It is 1942 and the Jews are being deported from Belgium. Separated from his parents, seven-year-old Joseph must go into hiding. He is taken in the dead of night to an orphanage, the Villa Jaune, where the benign and enigmatic Father Pons presides over a motley assortment of children. With the ever-present threat of the Gestapo growing closer, Joseph learns that the secret of survival is to conceal his Jewish heritage. Soon Joseph also discovers that Father Pons has a secret of his own: he is risking his life not only for the boys in his care, but for the Jewish faith itself. Sensitive, funny and deeply humane, Noah's Child is a simple fable that reveals the complexities of faith, bravery and the human condition.
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A tale about a dark moment in history - the Holocaust - from which Schmitt has conjured a radiant tale... Written in a language that is by turns emotional and humorous, where every word counts and is loaded with meaning. --Le Soir
Noah's Child cannot fail to delight the thousands of readers who took Oscar and the Pink Lady to their hearts... His books are like fables that people can make their own. --La Libre Belgique
Noah's Child cannot fail to delight the thousands of readers who took Oscar and the Pink Lady to their hearts... His books are like fables that people can make their own. --La Libre Belgique
About the Author
Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt is an internationally bestselling French author and playwright. Noah's Child is the fourth novel in his popular series Cycle de l'Invisible about childhood and religion. He lives in Brussels.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Susie B
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It is 1942 and Joseph Bernstein, a young Belgian Jewish boy, is separated from his parents and taken into hiding to prevent him being deported by the Gestapo. This heart rending story is first person narrated by Joseph who tells us at the beginning of his story how he remembers one day sitting on a tram with his mother with their yellow stars concealed: "...we were supposed to wear yellow stars, but my father, skilled tailor that he was, had found a way of making our coats so we could tuck away the star and produce it when necessary. My mother called them our `shooting stars': there one moment, gone the next." And this, it seems, is an analogy for Joseph's situation - his life with his parents was there one day, and gone the next.
Joseph is told that he will be staying with Father Pons, a catholic priest, who will take care of him, keep him safe and prevent him being deported; he is given a new identity - he is now to be known as Joseph Bertin, and it is impressed upon him that in order to survive, he must conceal his Jewish heritage. Joseph is taken to Villa Jaune, an orphanage filled to capacity with children of both Jewish and Christian faiths, where Father Pons risks his life daily so that he can keep his boys safe. But Father Pons is not just a guardian of the children his care, he also becomes a guardian of the Jewish faith itself. As the threat of the Gestapo gets nearer and nearer, Joseph grows closer and closer to Father Pons and, whilst he fervently hopes that his parents survive, he also starts to wonder how he will ever be able to leave the catholic priest who means so much to him.
Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, a playwright, novelist, writer of short stories and one of Europe's most popular authors, has written a poignant, sensitive and thought-provoking fable, that although is short in length, examines the larger themes of love, faith, courage and humanity.
4 Stars.
Also recommended by the same author: The Most Beautiful Book in the World: Eight Novellas
Joseph is told that he will be staying with Father Pons, a catholic priest, who will take care of him, keep him safe and prevent him being deported; he is given a new identity - he is now to be known as Joseph Bertin, and it is impressed upon him that in order to survive, he must conceal his Jewish heritage. Joseph is taken to Villa Jaune, an orphanage filled to capacity with children of both Jewish and Christian faiths, where Father Pons risks his life daily so that he can keep his boys safe. But Father Pons is not just a guardian of the children his care, he also becomes a guardian of the Jewish faith itself. As the threat of the Gestapo gets nearer and nearer, Joseph grows closer and closer to Father Pons and, whilst he fervently hopes that his parents survive, he also starts to wonder how he will ever be able to leave the catholic priest who means so much to him.
Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, a playwright, novelist, writer of short stories and one of Europe's most popular authors, has written a poignant, sensitive and thought-provoking fable, that although is short in length, examines the larger themes of love, faith, courage and humanity.
4 Stars.
Also recommended by the same author: The Most Beautiful Book in the World: Eight Novellas
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
The English speaking world welcomes another classic from the renowned French author, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. In Noah's Child, we are introduced to seven year old Joseph, as he suffers his weekly humiliation of "walking the plank", in the vain hope that his parents have returned to reclaim him from his hiding place in the Villa Jaune after the Second World War has ended. Joseph, an assimilated Parisian Jew, experiences his first religious encounter at Sunday Mass and consequently, wants to embrace Catholicism with a far greater zeal than the charade Father Pons requires of him. Thanks to Joseph's curiosity, he and Father Pons establish a special relationship, which develops and illustrates the noble and kind humanity and intentions of the priestly school headmaster. It is to his credit that he only puts the children up for adoption once it has been established that their parents have not survived the war. He also insists that Joseph remains true to his religion. He terms him a "child of Noah", as he has survived against all odds. Strictly speaking though, he is a child of Abraham. Joseph is never exposed to orthodox Judaism (although Father Pons does his best), so he never really gets the chance to compare the two religions from an equal standpoint. Schmitt can say so much in a turn of phrase. We await future English translations of his other works.
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Hope springs eternal
10 May 2012
By Esther Bergman
- Published on Amazon.com
The English speaking world welcomes another classic from the renowned French author, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. In Noah's Child, we are introduced to seven year old Joseph, as he suffers his weekly humiliation of "walking the plank", in the vain hope that his parents have returned to reclaim him from his hiding place in the Villa Jaune after the Second World War has ended. Joseph, an assimilated Parisian Jew, experiences his first religious encounter at Sunday Mass and consequently, wants to embrace Catholicism with a far greater zeal than the charade Father Pons requires of him. Thanks to Joseph's curiosity, he and Father Pons establish a special relationship, which develops and illustrates the noble and kind humanity and intentions of the priestly school headmaster. It is to his credit that he only puts the children up for adoption once it has been established that their parents have not survived the war. He also insists that Joseph remains true to his religion. He terms him a "child of Noah", as he has survived against all odds. Strictly speaking though, he is a child of Abraham. Joseph is never exposed to orthodox Judaism (although Father Pons does his best), so he never really gets the chance to compare the two religions from an equal standpoint. Schmitt can say so much in a turn of phrase. We await future English translations of his other works.
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