The Book of Pearl by Timothee de Fombelle

The Book of Pearl

by Timothee de Fombelle

An ode to the power of storytelling by one of France’s greatest writers for children.

A compelling story of a first love that defines a lifetime; perfect for fans of David Levithan, told with the intricate and beautiful writing style of bestselling author Timothee de Fombelle. Joshua Pearl is from a world that our own no longer believes in. He knows that his great love is waiting for him in that distant place, but he is trapped in our time. As his memories begin to fade, he discovers strange objects, tiny fragments of a story from a long time ago. Can Joshua remember the past and believe in his own story before his love is lost for ever?

Reviewed by Amber (The Literary Phoenix) on

4 of 5 stars

Share
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.

Blog | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram | LibraryThing

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 3 December, 2017: Finished reading
  • 3 December, 2017: Reviewed