Persephone Books discussion

What continued to strike me throughout the novel was that in spite of the countries of England and France being so close to each other, Hillary had been totally cut off and unable to find out what was happening to his wife and then later experiencing an really untraceable trail (or maybe unverifiable trail) to his son. He could only suppose that Jean was his son.

It is that fog or darkness that war causes, separating families, driving people from their homes that seems so damaging to the spirit. I think this was the main note of Little Boy Lost.

During WWII, France was occupied by Germany, and there was virtually no communication at all between France and England, unless letters went through a neutral third party in Switzerland or Portugal, or possibly the Red Cross.

Think about poor Jean, he has never known a normal existence due to the war. I don't doubt that some of those children reached adulthood before they saw some stability. I know soldiers deserve the respect for their sacrifice and that is the "big story" of war -- but the struggles of individuals like this in the aftermath affected Europe greatly too I imagine.

But also thinking these were members of the resistance, they were soldiers too really.

What struck me most about this book was the hunger the children had at the orphanage.

I know, amazing. A sugar cube and piece of bread was dinner. And how many years did the unfortunate in society have to live that way?

What do you think it means for our mindset and our actions and how we form our "philosophy," if you will, that we are a universe apart from this kind of existence? Many people in the U.S. may not be able to at all relate to this deprivation in history or this same deprivation in some nations today.

For example, can a middle class 9-year-old understand a life with no toys -- absolutely none? At the orphanage, Jean played with a hidden pile including a string and an old stamp or something right?

Do you think it inhibits our ability today to form compassion and empathy?

It was very sad that the children at the orphanage were so deprived. You're right, Sarah...I think most of us haven't ever been in that kind of situation. We're very lucky. We may not be able to sympathize with those characters, but it was described so well that I think it is possible to have compassion and empathy for the characters.