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Танги. Историята на едно детство в наши дни
Gagnant la France de Vichy avec sa mère exilée politique espagnole, le jeune Tanguy est capturée par les Nazis tandis que sa mère tente de gagner Londres. Interné dans les camps de concentration, il tente à la fin de la guerre de retrouver son père et sa mère. Son voyage le conduit à nouveau en Espagne et en France, où il ne peut que douloureusement constater le fossé qui s'est creusé entre les êtres d'une même famille épuisée par les horreurs de la seconde guerre mondiale.
216 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1957
10 people are currently reading
364 people want to read
About the author
Michel del Castillo
78 books17 followersMichel Janicot del Castillo was a French writer.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 8, 2018
پیری ترک کسی یا چیزی است؛
انسان هرچه در زندگی وداع های بیشتری گفته باشد پیر تر است...
انسان هرچه در زندگی وداع های بیشتری گفته باشد پیر تر است...
February 1, 2013
Let me start of by saying that this book is very very depressive especially when you are felling "hormonal".I am not going to give you a brief resume of this book because everyone else probably did, but one thing I will tell that I really really loved this book because of the main character, Tanguy. Many ungodly, terrible, life-chaging and traumatizing things has happened to Tanguy. He lived a miserable life since he was about 9 till he was 21 ( which is when he started writing this book). BTW those things are not teenage problems but actual problems that matter. But even after all these obstacle he jumped over, he remained humane and became more and more compassionate and more empathetic during his journey. I fell in love with Tanguy and I just want to give a big bear hug and tell him every thing is okay. You may not like books with morals and neither do I, so luckily this book doesn't have one where is it explicitly mentioned, because morales make me mad, not because I don't like them, but because most people who say it don't actually do it or mean it! Any who, back to the book! Tanguy could have become a bad person like a thug, a con or the prime minister of Canada ;) jks, or worse he could have given up on life and just become a beggar or he could have committed suicide. But he had the good karma to meet a couple of great people like Gunther, Firmim, Père Pardo and Sebstiana, whom I also adore. This book is an auto-biographie of the author, Michel del Castillo, which makes everything so much more amazing because the opinions ad feelings expressed are real. One last thing, this book introduces you to many many low life, uncivilized and rude people, but they are who they are, but Tanguy's mother UUUGGGGHHHHH I HATE HER SHE IS AN INSULT TO ALL MOTHERS OUT THERE!!! I had this huge fit toward the last two pages of the book. If there is such thing as hell I honestly hope she burns to ashes, resuscitate back into hell and burn into ashes AGAIN, LIKE A VICOUS CIRCLE!! Most people don't like this book because it's depressing but I love it because it is depressing and its real and some people can't handle it, neither can I in certain degree but I like to see this unhappiness and danger as an adventure that I would love to go on, but not forever because I'm weak and materialistic ... I hope you enjoy reading this book and hopefully i didn't bore you to death! And if you read this till the end, thank you for bearing this review compiled with many mistakes I cannot distinguish because I need glasses and it is really hard to typed on a computer and don't get me started and my love-hate relationship with spellcheck and auto-correct! :)
October 5, 2010
Tanguy est un petit garçon contre qui la misère et la cruauté humaine se sont acharnées. Il a vécu les camps de concentration nazi de la deuxième guerre mondial, il a été séparé de sa mère lorsqu'il n'avait pas encore dix ans, rejeté par son père et vécu la perte d'une multitude d'amis passagers. Tanguy est un vieil enfant "Tu as vieillis beaucoup parce que tu as fais beaucoup d'Adieu". C'est le roman autobiographique de Michel Del Castillo et c'est un trésor. Jusqu'à quel point l'auteur est-il devenu aussi sage que le personnage de son roman, je n'en sais rien. Mais j'aimerais ne jamais avoir à vivre le dixième de ce qu'il a pu vivre. Il est né pour survivre, et la force que la vie lui a donné au travers des nombreux visages qu'il a côtoyés est incroyable.
February 4, 2009
I tried to find a synopsis for this book because it's also translated to English and is called Child of our Time aaand found a short citate of Finnish translation:
"Omaelämänkerrallinen romaani pojasta, jonka lapsuuden vuodet hukkuvat sodan jalkoihin."
That something along the lines "self biographic novel of a boy whose childhood years were drowned in war".
"Omaelämänkerrallinen romaani pojasta, jonka lapsuuden vuodet hukkuvat sodan jalkoihin."
That something along the lines "self biographic novel of a boy whose childhood years were drowned in war".
September 1, 2013
Heartbreaking, touching, beautiful. It's horrible when you think that the authors basically made a novel out of his own childhood.
Interesting from a historical point of view.
Interesting from a historical point of view.
January 17, 2016
I read this book in the summer of 2015. At first, I thought it was going to be a normal quick read(it is a small book with only 200 pages). But after reading the first quarter of it, I felt so sad that I wished to stop reading it. The only thing that kept me going was the presence of some admirable and courageous characters introduced by Michael Del Castillo throughout the book. First Michael, then the German boy Gunter in the first part of the book; and Father Pardo and Sebastiana in the second part of the book: "The Shattered Illusions".
Overall, this is a touching read. Although this book can be a tough one to finish, I recommend it to everyone who want to learn about the atrocious and awful things that humankind is capable of.
"In a war," he said, "there are neither conquerors nor vanquished: only victims.
Overall, this is a touching read. Although this book can be a tough one to finish, I recommend it to everyone who want to learn about the atrocious and awful things that humankind is capable of.
"In a war," he said, "there are neither conquerors nor vanquished: only victims.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2014
Very nice story of a young boy caught up in the insanity of WWII. Character is not dependent on age. His voyage was longer and more desperate than many, and his education and growth greater by far. His meeting with his parents was moving and significant.
March 28, 2022
Chapeau
January 12, 2025
One of the most heartrending novels set in the 1940s & 1950s that I've ever read, and that's saying a lot. The book is written in the second person, but is based on del Castillo's own life. I've noticed that many people who suffered traumatic/horrific events write in the second person- it must be easier to convey at a remove.
Tanguy suffers from some of the most unimaginable bad luck. He is 1/2 Spanish (his mother) and 1/2 French (his father). His mother, an ardent Communist who puts the Party ahead of her son, flees Franco's Spain to the supposed safety of France. Tanguy's parents are estranged, and his father is annoyed at his ex's request for assistance, as she arrives penniless. After initially grudgingly providing help, he then denounces her for her political activities which are evidently no more popular in France than in Spain. French authorities deposit both mother and Tanguy into an internment camp. Evidently the authorities made no allowances for innocent children--Tanguy suffers the same punishment as his mother. His father not only did not offer to take him in, but never made any effort to check on his son or connect to him at any way.
Through a bureaucratic mistake that would be comical if it were not so tragic, Tanguy is caught up in a raid searching for Jews, and is deported along with them to an unnamed concentration camp at age 10. Here he suffers the horrors of the Nazi extermination system with no concession made to his age. He is fortunately taken under the wing of a detainee that ironically happens to be German, named Gunther. Without Gunther's support, Tanguy would not have survived. As it happened, Gunther was killed before liberation, though Tanguy managed to survive - barely.
Taken care of by the Red Cross, 13-year-old Tanguy is nursed back to relative health and put on a train, unaccompanied, to live with his grandmother in Barcelona. His mother can't be found (it's later determined she abandoned him) and his father wants nothing to do with him. Tanguy learns, when he shows up at his grandmother's residence, that she died three years previously. Which at least answers the question of why she never tried to find him/get him out of the concentration camp.
At this point a decision is made that completely changes the trajectory of Tanguy's life. The concierge of his grandmother's apartment building suggests Tanguy present himself at the local police station and ask for help. If only he had sought out the Red Cross again. But he was thirteen years old and conditioned to obey adults/authority figures. The police promptly deposited him into a dual orphanage/reformatory run by an unnamed Catholic brotherhood. The conditions there were brutal, with starvation and beatings the rule. Tanguy reserves more venom and hatred for his time confined there than he did for his concentration camp experience. His reasoning was that the Germans were enemies and he expected to be treated badly there, but that the Brothers were supposed to take care of the boys.
After three horrific years, Tanguy escapes and manages to find his way to a school run by the Jesuits. He has a vastly different experience here. The boys are supported in every way, and Tanguy finds peace and healing. For awhile.
For reasons that don't make sense to me, Tanguy leaves this sanctuary to find his father. I suppose the longing to find family is nearly indestructible, regardless of past experience. As to be expected, this doesn't end well, but Tanguy does connect to an aunt and uncle who are warm and nuturing.
And there we leave him - hopeful that he finds the security, peace and love that he so desperately is searching for.
Tanguy suffers from some of the most unimaginable bad luck. He is 1/2 Spanish (his mother) and 1/2 French (his father). His mother, an ardent Communist who puts the Party ahead of her son, flees Franco's Spain to the supposed safety of France. Tanguy's parents are estranged, and his father is annoyed at his ex's request for assistance, as she arrives penniless. After initially grudgingly providing help, he then denounces her for her political activities which are evidently no more popular in France than in Spain. French authorities deposit both mother and Tanguy into an internment camp. Evidently the authorities made no allowances for innocent children--Tanguy suffers the same punishment as his mother. His father not only did not offer to take him in, but never made any effort to check on his son or connect to him at any way.
Through a bureaucratic mistake that would be comical if it were not so tragic, Tanguy is caught up in a raid searching for Jews, and is deported along with them to an unnamed concentration camp at age 10. Here he suffers the horrors of the Nazi extermination system with no concession made to his age. He is fortunately taken under the wing of a detainee that ironically happens to be German, named Gunther. Without Gunther's support, Tanguy would not have survived. As it happened, Gunther was killed before liberation, though Tanguy managed to survive - barely.
Taken care of by the Red Cross, 13-year-old Tanguy is nursed back to relative health and put on a train, unaccompanied, to live with his grandmother in Barcelona. His mother can't be found (it's later determined she abandoned him) and his father wants nothing to do with him. Tanguy learns, when he shows up at his grandmother's residence, that she died three years previously. Which at least answers the question of why she never tried to find him/get him out of the concentration camp.
At this point a decision is made that completely changes the trajectory of Tanguy's life. The concierge of his grandmother's apartment building suggests Tanguy present himself at the local police station and ask for help. If only he had sought out the Red Cross again. But he was thirteen years old and conditioned to obey adults/authority figures. The police promptly deposited him into a dual orphanage/reformatory run by an unnamed Catholic brotherhood. The conditions there were brutal, with starvation and beatings the rule. Tanguy reserves more venom and hatred for his time confined there than he did for his concentration camp experience. His reasoning was that the Germans were enemies and he expected to be treated badly there, but that the Brothers were supposed to take care of the boys.
After three horrific years, Tanguy escapes and manages to find his way to a school run by the Jesuits. He has a vastly different experience here. The boys are supported in every way, and Tanguy finds peace and healing. For awhile.
For reasons that don't make sense to me, Tanguy leaves this sanctuary to find his father. I suppose the longing to find family is nearly indestructible, regardless of past experience. As to be expected, this doesn't end well, but Tanguy does connect to an aunt and uncle who are warm and nuturing.
And there we leave him - hopeful that he finds the security, peace and love that he so desperately is searching for.
August 18, 2022
WSP-Centre
Histoire d'un enfant né de mère espagnole et de père français, juste avant la guerre civile en Espagne. Il traverse donc celle-ci à Madrid auprès de sa mère, qui, républicaine, fuit en France en 1939. Enfant naturel, le père est marié et cache leur présence à sa famille et connaissances. Tanguy passe cependant quelques mois heureux dans une petite ville au milieu de la France, il va à l'école, a un ami proche, Robert, et un chien, pour lui le summum du bonheur. Dénoncés (apparemment par le père), sa mère et lui sont internés dans un camp de concentration dans le midi de la France. Ils y passent 18 mois, ensuite sa mère, atteinte de pleurésie, est transférée à l'hôpital de Montpellier et lui, confié à un internat religieux proche. Là aussi, il est heureux, il va à l'école (où il réussit très bien), a un ami très cher, Michel, et peut se rendre le dimanche auprès de sa mère. Cependant, celle-ci lui annonce qu'ils doivent à nouveau prendre la fuite. Ils aboutissent à Marseille, où ils mènent une vie clandestine et misérable. Sa mère décide de repasser en Espagne, pour rejoindre Londres ou le Mexique. Elle abandonne son fils, qui devra la rejoindre quelques semaines plus tard. Mais l'enfant est pris dans une rafle de Juifs, transféré à Paris et envoyé en camp d'extermination en Allemagne. Il y passera plusieurs années dans des conditions horribles et ne survivra que grâce à l'aide d'un codétenu, Gunther, prisonnier politique. Après la libération et bien que de père français, il est renvoyé en Espagne et placé dans un orphelinat religieux, où les conditions sont atroces. Il arrivera à s'enfuir et pourra intégrer un collège de Jésuites en Andalousie (1953). Là, il retrouve le calme et réussit brillamment dans ses études. Cependant, après plusieurs mois, il choisit de quitter le collège pour essayer de rejoindre son père en France. Celui-ci cependant fait la sourde oreille et Tanguy n'obtient pas de visa. Bloqué à Barcelone, il y travaillera quelques années dans une usine. Poursuivi par la police à cause de sa participation dans une grève, il prend le bateau pour la France, où son père finira par tolérer sa présence et l'accueillir dans sa famille. L'histoire ne s'arrête pas là.
Histoire d'un enfant né de mère espagnole et de père français, juste avant la guerre civile en Espagne. Il traverse donc celle-ci à Madrid auprès de sa mère, qui, républicaine, fuit en France en 1939. Enfant naturel, le père est marié et cache leur présence à sa famille et connaissances. Tanguy passe cependant quelques mois heureux dans une petite ville au milieu de la France, il va à l'école, a un ami proche, Robert, et un chien, pour lui le summum du bonheur. Dénoncés (apparemment par le père), sa mère et lui sont internés dans un camp de concentration dans le midi de la France. Ils y passent 18 mois, ensuite sa mère, atteinte de pleurésie, est transférée à l'hôpital de Montpellier et lui, confié à un internat religieux proche. Là aussi, il est heureux, il va à l'école (où il réussit très bien), a un ami très cher, Michel, et peut se rendre le dimanche auprès de sa mère. Cependant, celle-ci lui annonce qu'ils doivent à nouveau prendre la fuite. Ils aboutissent à Marseille, où ils mènent une vie clandestine et misérable. Sa mère décide de repasser en Espagne, pour rejoindre Londres ou le Mexique. Elle abandonne son fils, qui devra la rejoindre quelques semaines plus tard. Mais l'enfant est pris dans une rafle de Juifs, transféré à Paris et envoyé en camp d'extermination en Allemagne. Il y passera plusieurs années dans des conditions horribles et ne survivra que grâce à l'aide d'un codétenu, Gunther, prisonnier politique. Après la libération et bien que de père français, il est renvoyé en Espagne et placé dans un orphelinat religieux, où les conditions sont atroces. Il arrivera à s'enfuir et pourra intégrer un collège de Jésuites en Andalousie (1953). Là, il retrouve le calme et réussit brillamment dans ses études. Cependant, après plusieurs mois, il choisit de quitter le collège pour essayer de rejoindre son père en France. Celui-ci cependant fait la sourde oreille et Tanguy n'obtient pas de visa. Bloqué à Barcelone, il y travaillera quelques années dans une usine. Poursuivi par la police à cause de sa participation dans une grève, il prend le bateau pour la France, où son père finira par tolérer sa présence et l'accueillir dans sa famille. L'histoire ne s'arrête pas là.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2023
Comment un enfant de neuf ans peut il encore croire en l'humain quand à ses côtés il n'y a plus ni père, ni mère , ni famille , quand devant lui s'ouvrent les portes d'un camp de prisonniers en Allemagne?
Il a déjà connu celui de Rieucros en Lozère mais il y était avec sa mère. Là il est seul, désespérément seul face à la barbarie , face à la faim, à la peur, au désespoir ... ensuite ce qui l'attend à son retour de captivité à Barcelone ne sera guère différent mais il y avait Gunther et il y aura Ubeda et le Père Pardo et Sebastiana ..
L'enfant naîf et passif va grandir, endosser l'habit d'un adolescent en colère . Il lui faudra retrouver coûte que coûte la trace de ses géniteurs ...
Publié pour la première fois en 1957, Tanguy, le premier roman de Michel del Castillo , reparait en 1995 enrichi d'une préface de l'auteur . Tout y est dit ou presque.
Il a déjà connu celui de Rieucros en Lozère mais il y était avec sa mère. Là il est seul, désespérément seul face à la barbarie , face à la faim, à la peur, au désespoir ... ensuite ce qui l'attend à son retour de captivité à Barcelone ne sera guère différent mais il y avait Gunther et il y aura Ubeda et le Père Pardo et Sebastiana ..
L'enfant naîf et passif va grandir, endosser l'habit d'un adolescent en colère . Il lui faudra retrouver coûte que coûte la trace de ses géniteurs ...
Publié pour la première fois en 1957, Tanguy, le premier roman de Michel del Castillo , reparait en 1995 enrichi d'une préface de l'auteur . Tout y est dit ou presque.
February 26, 2018
Löysin kirjan muuttolaatikosta. Siinä oli nimeni ja 6A. Olen ollut 6A-luokalla 1970-1971. Minulla ei ole minkäänlaista muistikuvaa, että olisin kirjan joskus lukenut.
Tanguy kokee sodan, keskitysleirin sekä "kasvatuslaitoksen" kauheudet, mutta selviää niistä hengissä. Hän tapaa myös ystävällisiä ihmisiä, kokee ystävyyttä ja rakkautta; hänestä kasvaa oikeudenmukainen ja humaani.
Kirja on omaelämäkerrallinen teos. Olen vaikutettu ja tutustun del Castillon muuhunkin tuotantoon. Kirjailija täyttää elokuussa 85 vuotta (ihan vain tiedoksi :)).
Tanguy kokee sodan, keskitysleirin sekä "kasvatuslaitoksen" kauheudet, mutta selviää niistä hengissä. Hän tapaa myös ystävällisiä ihmisiä, kokee ystävyyttä ja rakkautta; hänestä kasvaa oikeudenmukainen ja humaani.
Kirja on omaelämäkerrallinen teos. Olen vaikutettu ja tutustun del Castillon muuhunkin tuotantoon. Kirjailija täyttää elokuussa 85 vuotta (ihan vain tiedoksi :)).
April 28, 2018
Read this in class , and I loved it !
November 13, 2024
tangui
December 22, 2024
Saecio el libro tanguy
September 13, 2025
"On vieilli avec chaque adieux "
October 8, 2011
I sort of regret reading this so young, it totally skewed my outlook on the world, maybe that's why I'm so afraid of it. This follows the main character Tanguy and his mother who is a journalist who escapes from Spain because of political affiliations within the civil war. This was around the time when Hitler invaded Poland, they escape to France and have to get to London.Thus, they end up traveling separately, but Tanguy is caught and put into a German concentration camp. He's stripped, and his penis is inspected to see whether or not it is circumcised. He's made to work, but still manages to make friends who keep his spirits up. He's transferred to a school run by priests. In the end he goes off to find his mum, but like she abandoned him, so they cannot connect at all.
Throughout this novel, I remember hating Tanguy's mother, I remmeber thinking I never ever wanted to be in a situation of abandonment like that. Another depressing novel I read.
Throughout this novel, I remember hating Tanguy's mother, I remmeber thinking I never ever wanted to be in a situation of abandonment like that. Another depressing novel I read.
April 20, 2013
Kylmäävä tarina espanjalaispojasta, joka kohtaa liian varhain liian paljon: kadonneen isän, hylätyksi tulemisen, keskitysleirin kauhut, kasvatuslaitoksen sadismin. Samalla epäoikeudenmukaisuutta vastustava liekki kasvaa Tanguyn sisällä vähitellen roihuksi.
Kokonaisuus on hieno, mutta paikoittainen melodramaattisuus rokottaa pisteitä.
Kokonaisuus on hieno, mutta paikoittainen melodramaattisuus rokottaa pisteitä.
March 14, 2015
Awesome book.
October 19, 2025
Historia basada en hechos reales. Muy cruda. No volvería a leerlo.
April 16, 2017
I read this book last year but I just realized that I never wrote a review about it so here I am.
Let me start off by saying that I absolutely loved this book and that I definitely understand why people talk about it so much.
This story was definitely not a happy one. In fact I was actually kind of depressed after reading it. This book definitely contains dark themes so if you don't like reading books that will make you want to cry then this is NOT something you should read.
The writing style was amazing, the characters were awsome (of course I'm not talking about Tanguy's mother or father... I'm talking about characters like Tanguy or Gunther...) and I absolutely loved the character development in this story.
Tanguy had a rough life but I admired the way he dealt with his problems at such a young age!
Overall, I would definitely recommend this if you like darker themed books and I do think that this book is special and amazing since I can still remember almost everything that happens in the story to this day (and it's been a year since I last read it. I know this may not seem as such a long time to some people but I happen to have a horrible memory and tend to forget stories I read and since I haven't forgotten this one then I know it was THAT good).
Let me start off by saying that I absolutely loved this book and that I definitely understand why people talk about it so much.
This story was definitely not a happy one. In fact I was actually kind of depressed after reading it. This book definitely contains dark themes so if you don't like reading books that will make you want to cry then this is NOT something you should read.
The writing style was amazing, the characters were awsome (of course I'm not talking about Tanguy's mother or father... I'm talking about characters like Tanguy or Gunther...) and I absolutely loved the character development in this story.
Tanguy had a rough life but I admired the way he dealt with his problems at such a young age!
Overall, I would definitely recommend this if you like darker themed books and I do think that this book is special and amazing since I can still remember almost everything that happens in the story to this day (and it's been a year since I last read it. I know this may not seem as such a long time to some people but I happen to have a horrible memory and tend to forget stories I read and since I haven't forgotten this one then I know it was THAT good).
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews