In these short stories, which form a kind of guide to geography, Bergounioux shows how humans are shaped by the places where they live.

Whether geological (sandstone, limestone, granite), geomorphological (a cliff, a boulder, a terrace), or vegetable (ferns, vines, conifers), the landscape of France's Limousin region is a fundamental part of author Pierre Bergounioux's identity and infuses his beautiful, highly wrought, poetic, ringing language. Here, he tells us about his native landscape–his childhood, his memories, and his encounters--through the lens of the education he has received since leaving, the density of years that make up a lived life.