Noah's Child

Simple story, and difficult - rather like ballet - light movements, but difficult to do (both for the author to keep the elegance and for the characters of the book to perform in a believable way). What saves the book from sentimentality is the child´s voice. The naivity comes across as genuine.

The author has spent a lot of time in hospital with children suffering from serious diseases, some of them terminal. The child´s ability to compartmentalize the difficult reality, combined with the lack of mature integration of the consequences of given facts give the fearlessness of their acts credibility. Only a man of deep faith can mimic such behavior. And after all, beside Joseph the child, the other main character is a priest, not only show more in cloth, but in body and soul, acts and spirit. So, all in all, despite the incredulous thin line Schmitt sends his book to travel, it balances. show less

Noah’s Child is a short book, just under 140 pages, and is part of a series about childhood and religion. It tells the story of Joseph, a 7 year old Jewish child separated from his parents when threatened by the Nazis. He ends up being taken to an orphanage, where he is instructed how to become someone else.

He is looked after by Father Pons, whom, he discovers, has set out to collect and record all can about being a Jew. He tells Joseph he is trying to save it, in the same way that Noah saved humans and animals during the flood. Joseph and Father Pons develop a wonderful connection as he starts to help him.

It is told from the point of view of Joseph himself, and it manages to portray how events may have been viewed by a child – on show more it’s surface it’s a simple story of survival, but the horrors are lurking underneath. There are also some lovely, simple discussions about religion and faith.

It’s a short, simple story, but one which will touch and stay with you. show less

I found this book because I was looking for another book by the author, Mr. Ibrahim and the flowers of the Koran. I didn't find that yet, but I found this little piece. A recomended read.

It is 1942, the Jewish Joseph is seven and it is dangerous for him and his parents to stay in Brussels. Yes, it sounds like just another WW-II story. And this is true somehow. But because it is told from the perspective of Joseph, it is different and gripping. A bit like The Boy in the striped pyjamas.

Joseph gets in an orphanage and soon meets the 16-year-old Rudy, who he soon learns is Jewish as well. And they're not the only ones at the orphanage. Father Puym is very busy the hiding them, helped by the pharmasist.

A story that shows a person's show more appearance does not always correspond their interior. A story tells a serious situation in a sweet, naive way.

http://boekenwijs.blogspot.com/2011/08/het-kind-van-noach.html show less

Une découverte ! c'est sûre que je ne m'arrêterait pas là avec cet auteur. Sa plume est fluide j'ai beaucoup aimé :D

Merveilleux!!
Chef d'oeuvre absolu!!
Rien d'autre à ajouter.

Una storia piccola, ma grande, enorme, quella di un bambino francese salvato dalla generosità di francesi, una coppia di nobili, una farmacista ed un prete. E grazie alla complicità di un ufficiale tedesco. Una storia di grande umanità se nel mezzo non ci fosse la terribile disumanità del nazismo, se l’unica colpa di quel bambino, come se i bambini potessero avere una colpa, come se la razza potesse avere un senso. La storia di Joseph sembra quella dell’eterna lotta tra il bene e il male, tra l’amore e l’odio. Una storia di confronto di religioni, splendida la storia di padre Pons che colleziona gli oggetti dei popoli oppressi, per salvarli come Noè salvò gli animali, di culture, la resistenza coraggiosa della giovane show more farmacista, di classi sociali, la coppia di nobili francesi che si prodiga per mettere al sicuro il figlio di un sarto. Un libro bello nella sua semplicità per una storia che non è semplice se gustata nella sua interezza. Veramente un bell’incontro. show less

Schmitt n'a pas son pareil pour créer des situations chargées de toutes les émotions les plus fortes sans jamais tomber dans le pathétique. Il sait par ailleurs rattacher la religion et ses préceptes aux relations et aux sentiments humains, montrant ainsi leur validité dans notre quotidien. À l'honneur se trouve le judaïsme dont il explique certaines notions fondamentales avec le christianisme utilisé en relief.
Comme Joseph, je me suis sentie un peu trahie lorsque le père Pons se met à collectionner d'autres peuples en danger, et j'ai parfois trouvé Joseph un peu trop précoce pour son jeune âge, mais la fin est magistrale et nous enseigne la plus grande des leçons : il faut apprendre de l'histoire. Bravo!