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The Book of Pearl
In prose as magical and intricate as the tale it tells, Timothée de Fombelle delivers an unforgettable story of a first love that defines a lifetime.
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 Fombelle’s 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 reader’s imagination and every reader’s heart.
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 Fombelle’s 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 reader’s imagination and every reader’s heart.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2014
82 people are currently reading
2657 people want to read
About the author
Timothée de Fombelle
49 books425 followersAs a child...
Timothee de Fombelle was born in the heart of Paris in 1973, but often accompanied his architect father on his travels to Africa. Each summer his family left for the countryside (the west of France), where the five brothers and sisters lived like wild horses, making huts in the trees, playing in the river and losing themselves in the woods. In the evening they performed plays for their parents and devoured the books in the library. Childhood remains for him the lost paradise which he re-discovers through writing.
As an adult...
After becoming a literature teacher, Timothee taught in Paris and Vietnam before choosing the bohemian life of the theatre. Author of a dozen plays, he writes, designs, builds sets and directs the actress he admires the most, his wife Laetitia. They have a young daughter, Jeanne Elisha, who already loves climbing trees. Toby Alone is his first novel and has already been translated into 22 languages.
As an artist...
Passionate about books and theatre, Timothee has been writing since he was young. The stage has been his testing ground but it is life, with its joys and trials, which inspires his real work. A great traveller, Timothee recognises that the writing of Toby Alone has been his best journey so far.
Timothee de Fombelle was born in the heart of Paris in 1973, but often accompanied his architect father on his travels to Africa. Each summer his family left for the countryside (the west of France), where the five brothers and sisters lived like wild horses, making huts in the trees, playing in the river and losing themselves in the woods. In the evening they performed plays for their parents and devoured the books in the library. Childhood remains for him the lost paradise which he re-discovers through writing.
As an adult...
After becoming a literature teacher, Timothee taught in Paris and Vietnam before choosing the bohemian life of the theatre. Author of a dozen plays, he writes, designs, builds sets and directs the actress he admires the most, his wife Laetitia. They have a young daughter, Jeanne Elisha, who already loves climbing trees. Toby Alone is his first novel and has already been translated into 22 languages.
As an artist...
Passionate about books and theatre, Timothee has been writing since he was young. The stage has been his testing ground but it is life, with its joys and trials, which inspires his real work. A great traveller, Timothee recognises that the writing of Toby Alone has been his best journey so far.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 430 reviews
September 29, 2018
Without checking out the synopsis, the title and cover of this book piqued my interest. I was really drawn into the story once I've started reading it; from beginning till the end, I highly anticipated the succeeding scenarios in the book.
The narrative of The Book of Pearl is a mix of fantasy and historical fiction that will catch the attention of young adults and even much older readers. Even though the start of the story is a little bit confusing, I was able to comprehend what was happening as I continued to read through the succeeding chapters. I was quite engrossed in the story, thus I was able to finish it within almost 6 hours of reading.
This book of Timothee de Fombelle Joseph “Ilian” Pearl and his adventures from the Kingdoms into our world.
The narrative of The Book of Pearl is a mix of fantasy and historical fiction that will catch the attention of young adults and even much older readers. Even though the start of the story is a little bit confusing, I was able to comprehend what was happening as I continued to read through the succeeding chapters. I was quite engrossed in the story, thus I was able to finish it within almost 6 hours of reading.
This book of Timothee de Fombelle Joseph “Ilian” Pearl and his adventures from the Kingdoms into our world.
February 5, 2018
This was a FANTASTIC read that is perfect for historical romance and fairy tale lovers! I fell in love with the prose and LOVED all the characters! This book was so awesome and went through a world within a world. I would highly recommend this book to any reader looking for something that will touch their heart.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate this opportunity and all views expressed are my own.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate this opportunity and all views expressed are my own.
February 15, 2015
Le livre de Perle, je l’ai vécu comme un poème, je l’ai lu très lentement en essayant de le faire durer pour ne jamais qu’il se termine. Il m’a ému, et transporté dans des mondes enchantés pleins de fées, de rois fous, d’histoires magiques.
La première partie du livre m’a d’abord laissé septique, mais en lisant la suite je me suis rendue compte de la cohérence de ce récit, et des liens de la première partie avec la deuxième et la troisième partie.
Joshua Perle m’a touché, son histoire m’a fait croire au contes de fées.
La plume de Timothée de Fombelle m’a énormement plu et surpris, il pose son récit avec une poésie qui n’appartient qu’à lui, des lieux merveilleux décrit avec tant de finesse.
J’ai adoré le personnage d’Olia, même si on l’a rencontre pas si souvent, le chapitre de son histoire m’a touché
Un livre pleins de féérie et d’amour, je ne suis pas déçue pour un sou :)
Entre le conte et la réalité, une PEPITE !
La première partie du livre m’a d’abord laissé septique, mais en lisant la suite je me suis rendue compte de la cohérence de ce récit, et des liens de la première partie avec la deuxième et la troisième partie.
Joshua Perle m’a touché, son histoire m’a fait croire au contes de fées.
La plume de Timothée de Fombelle m’a énormement plu et surpris, il pose son récit avec une poésie qui n’appartient qu’à lui, des lieux merveilleux décrit avec tant de finesse.
J’ai adoré le personnage d’Olia, même si on l’a rencontre pas si souvent, le chapitre de son histoire m’a touché
Un livre pleins de féérie et d’amour, je ne suis pas déçue pour un sou :)
Entre le conte et la réalité, une PEPITE !
June 21, 2016
When I began this book (apparently rather popular in its native France and virtually unheard of by Americans) I thought I was going to love it on a level with sophisticated lyrical wonder-filled works from authors like Alessandro Barrico, Erin Morgenstern, and Jane Mendelsohn. The comparison with Barrico would be particularly apt, as I think Sarah Ardizzone has done as sensitive and nuanced a job translating The Book of Pearl as Alister McEwan did with Ocean Sea, making the experience as rewarding for a reader of the English translation as I think it would be for a native speaker of its original language.
It turns out my rapture was a bit premature, however, and by the end I would say that there were a handful of passages that I thought were Seriously Beautiful, and certainly ideas that were unique and interesting, but a little too much content that just wasn't profoundly immersive or moving enough for me to say that this is a masterpiece.
To start with the best, I'll share a couple of passages that made me mark the pages to return to them, both because of what they say and how they say it:
I always used to put fairies in the same bracket as all those other creatures endlessly recycled from the grand bazaar of the magical and the marvelous.
Each of our imaginations is unique and impossible to replicate, or so it seems to me; they are like personal storerooms, or intimate sanctuaries. So it is that -- in all of our minds -- there are strange creatures, enchanted forests, and miniature worlds. What I had never accepted was the idea of fairies or elves moving from inside one head to another. Why should we play host to creatures invented by other people?
But stories change us. And there are some encounters that flip us onto our back like tortoises, forcing us to wake up and listen.
And then there's this one:
Sadness... is something that can fill one's life. Turning round and round inside you, until you die... But if you're able to leave your sadness behind you in the grass, then that is what you must do. Keep it hidden in the grass. Gently explain to it that you want something else, that you bear nothing against it, but that you're off.
I'm not going to say much about those passages. I think Mr. De Fombelle did a pretty great job of speaking for himself.
So instead, I'm struggling to figure out how to articulate why I was underwhelmed with the ending of this book... because I wouldn't argue that the concept for how the story ends isn't a good one -- if not outright the Best One. But nevertheless, I had a vague sense of dissatisfaction, as if the book hadn't lived up to its own promise. Was it that there is just so much more beautiful and powerful prose elsewhere in the book that a lack of a high impact passage at the end made it seem relatively weaker? Perhaps. Was it a lack of a gorgeously romantic interlude or a particularly complex action sequence to give an overwhelming emotional catharsis or climax? Perhaps, but probably not...
But ultimately I think the biggest problem with the novel is the narrator who ends up serving as the framing device. The book begins with a 14 year old boy stumbling upon the hidden home of the displaced fairy-tale kingdom prince who has been stuck in our world since the late 1930s. For several chapters, they interact, and the 14 year old boy is treated as the main character of the story, speaking in the first person. Then, abruptly, the book shifts to portraying, in third person omniscient, two different flashback streams -- one of the prince and the fairy's story in the fairy tale kingdom, and then the tale of prince's exile in our world. You don't hear from that 14 year old boy narrator again for over 200 pages. When he comes back at the end of the book to close the frame, he's an irritant. He's unworthy to serve as the heart of the story. You don't care about him any more. There's no satisfaction for you, the reader, in reading of his personal satisfaction at finding out the whole story of the prince and the fairy. On top of that, there are just a few too many random details included about the man he has become that are neither particularly sympathetic nor engaging. The fact that I don't find that character particularly appealing and I was in no way moved by his personal arc and resolution keeps me from giving this book the enthusiastic four stars I would otherwise have given it.
I'm still giving it four stars, however, because due to the quality of prose, the sensitive soul of the story, the variety of unique ideas, and the obvious intellect and heart of Mr De Fombelle, it stands out among the copious fairy tale novels of varying degrees of literary merit to which you might give your attention. I will be seeking out more by this author, as I'm quite curious whether this is the pinnacle of his achievement, or merely a hint of his capabilities. If it is the latter, he might well have a masterpiece out there, already written or still to come....
It turns out my rapture was a bit premature, however, and by the end I would say that there were a handful of passages that I thought were Seriously Beautiful, and certainly ideas that were unique and interesting, but a little too much content that just wasn't profoundly immersive or moving enough for me to say that this is a masterpiece.
To start with the best, I'll share a couple of passages that made me mark the pages to return to them, both because of what they say and how they say it:
I always used to put fairies in the same bracket as all those other creatures endlessly recycled from the grand bazaar of the magical and the marvelous.
Each of our imaginations is unique and impossible to replicate, or so it seems to me; they are like personal storerooms, or intimate sanctuaries. So it is that -- in all of our minds -- there are strange creatures, enchanted forests, and miniature worlds. What I had never accepted was the idea of fairies or elves moving from inside one head to another. Why should we play host to creatures invented by other people?
But stories change us. And there are some encounters that flip us onto our back like tortoises, forcing us to wake up and listen.
And then there's this one:
Sadness... is something that can fill one's life. Turning round and round inside you, until you die... But if you're able to leave your sadness behind you in the grass, then that is what you must do. Keep it hidden in the grass. Gently explain to it that you want something else, that you bear nothing against it, but that you're off.
I'm not going to say much about those passages. I think Mr. De Fombelle did a pretty great job of speaking for himself.
So instead, I'm struggling to figure out how to articulate why I was underwhelmed with the ending of this book... because I wouldn't argue that the concept for how the story ends isn't a good one -- if not outright the Best One. But nevertheless, I had a vague sense of dissatisfaction, as if the book hadn't lived up to its own promise. Was it that there is just so much more beautiful and powerful prose elsewhere in the book that a lack of a high impact passage at the end made it seem relatively weaker? Perhaps. Was it a lack of a gorgeously romantic interlude or a particularly complex action sequence to give an overwhelming emotional catharsis or climax? Perhaps, but probably not...
But ultimately I think the biggest problem with the novel is the narrator who ends up serving as the framing device. The book begins with a 14 year old boy stumbling upon the hidden home of the displaced fairy-tale kingdom prince who has been stuck in our world since the late 1930s. For several chapters, they interact, and the 14 year old boy is treated as the main character of the story, speaking in the first person. Then, abruptly, the book shifts to portraying, in third person omniscient, two different flashback streams -- one of the prince and the fairy's story in the fairy tale kingdom, and then the tale of prince's exile in our world. You don't hear from that 14 year old boy narrator again for over 200 pages. When he comes back at the end of the book to close the frame, he's an irritant. He's unworthy to serve as the heart of the story. You don't care about him any more. There's no satisfaction for you, the reader, in reading of his personal satisfaction at finding out the whole story of the prince and the fairy. On top of that, there are just a few too many random details included about the man he has become that are neither particularly sympathetic nor engaging. The fact that I don't find that character particularly appealing and I was in no way moved by his personal arc and resolution keeps me from giving this book the enthusiastic four stars I would otherwise have given it.
I'm still giving it four stars, however, because due to the quality of prose, the sensitive soul of the story, the variety of unique ideas, and the obvious intellect and heart of Mr De Fombelle, it stands out among the copious fairy tale novels of varying degrees of literary merit to which you might give your attention. I will be seeking out more by this author, as I'm quite curious whether this is the pinnacle of his achievement, or merely a hint of his capabilities. If it is the latter, he might well have a masterpiece out there, already written or still to come....
November 1, 2019
“Cuốn sách của Perle” là một tiểu thuyết kì ảo được viết bởi một tác giả người Pháp – Timothée de Fombelle, được dịch và phát hành tại Việt Nam bởi Nhã Nam. Đúng chất văn học Pháp mà mình thường thấy, câu chuyện này mang một màu sắc nhẹ nhàng và thơ mộng, nhưng bên cạnh đó lại đan xen sự bí ẩn, mập mờ mà đến tận trang cuối cùng vẫn chưa có lời giải đáp.
Khi đọc sách, mình hay quen thói “đoán già đoán non”, thử suy nghĩ xem câu chuyện sẽ tiến triển tới đâu, gốc gác của nhân vật là gì. Để rồi nhận ra, làm vậy với cuốn sách này là không thể, bởi lối hành văn của cuốn sách thật quá lắt léo và mù mờ. Nói vậy, đây lại không phải là một điểm trừ của cuốn sách mà lại chính là điểm sáng. Chính cách viết ấy đã làm cho câu chuyện thêm phần lôi cuốn. Cuốn sách khiến mình phải thay luồng suy nghĩ liên tục, rồi đón chào mình với bất ngờ ở những trang sau, khiến mình cảm thấy như đang mở một hộp quà với nhiều lớp bọc. Một câu chuyện nửa thực nửa mơ, một câu chuyện không rõ đúng sai nhưng lại để nhiều vương vấn trong lòng người đọc.
“Cuốn sách của Perle” có thể được coi là một cuốn tiểu thuyết lịch sử xen lẫn với một chút giả tưởng của thế giới cổ tích. Bên cạnh bức tranh Thế chiến chìm trong biển lửa chúng ta bắt gặp trong nhiều tác phẩm khác, trong “Cuốn sách của Perle”, ta còn được nhìn thấy một vùng đất cổ tích khác hoàn toàn những gì thời trẻ biết. Một vùng đất thần tiên rực rỡ phép màu và tình yêu thương, ẩn sau đó lại chính là thù hận và dã tâm. Vùng đất ấy được khắc họa thật khéo léo, chân thật đến đau lòng, để lại trong lòng người đọc một nỗi thương tâm.
Các nhân vật đều là các ẩn số. Mỗi nhân vật mang theo một câu chuyện quá khứ, mỗi nhân vật có một số phận riêng, nhưng lại có những ngã rẽ khiến họ gặp được nhau. Đây lại là một điểm sáng khác của câu chuyện, cách tác giả tạo nên các nhân vật với nhiều mạch truyện nhỏ tưởng chừng chẳng liên quan nhưng rồi tất cả lại kết nối với nhau. Các nhân vật và các chi tiết trong truyện còn có tính biểu tượng cao, mà mình tin rằng cần phải dành thời gian xem xét, suy ngẫm mới có thể nhận ra được. Đến tận cuối cùng, có thật nhiều điều về từng nhân vật mà mình vẫn chưa hiểu rõ, nhưng lại khiến mình đặc biệt hứng thú vì có thể tự do tưởng tượng và lý giải.
Một làn sương mờ ảo, một câu chuyện trớ trêu mang tính thực tế nhưng lại đặt trong thế giới huyền bí tràn đầy ma thuật, “Cuốn sách của Perle” quả là một câu chuyện kì lạ để lại cho người đọc nhiều trăn trở. Cuốn sách này vẫn chưa được đón nhận thật sự nhiều bởi các độc giả tại Việt Nam, có thể do thể loại kì ảo còn chưa phổ biến. Tuy vậy, mình thật sự mong câu chuyện kì lạ này đến được tay mọi người, vì mình tin rằng đây sẽ là một câu chuyện vô cùng đáng nhớ.
Khi đọc sách, mình hay quen thói “đoán già đoán non”, thử suy nghĩ xem câu chuyện sẽ tiến triển tới đâu, gốc gác của nhân vật là gì. Để rồi nhận ra, làm vậy với cuốn sách này là không thể, bởi lối hành văn của cuốn sách thật quá lắt léo và mù mờ. Nói vậy, đây lại không phải là một điểm trừ của cuốn sách mà lại chính là điểm sáng. Chính cách viết ấy đã làm cho câu chuyện thêm phần lôi cuốn. Cuốn sách khiến mình phải thay luồng suy nghĩ liên tục, rồi đón chào mình với bất ngờ ở những trang sau, khiến mình cảm thấy như đang mở một hộp quà với nhiều lớp bọc. Một câu chuyện nửa thực nửa mơ, một câu chuyện không rõ đúng sai nhưng lại để nhiều vương vấn trong lòng người đọc.
“Cuốn sách của Perle” có thể được coi là một cuốn tiểu thuyết lịch sử xen lẫn với một chút giả tưởng của thế giới cổ tích. Bên cạnh bức tranh Thế chiến chìm trong biển lửa chúng ta bắt gặp trong nhiều tác phẩm khác, trong “Cuốn sách của Perle”, ta còn được nhìn thấy một vùng đất cổ tích khác hoàn toàn những gì thời trẻ biết. Một vùng đất thần tiên rực rỡ phép màu và tình yêu thương, ẩn sau đó lại chính là thù hận và dã tâm. Vùng đất ấy được khắc họa thật khéo léo, chân thật đến đau lòng, để lại trong lòng người đọc một nỗi thương tâm.
Các nhân vật đều là các ẩn số. Mỗi nhân vật mang theo một câu chuyện quá khứ, mỗi nhân vật có một số phận riêng, nhưng lại có những ngã rẽ khiến họ gặp được nhau. Đây lại là một điểm sáng khác của câu chuyện, cách tác giả tạo nên các nhân vật với nhiều mạch truyện nhỏ tưởng chừng chẳng liên quan nhưng rồi tất cả lại kết nối với nhau. Các nhân vật và các chi tiết trong truyện còn có tính biểu tượng cao, mà mình tin rằng cần phải dành thời gian xem xét, suy ngẫm mới có thể nhận ra được. Đến tận cuối cùng, có thật nhiều điều về từng nhân vật mà mình vẫn chưa hiểu rõ, nhưng lại khiến mình đặc biệt hứng thú vì có thể tự do tưởng tượng và lý giải.
Một làn sương mờ ảo, một câu chuyện trớ trêu mang tính thực tế nhưng lại đặt trong thế giới huyền bí tràn đầy ma thuật, “Cuốn sách của Perle” quả là một câu chuyện kì lạ để lại cho người đọc nhiều trăn trở. Cuốn sách này vẫn chưa được đón nhận thật sự nhiều bởi các độc giả tại Việt Nam, có thể do thể loại kì ảo còn chưa phổ biến. Tuy vậy, mình thật sự mong câu chuyện kì lạ này đến được tay mọi người, vì mình tin rằng đây sẽ là một câu chuyện vô cùng đáng nhớ.
February 6, 2018
Check out more reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...
An English translation of Timothee de Fombelle’s French, Le Livre de Perle, a popular book in his country, brimming with romance and history, mystery and adventure. A boy meets an old man through an odd series of events which haunt him his entire youth. Because of that meeting he plays an important role in two star crossed lovers (Ilian and Olia) story. As he recounts his role, the lovers' stories and reveals who the mysterious Joshua Pearl is, a very real fairy tale weaves before our eyes.
The short review...
This is one of those books where you have to read the blurb (preferably MY blurb*) BEFORE starting the book so that you have a clue what is going on, because at first you are thrown into the ocean with no land in sight and if you don't know how to float you will have a horrible time and die drowning. Hahahaha it doesn't sound promising does it...? And I'm not sure anyone else will be able to understand why I LOVE this book so much but I’m going to try to explain...
First the story is made of mystery and moonbeams. The mysteries literally stack one on top of another and you can only breathe long enough to follow where they lead you. You don't know who is who for a while or how things connect because the author doesn't explain (love this ALL showing approach!) Second, this is THE best lyrical prose I've ever read... it's a heavy writing style made light! Somehow the translators captured the complex writing of the original author (bravo!) so I felt like I was reading it in French! Third, a masterful fusion of fairy tale, historical France during WWII and modern formatting techniques.
*If you compare blurbs you will see mine approaches the story from a totally different place. In fact I barely mention Joshua Pearl and instead point out another boy... who could potentially be the author and how he learned of these events... you'll have to read it for yourself to confirm or deny!
Cover & Title grade -> C-
I'm not a fan of this cover. I would have preferred the luggage of the original cover as the story is told through the eyes and knowledge of a boy at almost present day and the mystery of the luggage is quite compelling! I DO understand why they did the cover like this trying to capture the fairy tale nature to the story that links everything together. It further confuses you though once you enter the book, expecting one thing and getting another. I do quite LOVE the title though and the cover design could have gone with the marshmallow bakery for the cover instead of the luggage. Either way, the enchanting aspects of the story could have acted as a draw for the book WAY better than the butterfly fairy.
Why did others struggle while I LOVED it so much?
The POV is complex.
The narrator of the story is a boy who meets an old man early in the book and is sucked into the mystery of the man and his quest. Because we are moving back and forth through time as well as between worlds and this boy is the narrator, you aren't reading the story from Ilian and Olia's POV nor even Joshua Pearl's! They have recounted their stories to the boy and he is telling us. It's done using a mix of POV and is quite masterful but because so much of third person is used and many readers feel distant from that POV the book can be daunting to read.
You aren't told a thing!
In fact the narrator is unreliable as to whether his conclusions are correct or not. He operates as if what he has come to realize is truth only for it not to fit together as well as he'd like us the accept. It's hard because there is so little explanation as to what is happening even as we are caught up in the moment and how the person telling the story believes it to be. In reality how this story is told is EXACTLY how stories are... it's only in recording that hindsight is added. It's brilliant as you get to literally piece together a mystery... and this is only daunting if mystery piecing is NOT fun to you (like it is to me... and evidently French people.)
It reads like a historical account.
We LOVE to read and write about history. More than that though we love when a person's story is captured on the page. Joshua Pearl has lived a twisted and messed up life and it is captured just like a dramatic account made by a family member who wants to share the life of this magical person who they can't believe is a part of their family. We get glimpses of what the person whose history it is thought but we don't live inside that person all the time (which can stump some readers). It more about the magic of their journey and how things came together for that specific someone.
As a Writer...
I basically loved this book due to the mix of writing, storycraft and characters/plot. I outlined my reader reasons in my first impression, the storycraft reasons in my 3 point why and now for the writing...
Laini Taylor is the queen of heavy prose. The more lyrical and wordy the better for her and the more words she uses the denser and more weighty the writing style. Somehow in this book (its magical!) the words have the density of Laini Taylor's prose but the gossamer weight of spidersilk! It's light and airy and beautiful and I didn't mind it one bit. It is THE BEST EXAMPLE of lyrical writing I have EVER read.
When the writing style is this good, and the storycraft is brilliant plus I'm captured by mystery after mystery all surrounding the same man, a man who deserves happiness... I can't help but LOVE the book, a book like The Book of Pearl.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Authenticity
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Writing Style
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Plot & Pacing
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ World Building
BOTTOM LINE: Brilliant prose and excellent storycraft mixed with winning characters swept me off my feet...
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. It has not influenced my opinions.
______________________
You can find this review and many others on my book blog @ Perspective of a Writer. See my special perspective at the bottom of my reviews under the typewriter...
September 9, 2018
Mới đầu đọc cuốn này mình không thích lắm đâu, nhất là mấy chương đầu ấy, cảm thấy nó cứ thiếu thiếu cái gì đó. Ấy vậy mà càng đọc, càng đắm mình vào câu chuyện, đặc biệt là câu chuyện của hoàng tử Ilian ở xứ sở thần tiên của chàng và tình yêu mà chàng và nàng tiên Olia dành cho nhau, mình lại càng thấy yêu cuốn tiểu thuyết này cực.
"Cuốn sách của Perle" không phải là dạng truyện cổ tích bình thường, mà thực sự nó cũng chẳng phải đơn thuần là một câu chuyện cổ tích. Cuốn sách là tổng hòa của một câu chuyện thần tiên ở một vương quốc nằm đâu đó trong trí tưởng tượng của con người, nơi có một tấn bi kịch đau lòng của một ông vua và một bà hoàng hậu; nơi có một đứa trẻ sinh ra và lớn lên trong một tòa lâu đài đổ nát, bao quanh là rừng rú và những con sông đầy bùn; nơi có một tên vua bạo chúa muốn tìm mọi cách triệt hạ người em mình chưa bao giờ biết mặt để giữ rịt lấy thứ quyền lực đế vương đã khiến hắn mờ mắt. Và cái thế giới thần tiên đó tồn tại song song, chuyển dịch giữa những chương truyện với cái thế giới hiện thực của loài người, nơi đang diễn ra Chiến tranh thế giới lần thứ hai, nơi cũng đã chứng kiến những mất mát, đau thương và nỗi nhức nhối của một mối tình không thể nào trọn vẹn.
Ở cái thế giới ấy, có một chàng hoàng tử bị lưu đày, đắm mình trong cơn ghiện sưu tầm và cất giữ những món đồ vật của thế giới cổ tích để làm bằng chứng, để mong một ngày được trở về và đoàn tụ với nàng tiên đã vì yêu chàng mà chấp nhận từ bỏ quyền năng của giống loài mình. Và có một người, sau 25 năm gặp người đàn ông mà chàng không hề biết chính là hoàng tử, đã cặm cụi theo chân cặp tình nhân chưa một ngày nào được ở bên nhau trọn vẹn, viết nên câu chuyện của Perle, câu chuyện có cửa hàng kẹo nổi tiếng, những tấm ảnh rửa ra từ cuộn phim, và một cái kết mở không thôi làm đắm say người đọc.
Đẹp, hấp dẫn ở mức vừa phải với những câu văn duyên dáng, dung dị mà đôi lúc lại chân thật đến nhói lòng, "Cuốn sách của Perle" xứng đáng là một cuốn truyện dành cho những ai chưa bao giờ thôi tin vào những điều thần tiên cùng những câu chuyện cổ tích. Và cái tên "Perle" của tiếng Pháp, trong tiếng Việt có nghĩa là "ngọc trai" đấy các bạn ạ (tiếng Anh là "pearl" ý ^^). Tác giả chọn tên nhân vật khéo quá, vì thực sự cuốn sách này và câu chuyện mà nó kể lại quả thật là một viên ngọc trai :))
"Cuốn sách của Perle" không phải là dạng truyện cổ tích bình thường, mà thực sự nó cũng chẳng phải đơn thuần là một câu chuyện cổ tích. Cuốn sách là tổng hòa của một câu chuyện thần tiên ở một vương quốc nằm đâu đó trong trí tưởng tượng của con người, nơi có một tấn bi kịch đau lòng của một ông vua và một bà hoàng hậu; nơi có một đứa trẻ sinh ra và lớn lên trong một tòa lâu đài đổ nát, bao quanh là rừng rú và những con sông đầy bùn; nơi có một tên vua bạo chúa muốn tìm mọi cách triệt hạ người em mình chưa bao giờ biết mặt để giữ rịt lấy thứ quyền lực đế vương đã khiến hắn mờ mắt. Và cái thế giới thần tiên đó tồn tại song song, chuyển dịch giữa những chương truyện với cái thế giới hiện thực của loài người, nơi đang diễn ra Chiến tranh thế giới lần thứ hai, nơi cũng đã chứng kiến những mất mát, đau thương và nỗi nhức nhối của một mối tình không thể nào trọn vẹn.
Ở cái thế giới ấy, có một chàng hoàng tử bị lưu đày, đắm mình trong cơn ghiện sưu tầm và cất giữ những món đồ vật của thế giới cổ tích để làm bằng chứng, để mong một ngày được trở về và đoàn tụ với nàng tiên đã vì yêu chàng mà chấp nhận từ bỏ quyền năng của giống loài mình. Và có một người, sau 25 năm gặp người đàn ông mà chàng không hề biết chính là hoàng tử, đã cặm cụi theo chân cặp tình nhân chưa một ngày nào được ở bên nhau trọn vẹn, viết nên câu chuyện của Perle, câu chuyện có cửa hàng kẹo nổi tiếng, những tấm ảnh rửa ra từ cuộn phim, và một cái kết mở không thôi làm đắm say người đọc.
Đẹp, hấp dẫn ở mức vừa phải với những câu văn duyên dáng, dung dị mà đôi lúc lại chân thật đến nhói lòng, "Cuốn sách của Perle" xứng đáng là một cuốn truyện dành cho những ai chưa bao giờ thôi tin vào những điều thần tiên cùng những câu chuyện cổ tích. Và cái tên "Perle" của tiếng Pháp, trong tiếng Việt có nghĩa là "ngọc trai" đấy các bạn ạ (tiếng Anh là "pearl" ý ^^). Tác giả chọn tên nhân vật khéo quá, vì thực sự cuốn sách này và câu chuyện mà nó kể lại quả thật là một viên ngọc trai :))
March 28, 2019
4-4.5
I can understand why people don't like this book; and I nearly missed it because I was not totally in the mood for it. But, the ending was so beautiful, and brought such meaning to the whole book that I nearly completely fell in love with it.
It can be quite confusing: we first follow a fairy who tries to save her loved one; then we follow a young boy crushed by a heartache; and then we focus on another young man. The action is set in two worlds, one of magic, one without. They are both familiar to the reader who travels from one to the other over the pages. I don't want to say too much about the story, I think it's better to go blind in this book. So I'll stop here with the plot. But, the ending was decisive in my love for this book because
Moreover, it was a beautiful story. I felt close to Perle all along, wanted him to succeed, to go back to where he belongs but, at the same time, not to lose everything he got in the new world he found. As WWII is part of the book, you can imagine that it is quite sad; but I never really felt the emotion overwhelm me. The only times it nearly did where when loneliness was mentioned, or grief.
I also loved the idea of this world where all the fairy tales are real: I really want another book about that pleaaaaaaase!
I love this book, and this love will probably grow with time!
I can understand why people don't like this book; and I nearly missed it because I was not totally in the mood for it. But, the ending was so beautiful, and brought such meaning to the whole book that I nearly completely fell in love with it.
It can be quite confusing: we first follow a fairy who tries to save her loved one; then we follow a young boy crushed by a heartache; and then we focus on another young man. The action is set in two worlds, one of magic, one without. They are both familiar to the reader who travels from one to the other over the pages. I don't want to say too much about the story, I think it's better to go blind in this book. So I'll stop here with the plot. But, the ending was decisive in my love for this book because
Moreover, it was a beautiful story. I felt close to Perle all along, wanted him to succeed, to go back to where he belongs but, at the same time, not to lose everything he got in the new world he found. As WWII is part of the book, you can imagine that it is quite sad; but I never really felt the emotion overwhelm me. The only times it nearly did where when loneliness was mentioned, or grief.
I also loved the idea of this world where all the fairy tales are real: I really want another book about that pleaaaaaaase!
I love this book, and this love will probably grow with time!
January 18, 2018
I received an ARC copy of The Book of Pearl in exchange for an honest review. Thanks goes to NetGalley, as well as the translators of this edition, Sarah Ardizzone and Sam Gordon for this advanced copy which is expected to be released on February 06, 2018.
The NetGalley copy I read is actually a translation of Timothee de Fombelle’s original French, Le Livre de Perle, a well known book of fairytale and magic, being published back in 2014 by Gallimard Jeunesse.
The Book of Pearl is exactly as the title of this post suggest: a masterpiece of a thousand headaches. I really can’t describe this book in another, more precise way. So much happened that it does not cease to amaze me how the author was able to keep up with the overlapping times, characters and even worlds, and then somehow blur the initially disjointed stories together. Even turning the last page I’m at once amazed an in need of an excedrin. I’m just at a loss on how all the characters, events, and worlds, I repeat WORLDS, even happened all in different times but then by the end all became one. I’m not sure if this makes me a lazy reader or if anyone else who has dared read all 300 pages of this feels the same as bimbo Delphine over here. Where can I even start? Not even the story itself begins at the beginning, nor at a place where the reader can really relate. In essence, it’s a fairy tale which I would, in any other circumstance, be thrilled over. It definitely was a fairy tale, with fairies, magic and the impossible becoming possible. However, it was just so scattered. For the first 40%, just about half, of the book I was just kind of sitting back – total passive reader. I felt really disengaged and found it hard to relate to the characters and enter the story world, or in this case, worlds. It took this long for me to really get a grip of what was going on.
The plot though…goodness…the plot! How can I even begin to talk about a a plot that was in another plot, that was in yet another, which was basically the first (does that even make sense? No? Exactly…) ?! Everything that happens all revolves around a fairy and her love for a prince-never-to-become-king. This was the cutest part of the story, as both suffered and struggled, often risking death and being trapped in the demons of their own mind to find each other again. That was basically what the book was about, in short terms. I like this, but then… but then…. but then… Do I even want to get started on the ‘but then’…?!
Switching from third to first person, switching time periods from WWII in France to freaking goodness knows what time didn’t help the reading experience. I felt like I was being rushed and when I finally felt like I was “getting it” another war or some other character would pop out of nowhere and I would be confused all over again! Even now, writing this review, I’m not sure what I can really even offer the reader other than my sobs, whines and obnoxious cries for help: “what is this?!?!?!”
There is magic. But then there is history. And then there comes the romance. But wait! Someone is after someone who is also after someone else, trying to kill someone in another world. And then there are the objects to help the prince remember what the other world made him forget. Oh. And what about the whole Marshmallow thing going on ? Jacques Perle’s Maison Perle where the young prince walks into his life. Of all the parts of the story, this was perhaps my favorite as it added a sweet, candy land twist to the rest of the drama going on. Marshmallows made with almonds and sweet cream, enough to drive in lust-seeking woman, hard-working laborers, and rebellious troublemakers after school.
The writing was delicate and very thorough. And I do not mean this as a praise. Despite all the worlds and times that this story covered, I never made it into even one. Everything happened quickly and with little room for me to imagine and see what was going on in my mind’s eye. I was just a hopeless outcast with no room for me to even think. I got so irritated at times that I had to just turn my kindle off and eat. Yes, eating brought me back to my sanity thank you very much. If it wasn’t for the comfort of food I probably would have gone berserk and never returned to the story. There were several moments after a pause for binge snacking that I would have to reread the last twenty pages before returning to the place I left off. The story for me was just forgettable. There was so much, just so much that was scattered and didn’t make any sense till the very last sentence. This is not the kind of reader I am.
Despite all these brute criticisms I am going to call The Book of Pearl a masterpiece. For the writer to have been able to keep his mind in check while writing this fairytale-romance-thriller-mystery-history book is beyond me. The writing was, despite being detached was poetic. If this was just a standalone book on language and the beauty of it, I would be all for it and willing to give it a full five stars. But it wasn’t. There was an actual story going on, whatever that was, as I’m still trying to figure it out, three days after turning the last page.
This was definitely an intricate piece of work – perfect for the classroom – for those teachers that just want to dissect the living hell out of every piece of literature out there.This book, with all its literary tactics going on, would be a field day for my AP Literature teacher back in high school. No mistake, it’s a puzzle that needs to pieced together into a clear sequence by a reader with no problem to suffer a headache if a masterpiece is to result. Good luck for those willing to. I’m out. It really is clever how the book masters to draw us in by its promise of magical kingdoms and doomed love, only to send us into a nauseating time machine through different minds, voices and stories.
The NetGalley copy I read is actually a translation of Timothee de Fombelle’s original French, Le Livre de Perle, a well known book of fairytale and magic, being published back in 2014 by Gallimard Jeunesse.
The Book of Pearl is exactly as the title of this post suggest: a masterpiece of a thousand headaches. I really can’t describe this book in another, more precise way. So much happened that it does not cease to amaze me how the author was able to keep up with the overlapping times, characters and even worlds, and then somehow blur the initially disjointed stories together. Even turning the last page I’m at once amazed an in need of an excedrin. I’m just at a loss on how all the characters, events, and worlds, I repeat WORLDS, even happened all in different times but then by the end all became one. I’m not sure if this makes me a lazy reader or if anyone else who has dared read all 300 pages of this feels the same as bimbo Delphine over here. Where can I even start? Not even the story itself begins at the beginning, nor at a place where the reader can really relate. In essence, it’s a fairy tale which I would, in any other circumstance, be thrilled over. It definitely was a fairy tale, with fairies, magic and the impossible becoming possible. However, it was just so scattered. For the first 40%, just about half, of the book I was just kind of sitting back – total passive reader. I felt really disengaged and found it hard to relate to the characters and enter the story world, or in this case, worlds. It took this long for me to really get a grip of what was going on.
The plot though…goodness…the plot! How can I even begin to talk about a a plot that was in another plot, that was in yet another, which was basically the first (does that even make sense? No? Exactly…) ?! Everything that happens all revolves around a fairy and her love for a prince-never-to-become-king. This was the cutest part of the story, as both suffered and struggled, often risking death and being trapped in the demons of their own mind to find each other again. That was basically what the book was about, in short terms. I like this, but then… but then…. but then… Do I even want to get started on the ‘but then’…?!
Switching from third to first person, switching time periods from WWII in France to freaking goodness knows what time didn’t help the reading experience. I felt like I was being rushed and when I finally felt like I was “getting it” another war or some other character would pop out of nowhere and I would be confused all over again! Even now, writing this review, I’m not sure what I can really even offer the reader other than my sobs, whines and obnoxious cries for help: “what is this?!?!?!”
There is magic. But then there is history. And then there comes the romance. But wait! Someone is after someone who is also after someone else, trying to kill someone in another world. And then there are the objects to help the prince remember what the other world made him forget. Oh. And what about the whole Marshmallow thing going on ? Jacques Perle’s Maison Perle where the young prince walks into his life. Of all the parts of the story, this was perhaps my favorite as it added a sweet, candy land twist to the rest of the drama going on. Marshmallows made with almonds and sweet cream, enough to drive in lust-seeking woman, hard-working laborers, and rebellious troublemakers after school.
The writing was delicate and very thorough. And I do not mean this as a praise. Despite all the worlds and times that this story covered, I never made it into even one. Everything happened quickly and with little room for me to imagine and see what was going on in my mind’s eye. I was just a hopeless outcast with no room for me to even think. I got so irritated at times that I had to just turn my kindle off and eat. Yes, eating brought me back to my sanity thank you very much. If it wasn’t for the comfort of food I probably would have gone berserk and never returned to the story. There were several moments after a pause for binge snacking that I would have to reread the last twenty pages before returning to the place I left off. The story for me was just forgettable. There was so much, just so much that was scattered and didn’t make any sense till the very last sentence. This is not the kind of reader I am.
Despite all these brute criticisms I am going to call The Book of Pearl a masterpiece. For the writer to have been able to keep his mind in check while writing this fairytale-romance-thriller-mystery-history book is beyond me. The writing was, despite being detached was poetic. If this was just a standalone book on language and the beauty of it, I would be all for it and willing to give it a full five stars. But it wasn’t. There was an actual story going on, whatever that was, as I’m still trying to figure it out, three days after turning the last page.
This was definitely an intricate piece of work – perfect for the classroom – for those teachers that just want to dissect the living hell out of every piece of literature out there.This book, with all its literary tactics going on, would be a field day for my AP Literature teacher back in high school. No mistake, it’s a puzzle that needs to pieced together into a clear sequence by a reader with no problem to suffer a headache if a masterpiece is to result. Good luck for those willing to. I’m out. It really is clever how the book masters to draw us in by its promise of magical kingdoms and doomed love, only to send us into a nauseating time machine through different minds, voices and stories.
June 26, 2016
This story is something special.
Part fairy tale, part historical (1930's), and part present, The Book of Pearl isn't just a story.
The book that you hold in your hands as you read is actually part of the character's story.
The structure of the novel is skilfully pieced together, which would be the only thing I would worry about with younger readers. As an adult I found it pleasantly challenging to follow the strands of the three main characters until they had woven together completely at the end of the story, but young readers may struggle with this. But if you are 12+ and a keen reader - it's well worth the effort. I've never read anything like this before. And guys...it's not just for girls either. Most of the characters are men.
Truly and cleverly magical.
Part fairy tale, part historical (1930's), and part present, The Book of Pearl isn't just a story.
The book that you hold in your hands as you read is actually part of the character's story.
The structure of the novel is skilfully pieced together, which would be the only thing I would worry about with younger readers. As an adult I found it pleasantly challenging to follow the strands of the three main characters until they had woven together completely at the end of the story, but young readers may struggle with this. But if you are 12+ and a keen reader - it's well worth the effort. I've never read anything like this before. And guys...it's not just for girls either. Most of the characters are men.
Truly and cleverly magical.
July 10, 2016
An unraveling mystery, a fairytale kingdom, star-crossed lovers, WW2, marshmallows, old photos and tokens of proof wrapped in tissue paper. Curses, villains, and prisoners of war. A life time of yearning, searching and hoping for a way back to lost loves. Contented sigh. <3
January 10, 2025
3.6/5
ایده ای ندارم قراره چطور نقد این کتاب رو شروع کنم پس بریم که دست به تایپ کردن بشیم:
خلاصه ی داستان---->
داستان این کتاب حول محور سه شخصیت می چرخه و هر کدوم از این شخصیت ها عنصر مهمی در تکمیل کردن پازل ها و قطعات داستان هستند که در بین دنیای واقعی و پریان وجود دارند تا بتونیم به اسرار پشت این پرده پی ببریم و اونموقع هست که می تونیم بگیم ما این کتاب رو با خیال راحت خوندیم و به اتمام رسوندیم.
~《داستان این کتاب در مورد یک پسربچه چهارده ساله ای هست که از خونه فرار میکنه بعد از اینکه قلبش میشکنه، اون هم توسط دختری که دوستش داشته و ناگهان ناپدید شده جوری که هیچ رد و اثری ازش باقی نمونده و وقتی هم که به خودش میاد متوجه میشه در کلبه ی یک مرد میانسال هستش که بیشتر خونه اش با چمدون های زیاد قرار گرفته شده و جز چند تا سگ هیچ دوست و آشنایی نداره که معاشرت کنه و پشت چشماش چیزی بیشتر از یک آدم معمولی هستش و قراره ما با خوندن این داستان به رازها و زندگی این مرد موشکافی کنیم و سر در بیاریم.》~
نقد و ریویو و دیدگاه داستان:
۱.یک نکته ی منفی بدی که در این کتاب به چشم میخوره پرش های زمانی هست که خیلی اذیت کننده است بین دیدگاه شخصیت سوم و اول و تا بیای بفهمی این کدوم شخصیته نصف داستان رو باید پیش ببری تا متوجه بشی و ممکنه همون اوایل دل خواننده رو بزنه و حتی در سر تیتر و اسم هر چپتر هم توضیح به خصوصی داده نشده که به خواننده کمک کنه.
در مورد پرش های زمانی هم بگم این پرش های زمانی بین گذشته و حال هر کدوم از دنیای پریان و دنیای واقعی گذرونده میشه و حالا بیایم این رو از دیدگاه سه تا شخصیت که هر کدوم دارن بخشی از داستان رو پیش می برن در نظر بگیرید، کمی گیج کننده است اگه قبول داشته باشید.
۲.شروع پر قدرتی داره اما از اوجش کم میشه و اواسط کتاب برای اینکه دوباره اون شور و هیجان رو برگردونه میاد اواسط کتاب رو به جنگ جهانی دوم و مغازه مارشمالو می پردازه و میتونم بگم بیشترین بخش های کتاب که لذت بردم همین بخش ها بود چون نویسنده سعی کرده بود جزئیات رو در لابه لای کلمات جا بده تا بتونیم بهتر تصور کنیم و هنوز میتونم بوی مارشمالوهای رنگارنگ رو تو مغازه ی پرل احساس کنم و چه احساس دلنشین و قشنگی. :")
یا اینکه چطور ایلیآن یا همون ژوشوآ پرل در دوران جنگ تونست زندگی خودش رو بگذرونه تا بتونه زنده بمونه.
در مورد پایان، پایان بدی نداشت خوب بود ولی میتونست پایان بهتری داشته باشه بعد از این همه اتفاقاتی که برای اولیآ و ایلیآن اتفاق افتاد درخور پایان شیرین تری داشتند ولی در کل پایان تلخی نداشت و این زیبا بود.
مخصوصا که پایانش رو با این نقل قول پیتر پن به پایان رسوند:
"هر بار که کسی میگوید:((من قصه پریان را باور نمیکنم.))
در جایی ناگهان یک پری کوچک میمیرد."
۳.کاری ندارم کتاب حفره های خالی زیادی برامون گذاشت و برخی سوالات رو بی جواب گذاشت ولی کاش حداقل اون شخصیتی که از دیدگاه اول بیان می شد اسمش رو می گفت، چون اصلی ترین چیز ازش اون هم نامش، هیچ وقت تو داستان بیان و اشاره نشد.
۴.در مورد شخصیت پردازی متأسفانه اون عمقی که باید داشته باشند رو نداشتند و حالت یک شخصیت دو بعدی برای داستان پریان نوشته شده بود و اونطور نمیتونستم درکشون کنم.
(اسپویل):
مخصوصا عشق ایلیآن و اولیآ استارتش خیلی آبکی و یهویی بود اینطور بودند این دو تا همش همدیگه رو پس می زدند حتی هیچ چیز مشترک نداشتند ولی یهو بهم دل بستند و طوری که تا آخرین لحظات زندگیشون به پای هم موندند خیلی فانتزی مانند بود با اینحال عشق اولیآ به ایلیآن به خاطر بک استوریش کمی قابل توضیح و درک بود برعکس عشق ایلیآن به اولیآ.
باز بگم اوکی با این کنار بیام یآن که یک شخصیت منفی و بی رحم بود یهو با دیدن اولیآ عاشق و مجنونش شد-
ودفک-
با عقل من این تیکه جور در نمیاد در کل.
۵.در مورد کاور کتاب، که کتابسرای تندیس واقعا بدترین چیزی رو انتخاب کرده که اصلا جور درنمیاد.
کوهستان سبز الان به کجای داستان شبیهه-😭 T-T
کاش یکم تندیس تو انتخاب کاور دقت کنه. سر همین فکر کنم این کتاب زیاد ریویو فارسی از خودش نداره و کمی شناخته نشده است و امیدوارم حداقل تو تجدید چاپ، یک تجدید نظر بکنند.
از اونطرف با اینکه تعداد صفحاتش کم بود بعضی صفحاتش خیلی تار و یا بد چاپ شده بود طوری که چشم آدم رو اذیت میکرد.
۶.در مورد ترجمه نمیدونم بدک نبود ولی خیلی خوبم نبود یک سری جاها قابل درک نبود باید چند بار میخوندم و اون حالت شاعرانه ای که باید داشته باشه تو قلم نویسنده در ترجمه فارسی احساس نکردم و این لطمه ی خیلی بدی به کتاب خورده بود.
در کل ترجمه جای این رو داشت بهتر عمل کنه که نکرده بود.
با اینکه چک نکردم اما کتاب زیاد صحنه نداشت که بگم خیلی نیاز به سانسور داشته یا شده باشه که با کتاب اصلی چک کنیم، پس خیالتون در این مورد راحت باشه.
۷. یک سری جملات قشنگی در کتاب بود که دوست دارم در این بخش به اشتراک بزارم:
۱."خوشبختی همچون رقصی است که در آن به هم نزدیک و از هم دور میشوند، بیآنکه یکدیگر را گم کنند. خوشبختی حاصل اشک هایی است که بعد از جداییهای طولانی به وصال ختم میشود."
۲."رازهای بزرگی که با کسی قسمت نمیکنیم، عاقبت کمی از یاد میروند. دیگر شکلهای روی کاغذهای گلاسه را نمیشناسیم. این رازها با رؤیاها ترکیب میشوند. و وقتی از آنها بیدار میشویم، فقط تنهاییمان را به یاد میآوریم."
۳."سارقانی که کمی استعداد دارند، میدانند که یک عملیات موفق نمیتواند یک رقص والس سه زمانی باشد: میرسم، میدزدم، میروم. تنها دو زمان لازم و ضروری است: وارد میشوم و میروم. سرقت باید جایش را بین این دو پیدا کند."
۴."به نظر من تخیل هرکس منحصربهفرد است و ممکن نیست که تکراری باشد. تخیل یک انبار، یک پناهگاه است. در سر هر یک از ما میتواند حشرات عجیب یا آدمک باشد، اما من نمیتوانم جنها و پریها را تحمل کنم که مانند یک شپش از سری به سر دیگر گردش میکنند. چرا اجازه دهیم این موجوداتی که توسط دیگران خلق شدهاند، به ما تحمیل شوند؟
اما داستان ما را تغییر میدهند. و بعضی برخوردها ما را مانند لاکپشت به پشت برمیگرداند. آن ها ما را وادار میکنند که بپذیریم."
در نتیجه و به صورت کل نسبت به قیمتی که خریدم داستان قشنگی داشت و از ماجراجویی این سه شخصیت لذت بردم.
با توقع زیاد بالا سمتش نرید و از دید یک کتاب فانتزی مخلوطی از داستان پریان و واقعیت برای رده سنی پایین تر بخونید و لذت ببرید. D;🤝🤍
ایده ای ندارم قراره چطور نقد این کتاب رو شروع کنم پس بریم که دست به تایپ کردن بشیم:
خلاصه ی داستان---->
داستان این کتاب حول محور سه شخصیت می چرخه و هر کدوم از این شخصیت ها عنصر مهمی در تکمیل کردن پازل ها و قطعات داستان هستند که در بین دنیای واقعی و پریان وجود دارند تا بتونیم به اسرار پشت این پرده پی ببریم و اونموقع هست که می تونیم بگیم ما این کتاب رو با خیال راحت خوندیم و به اتمام رسوندیم.
~《داستان این کتاب در مورد یک پسربچه چهارده ساله ای هست که از خونه فرار میکنه بعد از اینکه قلبش میشکنه، اون هم توسط دختری که دوستش داشته و ناگهان ناپدید شده جوری که هیچ رد و اثری ازش باقی نمونده و وقتی هم که به خودش میاد متوجه میشه در کلبه ی یک مرد میانسال هستش که بیشتر خونه اش با چمدون های زیاد قرار گرفته شده و جز چند تا سگ هیچ دوست و آشنایی نداره که معاشرت کنه و پشت چشماش چیزی بیشتر از یک آدم معمولی هستش و قراره ما با خوندن این داستان به رازها و زندگی این مرد موشکافی کنیم و سر در بیاریم.》~
نقد و ریویو و دیدگاه داستان:
۱.یک نکته ی منفی بدی که در این کتاب به چشم میخوره پرش های زمانی هست که خیلی اذیت کننده است بین دیدگاه شخصیت سوم و اول و تا بیای بفهمی این کدوم شخصیته نصف داستان رو باید پیش ببری تا متوجه بشی و ممکنه همون اوایل دل خواننده رو بزنه و حتی در سر تیتر و اسم هر چپتر هم توضیح به خصوصی داده نشده که به خواننده کمک کنه.
در مورد پرش های زمانی هم بگم این پرش های زمانی بین گذشته و حال هر کدوم از دنیای پریان و دنیای واقعی گذرونده میشه و حالا بیایم این رو از دیدگاه سه تا شخصیت که هر کدوم دارن بخشی از داستان رو پیش می برن در نظر بگیرید، کمی گیج کننده است اگه قبول داشته باشید.
۲.شروع پر قدرتی داره اما از اوجش کم میشه و اواسط کتاب برای اینکه دوباره اون شور و هیجان رو برگردونه میاد اواسط کتاب رو به جنگ جهانی دوم و مغازه مارشمالو می پردازه و میتونم بگم بیشترین بخش های کتاب که لذت بردم همین بخش ها بود چون نویسنده سعی کرده بود جزئیات رو در لابه لای کلمات جا بده تا بتونیم بهتر تصور کنیم و هنوز میتونم بوی مارشمالوهای رنگارنگ رو تو مغازه ی پرل احساس کنم و چه احساس دلنشین و قشنگی. :")
یا اینکه چطور ایلیآن یا همون ژوشوآ پرل در دوران جنگ تونست زندگی خودش رو بگذرونه تا بتونه زنده بمونه.
در مورد پایان، پایان بدی نداشت خوب بود ولی میتونست پایان بهتری داشته باشه بعد از این همه اتفاقاتی که برای اولیآ و ایلیآن اتفاق افتاد درخور پایان شیرین تری داشتند ولی در کل پایان تلخی نداشت و این زیبا بود.
مخصوصا که پایانش رو با این نقل قول پیتر پن به پایان رسوند:
"هر بار که کسی میگوید:((من قصه پریان را باور نمیکنم.))
در جایی ناگهان یک پری کوچک میمیرد."
۳.کاری ندارم کتاب حفره های خالی زیادی برامون گذاشت و برخی سوالات رو بی جواب گذاشت ولی کاش حداقل اون شخصیتی که از دیدگاه اول بیان می شد اسمش رو می گفت، چون اصلی ترین چیز ازش اون هم نامش، هیچ وقت تو داستان بیان و اشاره نشد.
۴.در مورد شخصیت پردازی متأسفانه اون عمقی که باید داشته باشند رو نداشتند و حالت یک شخصیت دو بعدی برای داستان پریان نوشته شده بود و اونطور نمیتونستم درکشون کنم.
(اسپویل):
مخصوصا عشق ایلیآن و اولیآ استارتش خیلی آبکی و یهویی بود اینطور بودند این دو تا همش همدیگه رو پس می زدند حتی هیچ چیز مشترک نداشتند ولی یهو بهم دل بستند و طوری که تا آخرین لحظات زندگیشون به پای هم موندند خیلی فانتزی مانند بود با اینحال عشق اولیآ به ایلیآن به خاطر بک استوریش کمی قابل توضیح و درک بود برعکس عشق ایلیآن به اولیآ.
باز بگم اوکی با این کنار بیام یآن که یک شخصیت منفی و بی رحم بود یهو با دیدن اولیآ عاشق و مجنونش شد-
ودفک-
با عقل من این تیکه جور در نمیاد در کل.
۵.در مورد کاور کتاب، که کتابسرای تندیس واقعا بدترین چیزی رو انتخاب کرده که اصلا جور درنمیاد.
کوهستان سبز الان به کجای داستان شبیهه-😭 T-T
کاش یکم تندیس تو انتخاب کاور دقت کنه. سر همین فکر کنم این کتاب زیاد ریویو فارسی از خودش نداره و کمی شناخته نشده است و امیدوارم حداقل تو تجدید چاپ، یک تجدید نظر بکنند.
از اونطرف با اینکه تعداد صفحاتش کم بود بعضی صفحاتش خیلی تار و یا بد چاپ شده بود طوری که چشم آدم رو اذیت میکرد.
۶.در مورد ترجمه نمیدونم بدک نبود ولی خیلی خوبم نبود یک سری جاها قابل درک نبود باید چند بار میخوندم و اون حالت شاعرانه ای که باید داشته باشه تو قلم نویسنده در ترجمه فارسی احساس نکردم و این لطمه ی خیلی بدی به کتاب خورده بود.
در کل ترجمه جای این رو داشت بهتر عمل کنه که نکرده بود.
با اینکه چک نکردم اما کتاب زیاد صحنه نداشت که بگم خیلی نیاز به سانسور داشته یا شده باشه که با کتاب اصلی چک کنیم، پس خیالتون در این مورد راحت باشه.
۷. یک سری جملات قشنگی در کتاب بود که دوست دارم در این بخش به اشتراک بزارم:
۱."خوشبختی همچون رقصی است که در آن به هم نزدیک و از هم دور میشوند، بیآنکه یکدیگر را گم کنند. خوشبختی حاصل اشک هایی است که بعد از جداییهای طولانی به وصال ختم میشود."
۲."رازهای بزرگی که با کسی قسمت نمیکنیم، عاقبت کمی از یاد میروند. دیگر شکلهای روی کاغذهای گلاسه را نمیشناسیم. این رازها با رؤیاها ترکیب میشوند. و وقتی از آنها بیدار میشویم، فقط تنهاییمان را به یاد میآوریم."
۳."سارقانی که کمی استعداد دارند، میدانند که یک عملیات موفق نمیتواند یک رقص والس سه زمانی باشد: میرسم، میدزدم، میروم. تنها دو زمان لازم و ضروری است: وارد میشوم و میروم. سرقت باید جایش را بین این دو پیدا کند."
۴."به نظر من تخیل هرکس منحصربهفرد است و ممکن نیست که تکراری باشد. تخیل یک انبار، یک پناهگاه است. در سر هر یک از ما میتواند حشرات عجیب یا آدمک باشد، اما من نمیتوانم جنها و پریها را تحمل کنم که مانند یک شپش از سری به سر دیگر گردش میکنند. چرا اجازه دهیم این موجوداتی که توسط دیگران خلق شدهاند، به ما تحمیل شوند؟
اما داستان ما را تغییر میدهند. و بعضی برخوردها ما را مانند لاکپشت به پشت برمیگرداند. آن ها ما را وادار میکنند که بپذیریم."
در نتیجه و به صورت کل نسبت به قیمتی که خریدم داستان قشنگی داشت و از ماجراجویی این سه شخصیت لذت بردم.
با توقع زیاد بالا سمتش نرید و از دید یک کتاب فانتزی مخلوطی از داستان پریان و واقعیت برای رده سنی پایین تر بخونید و لذت ببرید. D;🤝🤍
June 1, 2019
Quando oltrepassi i 2/3 di un libro per ragazzi pensando per tutto il tempo di sapere dove l'autore vuole andare a parare e solo quando mancano 100 pagine comprendi che tu, fino a quel punto, della storia non avevi capito niente, due sono i casi.
O è giunta l'ora di fare un giro da un geriatra perché le tue abilità cognitive ti hanno inesorabilmente abbandonato, oppure vuol dire che il libro che hai fra le mani è un libro raro e prezioso, perché oltre ad essere molto avvincente è anche in grado di stupire i ragazzi di tutte le età, pure quelli che ragazzi non son più.
Ma che ci sarà mai dunque in codesto libro?
C’è una fiaba, con tutte le carte in regola, con fate bellissime e principi crudeli; però ci sono anche un campo di prigionia tedesco, un negozietto parigino di toffolette, una muraglia di valigie, un ragazzino in fuga con macchina foto e videocamera, una muta di cani, una storia d'amore, o forse due, mi sa che sto facendo di nuovo confusione.
E così mi son ritrovato, come da ragazzo, a leggere a perdifiato le ultime 100 pagine del libro per sapere come sarebbe andata a finire. Sempre più di rado mi capita, specie con i romanzi per ragazzi, ma con i libri di Timothée de Fombelle mi capita sempre.
O è giunta l'ora di fare un giro da un geriatra perché le tue abilità cognitive ti hanno inesorabilmente abbandonato, oppure vuol dire che il libro che hai fra le mani è un libro raro e prezioso, perché oltre ad essere molto avvincente è anche in grado di stupire i ragazzi di tutte le età, pure quelli che ragazzi non son più.
Ma che ci sarà mai dunque in codesto libro?
C’è una fiaba, con tutte le carte in regola, con fate bellissime e principi crudeli; però ci sono anche un campo di prigionia tedesco, un negozietto parigino di toffolette, una muraglia di valigie, un ragazzino in fuga con macchina foto e videocamera, una muta di cani, una storia d'amore, o forse due, mi sa che sto facendo di nuovo confusione.
E così mi son ritrovato, come da ragazzo, a leggere a perdifiato le ultime 100 pagine del libro per sapere come sarebbe andata a finire. Sempre più di rado mi capita, specie con i romanzi per ragazzi, ma con i libri di Timothée de Fombelle mi capita sempre.
May 16, 2016
WARNING! SUPER LONG, BLOG-STYLE REVIEW. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
The Book of Pearl is a modern fairytale with elements of the classics, filled with strange places, magical laws and intriguing mysteries.
Sounds good, doesn't it? I was certainly drawn to the concept of the fairytale world and "our world" colliding. But upon reading it, I was conflicted. The story see-sawed from being a three and possibly even four-star, to a two-star. Even as I write this review, I recall some brilliant moments of the story and I'm tempted to notch up my rating. But since I felt that, during the last quarter and sometimes in between, the book really screeched to a meandering end and I was rather bored and dissatisfied, I have to give it a two.
Timothée de Fombelle's writing is indeed as unique and whimsical as they claim, perfectly suited to the fairytale theme and picturesque settings. I couldn't get enough of the Marshmallow shop, wouldn't have minded if the entire story was just about marshmallows, described to perfection as they were. That being said, sometimes the sentences seemed a bit muddled, or at least it took a few attempts to get my head around certain paragraphs because their meanings weren't immediately clear. I don't know if this is due to my lack of well-rounded reading or because I read the translated version, not the original French edition (note how I make it seem like I could read French if I wanted to).
Another thing... the romantic aspects... did not amuse me.
I know I always say that. I know everyone was expecting me to say that! I know you're probably sighing deeply and rolling your eyes and taking a long swig of coffee to prepare for the rant ahead. I was going to pretend I loved every moment of it just to be unpredictable, but I must voice my true opinion!
Truly, I tried my very best to take the love-story within The Book Of Pearl with a totally open mind. I tried to smile and nod with understanding at the tender bits. I tried to laugh with them (not that they did much of it) and cry with them. I really did try to get where the characters were coming from. Yet still, I couldn't appreciate it.
Even by the end of the book, I didn't understand why Illian loves Olia so much. For starters, he fell in love the moment he saw her. Secondly, there is no development beyond that. She literally tells him to scram time and time again, but he persists in following her around like a muppet. Eventually, she gives up shooing him away, whereupon they sit and walk together in silence, falling evermore deeply in love with each passing day. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for companionable silence, but doesn't that only work when the bonds of friendship have already been established through non-muted interaction? At the very least they could have talked about the one subject they excel in, i.e: nature! Then you might get why Illian loves her, perhaps being a man who likes a girl who can tell her alligators from her crocs. But there was none of that. At this rate, he might just as easily have fallen madly in love with a rock.
On the other hand, I do sort of get why Olia might be in love with Illian, thanks to her backstory.
And lastly, Ian. Why on earth did he fall in love with Olia? He's an evil, cold-hearted brute. The moment he saw her he should've been like, "Who is this motivator and what's she doing in my yard?" but no! The worst part is, we get no explanation for this sudden change of heart except that she's beautiful so of course he has to fall in love.
I was left thinking, "Come on cuh! You've got to do better than that."
Seeing as how this book is described as a Love Story, the lovey-dovey side of it could have been a lot more convincing. This is precisely the reason why I usually avoid love stories. They're all the same! So far I have yet to come across a more original and mind-blowing love story than that of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Vol. 10.
It doesn't end there, mind, but I could go on for a very long time and I'm trying to exercise self-restraint here.
Overall I would say this is a good book. I do see myself rereading and enjoying it with adjusted expectations. But it wasn't amazing, and didn't present any particularly innovative ideas about the fairytale world like I'd hoped.
Thank-you to Lovereading4kids for providing me with a review copy.
The Book of Pearl is a modern fairytale with elements of the classics, filled with strange places, magical laws and intriguing mysteries.
Sounds good, doesn't it? I was certainly drawn to the concept of the fairytale world and "our world" colliding. But upon reading it, I was conflicted. The story see-sawed from being a three and possibly even four-star, to a two-star. Even as I write this review, I recall some brilliant moments of the story and I'm tempted to notch up my rating. But since I felt that, during the last quarter and sometimes in between, the book really screeched to a meandering end and I was rather bored and dissatisfied, I have to give it a two.
Timothée de Fombelle's writing is indeed as unique and whimsical as they claim, perfectly suited to the fairytale theme and picturesque settings. I couldn't get enough of the Marshmallow shop, wouldn't have minded if the entire story was just about marshmallows, described to perfection as they were. That being said, sometimes the sentences seemed a bit muddled, or at least it took a few attempts to get my head around certain paragraphs because their meanings weren't immediately clear. I don't know if this is due to my lack of well-rounded reading or because I read the translated version, not the original French edition (note how I make it seem like I could read French if I wanted to).
Another thing... the romantic aspects... did not amuse me.
I know I always say that. I know everyone was expecting me to say that! I know you're probably sighing deeply and rolling your eyes and taking a long swig of coffee to prepare for the rant ahead. I was going to pretend I loved every moment of it just to be unpredictable, but I must voice my true opinion!
Truly, I tried my very best to take the love-story within The Book Of Pearl with a totally open mind. I tried to smile and nod with understanding at the tender bits. I tried to laugh with them (not that they did much of it) and cry with them. I really did try to get where the characters were coming from. Yet still, I couldn't appreciate it.
Even by the end of the book, I didn't understand why Illian loves Olia so much. For starters, he fell in love the moment he saw her. Secondly, there is no development beyond that. She literally tells him to scram time and time again, but he persists in following her around like a muppet. Eventually, she gives up shooing him away, whereupon they sit and walk together in silence, falling evermore deeply in love with each passing day. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for companionable silence, but doesn't that only work when the bonds of friendship have already been established through non-muted interaction? At the very least they could have talked about the one subject they excel in, i.e: nature! Then you might get why Illian loves her, perhaps being a man who likes a girl who can tell her alligators from her crocs. But there was none of that. At this rate, he might just as easily have fallen madly in love with a rock.
On the other hand, I do sort of get why Olia might be in love with Illian, thanks to her backstory.
And lastly, Ian. Why on earth did he fall in love with Olia? He's an evil, cold-hearted brute. The moment he saw her he should've been like, "Who is this motivator and what's she doing in my yard?" but no! The worst part is, we get no explanation for this sudden change of heart except that she's beautiful so of course he has to fall in love.
I was left thinking, "Come on cuh! You've got to do better than that."
Seeing as how this book is described as a Love Story, the lovey-dovey side of it could have been a lot more convincing. This is precisely the reason why I usually avoid love stories. They're all the same! So far I have yet to come across a more original and mind-blowing love story than that of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Vol. 10.
It doesn't end there, mind, but I could go on for a very long time and I'm trying to exercise self-restraint here.
Overall I would say this is a good book. I do see myself rereading and enjoying it with adjusted expectations. But it wasn't amazing, and didn't present any particularly innovative ideas about the fairytale world like I'd hoped.
Thank-you to Lovereading4kids for providing me with a review copy.
February 10, 2016
3,5 j'ai passé un bon moment mais je n'ai pas eu l'explosion d'émotions attendues.
July 5, 2020
COUP DE CŒUR — pour la plume de Timothée de Fombelle & pour cette histoire, presque poétique selon le rythme des mots et l’enchaînement des idées, puis magique en même temps selon l’univers dans lequel l’auteur nous plonge. tout au long de ma lecture, j’ai eu l’impression que l’auteur était là à me raconter l’histoire tellement sa plume est particulière et tellement il a ce don de raconter — maintenant je le sais. « le livre de perle » est ce type de roman que je lirais à haute voix aux élèves rien que pour leur raconter une histoire; une histoire de magie et une histoire de grand amour. c’est le premier roman que je lis de De Fombelle et certainement pas le dernier ⭐️.
August 17, 2017
Dễ thương, quyến rũ đúng kiểu Pháp, có cái tiệm kẹo siêu lung linh mà muốn lọt vô 1 lần :'(
Bài đầy đủ của mình: https://docsach.org/2017/07/31/cuon-s...
Bài đầy đủ của mình: https://docsach.org/2017/07/31/cuon-s...
May 29, 2017
One of the best books I have read this year!!! An intricate story about Joshua Pearl who is trying to piece together his memories to circle back to the one he loves after being thrown from the world of fairytale and into the real world that weaves in historical events such as World War II. The way the story was written was clever - as the reader, I felt just as confused as the main character (Pearl) but each chapter pieces together a puzzle that guided me to the next part of the story which finally came together with an answer. The Book of Pearl is a story I would like to call, elegant and sophisticatedly complex.. A very absorbing read!!!
July 11, 2020
Je qualifierais cette lecture de magique. Les bémols que j’y ai vus sont aussi ce qui fait en partie le charme de cette oeuvre de littérature jeunesse. Parmi les points que j’ai appréciés figurent la belle histoire d’amour ainsi que les deux mondes dans lesquels se déroule le récit. Il s’agit d’un livre qui est « page turner » et divisé en courts chapitres. Par contre, la chronologie n’y est pas linéaire et il y a des changements dans la focalisation d’un chapitre à l’autre, ce qui nécessite beaucoup d’efforts pour le lecteur.
C’est donc une belle oeuvre bien ficelée, qui sort de l’ordinaire, mais qui conviendrait - selon moi - à des lecteurs intermédiaires, voire de bons lecteurs!
C’est donc une belle oeuvre bien ficelée, qui sort de l’ordinaire, mais qui conviendrait - selon moi - à des lecteurs intermédiaires, voire de bons lecteurs!
November 24, 2017
EINE MAGISCH-FASZINIERENDE REISE. UNGEWÖHNLICH, POETISCH UND VIELSCHICHTIG.
Auf dem Weg zur Arbeit las ich die letzten Seiten, arbeitete mich bis zu den letzten Sätzen vor und befand mich, als ich aus der Bahn ausstieg, in einem Taumel der Gefühle. Ich wollte weinen, ich musste lächeln, ich träumte und dachte nach. Mit „Die wundersamen Koffer des Monsieur Perle“ hat Timothée de Fombelle eine Geschichte geschrieben, die viel mehr ist, als der Klappentext vermuten lässt. Es ist Märchen, Jugendbuch, Fantasy und historischer Roman in einem. Voller Zauber und Wunder, Drama und Abenteuer. Zusätzlich spielt der Autor mit verschiedenen Zeit- und Realitätsebenen sowie Perspektivwechseln. Eine Herausforderung! Weshalb dieses wunderschöne Buch meiner Meinung nach dennoch in jedes gut sortierte Bücherregal gehört, erfahrt ihr in meiner Rezension.
Im Grunde ist die Geschichte von Timothée de Fombelle eine Liebesgeschichte. Über eine Liebe, die so groß und stark ist, dass sie Welten und Jahrzehnte überwindet. Die bestehen bleibt, selbst wenn die Erinnerung an den geliebten Menschen getrübt ist. Selbst wenn einer sich dem anderen nicht zeigen darf. Als Leser wandelt man zwischen der Realität und der Welt der Märchen. In dieser lernen sich ein verstoßener Prinz und eine Fee kennen und lieben, doch der eifersüchtige Bruder des Prinzen, der König, zerstört diese Liebe und verbannt beide in die Welt der Menschen.
Der Prinz lebt dort fortan unter falschem Namen bei dem Schaumzucker-Hersteller Monsieur Perle und versucht zu verstehen, was ihm widerfahren ist. In Märchenbüchern begegnet er ihm bekannten Erzählungen, sie rütteln sanft Erinnerungen wach, doch einen Zugang zu seiner Welt kann er nicht finden. Was er nicht ahnt: Die Fee wacht über ihn, beeinflusst im Kleinen den Verlauf seines Lebens, immer in der Hoffnung, er möge sie beide von ihrer Verbannung befreien.
UND DOCH SIND GEWISSE MÄCHTE STÄRKER ALS ALLE ZAUBERKRAFT. EIN ANDERER GOLDENER FADEN BLIEB IN DER MITTE SEINER BRUST HAFTEN. EIN FADEN, VON DEM ER SICH NIE MEHR WÜRDE LÖSEN KÖNNEN. (SEITE 110)
Der Zauber von „Die wundersamen Koffer des Monsieur Perle“ liegt aber nicht in der Grundgeschichte allein. Er verbirgt sich in der poetischen Sprache, zwischen den vielen Erzählebenen und in dem plötzlichen Erkennen von Zusammenhängen, die einem zuvor nicht klar gewesen waren. Der Einstieg ist nicht leicht, der Leser stolpert in die Geschichte hinein, wie auch der Prinz in sein neues Leben. Auch wenn anfangs vieles nicht verständlich war, tröstete mich eine ganz spezielle Stimmung, die dem Buch innewohnt, darüber hinweg. Timothée de Fombelle verliert nicht viele Worte, doch die, die er verwendet, sind so schön und vollkommen, dass ich es nur ungern beiseite legte. Zudem war es äußerst spannend, Stück für Stück zu entlarven, wer, wann, wo und wie lebt.
DIE GESCHICHTEN MACHEN TOTE NICHT WIEDER LEBENDIG, ABER SIE LASSEN IHRE LIEBE UNSTERBLICH WERDEN. (SEITE 307)
Vollends überzeugt war ich, als neben der märchenhaften Liebesgeschichte die historische Ebene an Bedeutung gewann. Wir streifen den zweiten Weltkrieg, die Judenverfolgung, den Widerstand – und dies alles auf vergleichsweise wenigen Seiten, ohne an Zauber einzubüßen. Die Kombination aus historischen Fakten und Märchengeschichte ist äußerst gelungen und ziemlich einzigartig.
Fazit
„Die wundersamen Koffer des Monsieur Perle“ von Timothée de Fombelle hat eine Märchengeschichte geschrieben, die mich überraschte und faszinierte. Denn die Fäden der Geschichte laufen nach und nach zusammen und so offenbart sich die gesamte Tragweite der Geschichte im Grunde erst auf den letzten Seiten. Bis dahin trägt einen die wunderschöne, poetische Sprache durch das Geschehen. In meinen Augen eines der bemerkenswertesten Bücher des Jahres und absolut empfehlenswert!
Auf dem Weg zur Arbeit las ich die letzten Seiten, arbeitete mich bis zu den letzten Sätzen vor und befand mich, als ich aus der Bahn ausstieg, in einem Taumel der Gefühle. Ich wollte weinen, ich musste lächeln, ich träumte und dachte nach. Mit „Die wundersamen Koffer des Monsieur Perle“ hat Timothée de Fombelle eine Geschichte geschrieben, die viel mehr ist, als der Klappentext vermuten lässt. Es ist Märchen, Jugendbuch, Fantasy und historischer Roman in einem. Voller Zauber und Wunder, Drama und Abenteuer. Zusätzlich spielt der Autor mit verschiedenen Zeit- und Realitätsebenen sowie Perspektivwechseln. Eine Herausforderung! Weshalb dieses wunderschöne Buch meiner Meinung nach dennoch in jedes gut sortierte Bücherregal gehört, erfahrt ihr in meiner Rezension.
Im Grunde ist die Geschichte von Timothée de Fombelle eine Liebesgeschichte. Über eine Liebe, die so groß und stark ist, dass sie Welten und Jahrzehnte überwindet. Die bestehen bleibt, selbst wenn die Erinnerung an den geliebten Menschen getrübt ist. Selbst wenn einer sich dem anderen nicht zeigen darf. Als Leser wandelt man zwischen der Realität und der Welt der Märchen. In dieser lernen sich ein verstoßener Prinz und eine Fee kennen und lieben, doch der eifersüchtige Bruder des Prinzen, der König, zerstört diese Liebe und verbannt beide in die Welt der Menschen.
Der Prinz lebt dort fortan unter falschem Namen bei dem Schaumzucker-Hersteller Monsieur Perle und versucht zu verstehen, was ihm widerfahren ist. In Märchenbüchern begegnet er ihm bekannten Erzählungen, sie rütteln sanft Erinnerungen wach, doch einen Zugang zu seiner Welt kann er nicht finden. Was er nicht ahnt: Die Fee wacht über ihn, beeinflusst im Kleinen den Verlauf seines Lebens, immer in der Hoffnung, er möge sie beide von ihrer Verbannung befreien.
UND DOCH SIND GEWISSE MÄCHTE STÄRKER ALS ALLE ZAUBERKRAFT. EIN ANDERER GOLDENER FADEN BLIEB IN DER MITTE SEINER BRUST HAFTEN. EIN FADEN, VON DEM ER SICH NIE MEHR WÜRDE LÖSEN KÖNNEN. (SEITE 110)
Der Zauber von „Die wundersamen Koffer des Monsieur Perle“ liegt aber nicht in der Grundgeschichte allein. Er verbirgt sich in der poetischen Sprache, zwischen den vielen Erzählebenen und in dem plötzlichen Erkennen von Zusammenhängen, die einem zuvor nicht klar gewesen waren. Der Einstieg ist nicht leicht, der Leser stolpert in die Geschichte hinein, wie auch der Prinz in sein neues Leben. Auch wenn anfangs vieles nicht verständlich war, tröstete mich eine ganz spezielle Stimmung, die dem Buch innewohnt, darüber hinweg. Timothée de Fombelle verliert nicht viele Worte, doch die, die er verwendet, sind so schön und vollkommen, dass ich es nur ungern beiseite legte. Zudem war es äußerst spannend, Stück für Stück zu entlarven, wer, wann, wo und wie lebt.
DIE GESCHICHTEN MACHEN TOTE NICHT WIEDER LEBENDIG, ABER SIE LASSEN IHRE LIEBE UNSTERBLICH WERDEN. (SEITE 307)
Vollends überzeugt war ich, als neben der märchenhaften Liebesgeschichte die historische Ebene an Bedeutung gewann. Wir streifen den zweiten Weltkrieg, die Judenverfolgung, den Widerstand – und dies alles auf vergleichsweise wenigen Seiten, ohne an Zauber einzubüßen. Die Kombination aus historischen Fakten und Märchengeschichte ist äußerst gelungen und ziemlich einzigartig.
Fazit
„Die wundersamen Koffer des Monsieur Perle“ von Timothée de Fombelle hat eine Märchengeschichte geschrieben, die mich überraschte und faszinierte. Denn die Fäden der Geschichte laufen nach und nach zusammen und so offenbart sich die gesamte Tragweite der Geschichte im Grunde erst auf den letzten Seiten. Bis dahin trägt einen die wunderschöne, poetische Sprache durch das Geschehen. In meinen Augen eines der bemerkenswertesten Bücher des Jahres und absolut empfehlenswert!
September 9, 2018
Hình như lâu rồi ko đọc truyện, mà truyện cổ tích lại càng không. Đọc xong cuốn này mới nhớ ra ngày còn nhỏ rất hay mơ mộng, thích truyện thần tiên, thích cái kết mà hoàng tử và công chúa lấy nhau sống trăm năm hạnh phúc như truyện Lọ lem hay Nàng bạch tuyết và bảy chú lùn... Suốt nhiều năm dài sau đó mình vẫn tin vào những câu chuyện như thế, và nó ảnh hưởng tới cách sống và cách suy nghĩ của mình sau này. Cho tới khi trải qua những thứ gọi là "sự thật trần trùi". Như cô giáo dạy văn từng nói rằng văn học mang niềm mơ ước, dạy ta những bài học có ý nghĩa trong cuộc sống... đọc xong cuốn này càng nhớ lời của cô.
Sách đẹp, dễ thương, hồi hộp và buồn. Không thể cho 5 sao vì những chương đầu mình ko thích lắm.
Không biết khi nào Vango phần 2 mới được dịch 😢
Sách đẹp, dễ thương, hồi hộp và buồn. Không thể cho 5 sao vì những chương đầu mình ko thích lắm.
Không biết khi nào Vango phần 2 mới được dịch 😢
November 29, 2024
Absolument incroyable, je l’ai lu en une nuit, impossible de s’arrêter
November 25, 2017
This was poetic for sure, but that might've worked against the book actually. It really read like a fairy tale instead of a novel - but I was still a little confused by the sequence of events because the story jumped from character to character, from world to world, and from time to time.
August 18, 2016
Its a good book with an inrtresting story line, I got a little confused at the beginning of the story, you just have to re-read or just keep going
September 6, 2016
It was just... Wow! One of the best books I've ever read. I trully loved it and I want to read more books from this genius author!
January 9, 2023
Tra un mondo fatato popolato da principi buoni e re crudeli, e il mondo reale nell’ora più buia della sua storia recente, Il favoloso libro di Perle narra una vicenda in cui due innamorati sono condannati a cercare la strada di casa per ricongiungersi.
Una storia poetica e struggente, in cui il lieto fine può arrivare solo grazie alla capacità di immaginare e credere nel meraviglioso e nel fantastico.
De Fombelle scrive una storia per ragazzi, e lo si capisce dalla semplicità con cui le vicende si dipanano, eppure credo che questa storia possa arrivare ancora più al cuore degli adulti, che magari hanno ormai smesso di credere nelle fate, per far loro capire l’importanza della fantasia e della magia, in un mondo come il nostro dove la magia è così difficile da trovare.
Che altro dire? Forse io a dodici anni avrei avuto qualche difficoltà a leggerlo, soprattutto per via dell’inizio in cui ancora si devono ricollegare i fili della trama. C’è da dire però che io a dodici anni non ero proprio un fulmine di guerra (manco adesso, ma lasciamo stare), e ancora leggevo Il Corriere dei Piccoli (voi giovani che non sapete nemmeno cosa sia, cercatelo), mentre se penso a mia nipote dodicenne, non dubito che lo divorerebbe senza problemi. Anzi, magari potrebbe essere una buona idea per il suo prossimo compleanno.
E anche questo dà un’idea del valore che penso abbia questo libro.
Una storia poetica e struggente, in cui il lieto fine può arrivare solo grazie alla capacità di immaginare e credere nel meraviglioso e nel fantastico.
De Fombelle scrive una storia per ragazzi, e lo si capisce dalla semplicità con cui le vicende si dipanano, eppure credo che questa storia possa arrivare ancora più al cuore degli adulti, che magari hanno ormai smesso di credere nelle fate, per far loro capire l’importanza della fantasia e della magia, in un mondo come il nostro dove la magia è così difficile da trovare.
Che altro dire? Forse io a dodici anni avrei avuto qualche difficoltà a leggerlo, soprattutto per via dell’inizio in cui ancora si devono ricollegare i fili della trama. C’è da dire però che io a dodici anni non ero proprio un fulmine di guerra (manco adesso, ma lasciamo stare), e ancora leggevo Il Corriere dei Piccoli (voi giovani che non sapete nemmeno cosa sia, cercatelo), mentre se penso a mia nipote dodicenne, non dubito che lo divorerebbe senza problemi. Anzi, magari potrebbe essere una buona idea per il suo prossimo compleanno.
E anche questo dà un’idea del valore che penso abbia questo libro.
November 15, 2024
oeh aga mina usun nüüd küll veelgi rohkem muinasjutte. ise asun ka ühes. tunnen mandlipuu ja hirmu lõhna.
"aga kui kurbust on võimalik endast rohu sisse maja jätta, tuleb seda teha. see tuleb rohu sisse lebama jätta. tuleb talle hellalt selgitada, et sa tahad midagi muud, et sa pole tema vastu, kuid lähed nüüd minema."
"aga kui kurbust on võimalik endast rohu sisse maja jätta, tuleb seda teha. see tuleb rohu sisse lebama jätta. tuleb talle hellalt selgitada, et sa tahad midagi muud, et sa pole tema vastu, kuid lähed nüüd minema."
December 16, 2017
D'une richesse ! ... ♥♥♥♥♥
http://blogclarabel.canalblog.com/arc...
http://blogclarabel.canalblog.com/arc...
February 16, 2017
Je m'attendais à mieux de la part de Timothée de Fombelle, après Vango et Tobbie Lolness. Le livre de Perle est ennuyeux et mal écrit. Les phrases sont courtes et commencent par "Il" ou "je" ,et on est incapable de raconter l'intrigue au milieu du livre...Je ne vois pas où est le poème dont certains parlent là dedans...
Et l'histoire déjà d'un ennui mortel est en plus stupide, dans le genre cucu la praline avec une fée amoureuse qui donne tout pour son grand amour... Pffff...
Comme si ce n'était pas assez, les personnages sont clichés, le bon roi, le méchant sorcier, la bonne reine qui meurt à l'accouchement, etc
En plus les deux fils s'appellent Ilian et Ililan, ce qui sème la confusion...
Conclusion : vivement déconseillé !
Et l'histoire déjà d'un ennui mortel est en plus stupide, dans le genre cucu la praline avec une fée amoureuse qui donne tout pour son grand amour... Pffff...
Comme si ce n'était pas assez, les personnages sont clichés, le bon roi, le méchant sorcier, la bonne reine qui meurt à l'accouchement, etc
En plus les deux fils s'appellent Ilian et Ililan, ce qui sème la confusion...
Conclusion : vivement déconseillé !
February 14, 2019
Wow, mình thấy lạ là khá ít người biết đến quyển sách này. Đây có lẽ là quyển fantasy stand alone mà mình thích nhất. Mặc dù có thể các nv và cốt truyện không quá độc đáo, nhưng văn phong của tác giả đã biến Cuốn sách của Perle thành một câu chuyện bí ẩn và nhiệm màu, về một thế giới thần tiên, về một vương quốc trên bờ vương sụp đổ, về chiến tranh và gia đình, về tình yêu với khả năng vượt qua không thời gian. Những người đọc sẽ cảm thấy khá là mông lung về cốt truyện, vì tác giả sẽ nhảy qua lại giữa nhiều mạch truyện khác nhau, hé lộ cho chúng ta những mẩu rất nhỏ để rồi mọi thứ khớp lại ở cuối.
10/10 would recommend.
P/S: sorry vì bài review này mình viết chả ra gì cả, tại đây là một cuốn sách đã khiến mình cảm thấy quá nhiều thứ đến mức khó viết nên lời.
10/10 would recommend.
P/S: sorry vì bài review này mình viết chả ra gì cả, tại đây là một cuốn sách đã khiến mình cảm thấy quá nhiều thứ đến mức khó viết nên lời.
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