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Book Summary

Reviewed by Matt Berman

Yann is the youngest of seven boys, the rest of whom are all twins. While his brothers are big and strong, Yann is as tiny as a toddler, mute as well, and brilliant. Resented by his angry and abusive parents, he communicates nonverbally with his brothers. One night, after overhearing his arguing parents, he tells his brothers that they are all in danger and must run away.

Heading out into a storm in the middle of the night, Yann leads them west, towards the ocean, and his brothers unquestioningly follow. They walk, hitch rides when they can, steal tickets, and take a train for part of the way. They beg and steal food and sleep where they can, while police search and their story is splashed all over the media.

Is It Any Good?

3

This seamless translation from French, based on Perrault's Hop o' My Thumb, will, like so many European children's books, seem rather odd to American children. It has the same kind of disturbing ending as the movie Radio Flyer, and it leaves many questions unanswered. Why did Yann put his brothers through this ordeal? What will happen to him? This may be based on a fable, but it's not one of the happily-ever-after kind.

Told in first person, as if in testimony, from dozens of viewpoints -- the various brothers, parents, witnesses along the way, social worker, police, etc. -- it's well-written and engrossing, if somewhat, in the way of fables, emotionally distant. Yann is an enigmatic protagonist, and readers won't feel that they know him, or any of the other characters. The ending is open-ended; Yann's motives, both for the journey he leads his brothers on and for his desire to continue west, are not clear; and ultimately, this fascinating story leaves the reader vaguely unsettled and unsatisfied.

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