A richly imagined story of a displaced fairy-tale prince living under another identity in wartime France. Love, memory and storytelling drive his search for traces of home, while the narrative gradually connects people, worlds and times.
More about this book
Joshua Pearl comes from a world that we no longer believe in a world of fairy tale. He knows that his great love waits for him there, but he is stuck in an unfamiliar time and place an old-world marshmallow shop in Paris on the eve of World War II. As his memories begin to fade, Joshua seeks out strange objects: tiny fragments of tales that have already been told, trinkets that might possibly help him prove his own story before his love is lost forever. Sarah Ardizzone and Sam Gordon translate the original French into a work both luminous and layered, enabling Timothée de Fombelles modern fairy tale to thrum with magic. Brimming with romance and history, mystery and adventure, this ode to the power of memory, storytelling, and love will ensnare any readers imagination and every readers heart. -- amazon.com
Iliån arrives without knowing how he reached Paris, takes Joshua Pearl’s name and later searches for objects that might prove his former world existed.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The story presents identity and belonging as questions shaped by memory, names and physical traces, without making the search straightforward.
Talk about: What might the objects prove, and whether proof can restore a sense of home, identity or connection?
Love and loyalty under separation
Iliån and Oliå are separated across worlds; Oliå gives up her powers and follows him, remaining at the fringes of his life while awaiting reunion.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The book presents this mainly as information or explanation.
Talk about: How does the story distinguish loyalty from sacrifice, and whether separation changes what the lovers owe one another?
War, power and responsibility
The story places a magical outsider in 1936 Paris and later in wartime service, including a rescue behind enemy lines, capture and a P.O.W. camp; a king also threatens characters.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The book presents this mainly as information or explanation.
Talk about: How do characters respond when authority, war or fear limits their choices?
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Why It May Be Worth Reading
This may suit readers who enjoy romances with mystery, magical objects and shifting realities. Its main reading challenge is following information revealed gradually across two worlds and a non-linear timeline.
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What Deserves Attention
Be ready for wartime danger, exile, capture and imprisonment, as well as a threatened love and memories that fade. The story also includes a murderous ruler and a failed attempt to escape captivity.
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A Conversation Worth Having
How does the story present loyalty when characters are separated by worlds, war or power? Does the search for proof change what the characters understand about memory and belonging?
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Reading Approach
Read patiently through the opening mysteries, keeping track of names, worlds and tokens. Pause after shifts in time or viewpoint, and discuss which details are clear, uncertain or newly reinterpreted.
Confidence & Basis
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
What remains unconfirmed
Memory, identity and belonging: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Love and loyalty under separation: The full relationship dynamics and ending are not provided.
War, power and responsibility: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Book information
Limited information
Relevant to: Memory, identity and belonging; Love and loyalty under separation
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