The Book of Pearl

by Timothee de Fombelle

Sarah Ardizzone (Translator)

In prose as magical and intricate as the tale it tells, Timothée de Fombelle delivers an unforgettable story of a first love that defines a lifetime.

Joshua Pearl comes from a world that we no longer believe in — a world of fairy tale. He knows that his great love waits for him there, but he is stuck in an unfamiliar time and place — an old-world marshmallow shop in Paris on the eve of World War II. As his memories begin to fade, Joshua seeks out strange objects: tiny fragments of tales that have already been told, trinkets that might possibly help him prove his own story before his love is lost forever. Sarah Ardizzone and Sam Gordon translate the original French into a work both luminous and layered, enabling Timothée de Fombelle’s modern fairy tale to thrum with magic. Brimming with romance and history, mystery and adventure, this ode to the power of memory, storytelling, and love will ensnare any reader’s imagination and every reader’s heart.

• ISBN10: 0763691267
• ISBN13: 9780763691264
• Publish Date: 6 February 2018 (first published 1 June 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Candlewick Press,U.S.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 368
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780763691264

Reviews

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from LibraryThing Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I am a sucker for fairytales.

These days, fantasy is dark and fast-paced.  There are villains in the shadows with twisted plans that will keep you up at night.  There are brazen heroes and maidens who don't need rescuing.

The Book of Pearl is something else entirely.

This novel reads like something by the Grimm brothers.  The Kingdoms are a lush fantasy world so beautiful in their simplicity and believable enough that they could be our own, in another age and time.  That is the charm of a fairytale - it's fantasy, but it feels like, just maybe, it could be real.

You feel heartbreak and longing for the characters.

The difference between a classic fairytale and The Book of Pearl is that you can't help but to fall for Ilian and Olia. The Narrator takes us back and forth between Ilian's childhood in the Kingdoms and his adulthood in WWII-era France.  The story follows his struggle to remember who he is, the girl he loves, and collect tokens of proof. Ilian and Olia have a complicated curse set upon them which leads them both to intense, deep heartbreak.

This book touches so many of the senses and absolutely burrowed its way into my heart.  I was very apprehensive about requesting it in the first place, after hearing other bloggers describe it as "just okay" or "not for me".  I'm really, really glad I did. Sarah Ardizzone has done a beautiful job of translating the story and keeping the language soft and magical.

I guess for me, a lot of the things that turned other bloggers off this book really pulled me in.  I genuinely didn't want to put this book down every night - there's so much between the lines that I want to know about Ilian and his quest.  But the ending was the important part for these characters, and not the journey.

It was lovely.  Really, really lovely.

The English translation of The Book of Pearl will be available Feburary 6, 2018.

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