri explores the body keeping the lies and secrets. Chérine by Thaïs Dia explores the dreamed life that one does not live. With Abdallah superstar by Iman Ahmed explores ghosts dancing on YouTube. At the Flynt family by an unnamed author explores everyone having a problem. Horélie by Delphine Saada explores someone watching behind the screen. Butare, the city before the night by an unnamed author explores a city before the genocide. The writer of Tangier by Dounia Tengour explores history, exile, and secrets. Of beasts and birds by Coro explores raw pain and its share of madness. Maboule by Maboule explores the journey of transmission. Keith Jarrett in Japan by Philippe Séclier explores a music disappearing after being played. The Scent of Tea Leaves by Camille Monceaux extends the universe of The Secret of the Grapefruit Candies. Treasure of Winter by Gilles Baum and Csil explores animals and objects. Molière on stage by a collective of researchers explores the staging of Molière's plays. The Fiesta of Crumbs by Fanny Sidney explores a secret party. Sketch of a serial killer by Hu Mu-ching explores a criminal case. The Ukrainian Choir by Coralie Grimand explores the voices of exiles. Malaise among divers by an unnamed author explores rebuilding humanity. The art of the siesta by Thierry Paquot explores the history and phenomenology of the sixth-hour nap. The tragic odyssey of MC Ruby by an unnamed author explores a group of migrants thrown overboard. A beautiful deal? No, a great cause! by Jean-Pierre Spitzer explores the law against the state's interest. Goliarda Sapienza by Tripode explores the complete works of Goliarda Sapienza. A missing fiancé on the Nile by Carine Pitocchi explores a mystery in Egypt. Solo mother by Clotka explores the joyful chaos of daily life. The Enslaved - The High Districts of Paul Gadenne by Rébecca Déraspe and Yoakim Bélanger explores a buried trauma. A tomb raider sows chaos by Ernestine Garnier explores a mystery in the Montparnasse cemetery. Corinne Luchaire by Cédric Meletta explores the broken destiny of a young actress. The man below by Paul Leroux explores the entrails of a consciousness in "ruin." This comic book by Home Sick Pilots explores a haunted house turned into a punk war machine. Sarah Knafo by Sarah Knafo holds the secret recipe of a Century's Heist. The journey of Robert Louis Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson explores the Cévennes. Daughter of the Crows by Mark Lawrence explores a dark fantasy saga. Sarah Marquis by Sarah Marquis explores the lessons of an explorer-adventurer.