Les polymorphes

by Michel Rio

"Si vous demandez à vos parents ou à vos professeurs : qu'est-ce que ça veut dire, "polymorphe" ? Ils vous répondront que ça veut dire "qui a plusieurs formes".


Mais si vous leur demandez ce que ça mange, un Polymorphe, comment ça parle, quelle allure ça peut bien avoir, où ça vit, si ça fait de la bicyclette, si ça a mal aux dents et si ça doit aller à l'école, alors ils vous regarderont probablement d'un air sévère en vous priant de cesser de dire des bêtises.


Ceux qui aiment bien parler ajouteront sans doute que "polymorphe" n'est pas un être vivant, mais un simple adjectif comme "gras" ou "petit" ou "vilain", et qu'on voit mal comment tous ces adjectifs-là pourraient faire de la bicyclette.


Eh bien, vous pouvez leur dire qu'ils sont dans l'erreur."


Michel Rio

Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Michel Rio is a french writer born in Brittany and who spent his childhood in Madagascar. He lives in Paris.

He studied semiology and published his first novel in 1972.

With more than twenty novels published, is body of work spans genres such as crime fiction, theater, essays, and short stories. His absolutely literary work, translated from the start in the United States, is now published in more than twenty languages.

Michel Rio has won several prizes (Prix du Roman and Grand Prix du Roman by the Société des Gens de Lettres, Prix des Créateurs, Premier Prix du C.E. Renault, Prix Médicis).

Reviews

[António · Rating 3 out of 5]

Livro infantil entretido para crianças, mas de pouco ou nulo interesse para adultos.

[Klara Woodson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah, I really didn't know what to think of this one. The idea was kind of cute, and so were the main characters. I liked Polyquoidonc, and I found the giant crab Omar to be one of the most original villains ever to be described in a childrens book. But I somethings got me confused. For one, the resemblance with the Barbapapà takes away so much from the story. And I really didn't understand why, all of a sudden, the writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry comes in the story. You know, the pilot in the desert. He draws the snake/hat that was also in 'The Little Prince'. I was so confused, I don't know why he put that in this book. He just took a character from another book, the pilot figure, the drawings and the name. Why?
But all in all, it wasn't bad, and it is a good book for those who wish to get started in the studies of the Frech language.