This novel was the first piece of art I read by Jean-Marie Gustave le Clézio, and I was struck by how lyrical it was. As someone else mentioned, it has a fragile beauty to it, which completely overwhelmed me.

It tells the story of two young girls during WW2, one running away from her beloved home in France, the other a Palestinian refugee displaced from her home during the civil war and the establishment of Israel. They meet each other at the refugee camps and a bond is formed.

I was absorbed, and thought it a very insightful novel. I was moved by this immensely worthwile read.

Three stars for being not bad, but yet not quite good. A ponderous novel of the effects of war told in a rather monotonous, repetitive way-- I'm guessing to reflect the rather monotonous, repetitive life of those in exile or those whose lives are bound by others. It did make me wonder how authors are chosen to receive the Nobel prize.

Tralasciando la parte dedicata a Nejma, ho trovato questo libro estremamente tedioso, cosa che non mi ha permesso di apprezzare la storia qui contenuta.