Assimilation

A multi-generational historical drama, full of mystery and deeply-wrought circumstancesOne family's story set against the backdrop of some of the biggest political and humanitarian events of the century. A tale of unravelling family secrets, belonging, betrayal and inherited trauma. A book that transports you in time and place through one family's history and struggle with its colonial roots.Marianne: a mother with a colourful past, keeping a terrible secret, tries her best to conform to French middle-class expectations. Charlotte: young and fiercely independent, desperately needs to escape dreadful trauma and a country she does not feel she belongs to. She leaves France and arrives in Wales, hoping to find peace and somewhere to rebuild her life.This book explores the challenges of identity, belonging, and womanhood, and the stories we tell in order to fit in.

Sophie Buchaillard writes contemporary fiction that reflects on the anxieties of our age, using movement and migration, to connect history with our reality. Her short stories and essays have appeared in a wide array of literary magazines and newspapers. She also writes about the environment under the handle #plasticfree. Her first novel This Is Not Who We Are (Seren) was shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year 2023.