Editions Eclectica

was founded with the objective of publishing texts — with no restriction on subject area — that will provide readers with new tools to help them come to grips with a world in constant mutation. Beyond the maelstrom of contradictory information, authors are committed to impart, in layman's terms, the fruit of their research, making it accessible to the general public and leading to a better understanding of humankind in the 21st-century in all its plurality. Thus opening up new horizons for the reader...

What are the roots of extreme violence? After several years of research Philippe Cotter, PhD in International Relations, reveals the common threads that bind the many tragic outbreaks of violence in the twentieth century and in the new millennium. [...]

BOOKS in French

Drawing heavily on the world of verbal transmission, SAGA Collection presents original texts from a variety of cultural backgrounds that aim to be both didactic and aesthetically-pleasing. The texts are rooted in everyday life, whether in the form of memoirs, witness accounts or legends, they all succeed in handing down a form of ancient popular wisdom with a measure of artistic — sometimes even poetic — charm.

Title: La Robe de Lumière
Author: Rosemarie Matzinger-Pasquier
Illustration: Wojtek Klakla
Pages: 144
Colour illustrations: 8
Format: 20 X 20 cm
Retail price: CHF 39.50.- (27 €)
ISBN: 978-2-940371-03-7

As a Swiss teacher active in promoting cultural awareness, Rosemarie Matzinger's life was tumed upside down with the sudden death of her husband. Her second book, in the form of a novel, is an account of events which have struck an emotional chord with her, be it in a positive or negative manner, and which illustrate each person's strengths and weaknesses. It is a powerful cry for help where feelings of impotence and injustice are gradually transformed into a desire to push back the limits, learning to show compassion and attune to the power of universal love. The story of a rebirth along a path of resilience. [...]

Title: Marottes de sorcières
Author: Barbara Rytz
(texte and illustration)
Pages: 50
Colour illustrations: 15
Format: 20 X 20 cm
Retail price: CHF 27.50.- (19 €)
ISBN: 978-2-940371-04-4

They haunt our imagination. In a succession of feasts and celebrations across the four seasons, all our "fundamental" questions on the subject of witches are answered in 10 short stories. With a touch of magic here and a pinch of salt there, the author has no qualms about laughing at herself and, indeed, portraying herself as a... witch! [...]

Title: Verdict bipolaire.
Une ou deux vies plus tard.
Author: (Leila Moon) Monique Trompezinski
Preface: Rosette Poletti
Illustration: Max Jacot
DVD: Interview in French with Bernard Pichon, Tabou, TSR (TV), 1995
(video 25 min.)
Pages: 104
Colour illustrations: 16
Format: 20 x 20 cm
Retail price: CHF 45.- (32 €)
ISBN: 978-2-940371-05-1

Born during World War Two in Lyon (France), of Polish descent, it is in Switzerland that Monique Trompezinski begins her professional career, transforming every obstacle and setback into an opportunity to bounce back. She goes from being a beautician to becoming an insurance broker, always picking up the pieces and moving on.

With a successful career and a large salary everything seemed to be going Monique Trompezinski's way until one day the verdict fell: manic-depressive psychosis (bipolar disorder) at the age of 38, 100% invalidity due to mental illness. It was a devastating blow, leaving her deserted by her friends and alone with a two-year old child. [...]

Title: Un Eclat de Vie
Author: Rosemarie Matzinger-Pasquier
Preface: Gabrielle Nanchen
Illustration: Philippe Pasquier and
Wojtek Klakla
Pages: 168
Colour illustrations: 10
Supplément photos: 4
Format: 20 X 20 cm
Retail price: CHF 42.50 .- (29 €)
ISBN: 978-2-940371-06-8

Rosemarie Matzinger-Pasquier's life was turned upside down by the sudden death of her husband. Initially written to help close friends and family remember and come to terms with the loss of a loved one, this book - whose influence is perceptible in her second book La Robe de Lumière - quickly struck a chord with the public. Its reputation as a life catalyst and as an indispensable aid to healing wounds and transcending grief has spread by word of mouth. [...]

Title: Tarentule
Author: Geneviève Biffiger
Illustration: Ambroise Héritier
Pages: 56
Format: 20 X 20 cm
Retail price: CHF 30.- (21 €)
ISBN: 978-2-940371-07-5

At the end of the War there was a need to rebuild. But a whole generation inherited the traditional values of the past in a world that was waiting to be re-invented by the next generation of as yet unborn young people. It is one of these traditional couples that Geneviève Biffiger has chosen to examine. Delving far beyond the accepted views, she exposes brilliantly the stereotypes and their damaging consequences. Does a man have to be strong? Does a woman have to be tender and loving? [...]

Title: Non, je ne suis pas comme toi, et alors?
Author: Daniel BERNARD
Pages: 80
Format: 20 X 20 cm
Retail price: CHF 32.- (22 €)
ISBN: 978-2-940371-08-2

Having trained as a film director, Daniel BERNARD is now a journalist and teacher with a great number of documentaries and television programmes to his credit. In 2007, at the age of 20, AGIS (Geneva association for social integration) commissioned a new play from him which was first staged at the Salle Pitoeff in Geneva. The cast is made up of professional and different actors. We should stop thinking that differences can simply be eliminated. Yes, things can be improved by changing our everyday environment, making our journeys safer or safeguarding our living spaces, but our neuron paths can no longer be changed. The message of this book is clear: we are every one of us capable of altering our point of view... [...]

Title: Passer à autre chose...
Author: Nourredine Ben Bachir
Category: short stories
Preface: Pascal Herlem
Illustrations: artwork by Kate Deleaval, ceramic artist
Pages: 106
Format: 20 X 20 cm
Retail price: CHF 33.50 (24€)
ISBN: 978-2-940371-10-5

This book is about embracing life's challenges: embarking on a new relationship, becoming a father again, exploring new ways of engaging with a language and country... and finding the courage to face the unknown in others. Author and psychiatrist Nourredine Ben Bachir likes to say that he became a psychoanalyst in order to rediscover and take care of the writer who came knocking at the door of the adolescent in search of a country. The result is a vivid portrait, mixing humour and gravitas, of all the questions that too often remain unanswered in the chiaroscuro of our mind. Seeking that ray of happiness that will illuminate our everyday lives, the characters in these short stories contemplate whether to take the great leap forward or to stay put. They thus embody all of us in life's restless journey. [...]

Title: La balade d'une vie.
Parcours d'un insoumis
Author: Pierre Rottet
Category: biography / documentary
Preface: Christian Campiche
Illustrations: 12 (8 colour pictures)
Pages: 224
Format: 20 X 20 cm
Retail price: CHF 43.- (31€)
ISBN: 978-2-940371-14-3

In ‘La balade d'une vie', author Pierre Rottet reveals what went on behind the scenes at the ‘Bélier' group – the Swiss Jura liberation movement – from 1972 to 1974. As a privileged observer working at the Catholic press agency Apic in Fribourg, Rottet has for the last forty years been casting a critical eye on the Vatican's policy in Latin America in particular and in the Hispanic world in general. The author questions John Paul II's policy and that of his successor, Benedict XVI - as well as the Roman Curia's role - of stifling liberation theology, grassroots movements and replacing them with charismatic movements and, above all, granting Opus Dei an inordinate amount of power. From the Jura to the Andes, Pierre Rottet's ‘stroll through life' is a tool for friendship and combat, or better still, a cry for freedom. [...]

Title: La dernière conversation. Ultime heure de Marat.
Author: Daniel BERNARD
Category: theatrical play
Preface: Alain-Jacques Tornare
Pages: 88
Formato: 15 X 21 cm (width x height)
Retail price: CHF 27.- (19€)
ISBN: 978-2-940371-11-2

As a journalist from foreign parts who stood by his radical ideas, Marat has a special place in the history of the French Revolution, which was not lacking in local colour. In this play devoid of loathing and prejudice, Marat is portrayed in delicate touches as the self-appointed, passionate supporter of the masses. With a superb novel approach to his subject, Daniel Bernard gives us a balanced, indeed almost affectionate, portrait of a man whose tragic destiny is about to be fulfilled. [...]

Title: L'armée des papillons. Italo Balbo rencontre Jean Mermoz.
Author: Daniel BERNARD
Category: theatrical play
Pages: 84
Format: 15 x 21 cm (width x height)
Retail price: CHF 25.- (18€)
ISBN: 978-2-940371-13-6

One gala evening, between two doors, two giants of European aviation in the 1930s meet in a Roman palace. Italo Balbo, Minister of Air, famous for taking squadrons of seaplanes on cruises entirely dedicated to the glory of Mussolini and fascism, and Jean Mermoz, French hero of the ‘aéropostale', friend of Saint-Exupéry and Joseph Kessel. Besides being charismatic, they also have in common their love of women, their pilot skills and a thirst for aeronautical adventure. But how could they lead such lives without selling themselves to the devil? [...]

Title: Repères pour l'histoire de la Conférence des Organisations Internationales Catholiques (1927-2008)
Author: Dr François Blin
Category: Documentary reference
Pages: 262
Retail price: CHF 30.- (21 €)
Format: 15,5 x 21 cm (width x height)
ISBN: 978-2-940371-12-9

Contents: Chronology and original documents presented by Dr F. Blin, Conference archivist.

The Conference of International Catholic Organisations, located near the League of Nations in Geneva, was formed in 1927 under the impetus of voluntary groups and dioceses. Its importance increased considerably after the war, with the arrival of the UN and other international organisations, who agreed to grant NGOs the status of advisory body. At the same time, links with the institutions of the Catholic Church were officialised, with the friendly support of Mgr Montini, substitute from 1937 to 1952, pro-secretary of State until 1954, then Sovereign Pontiff from 1963 to 1978. The Conference played an important part during the conciliary period and every time the role of laymen in the Church was being discussed. The need for continuous dialogue with the Vatican, especially with the Secretariat of State, has always been seen as paramount amongst the higher echelons of the International Catholic Organisations in their efforts to better direct and coordinate work with the supranational organisations.

BOOKS in English

BOOKS in French