Child of the Ocean

Author: Jean-Claude Murlot

Translator: Natalya Shakhovskaya

Publisher: White Crow

ISBN: 978-5-906640-23-9

Pages: 104 (Offset)

Design

Weight: 124 g

Dimensions: 200x125x6 mm

Jean-Claude Murlot was born in 1952 into a large family of millers. He spent his childhood on a farm. After studying at various universities across Europe, he became a German teacher. He takes his students to Berlin, directs plays with them, and travels to distant countries during the holidays. In 1986, Murlot left teaching to study the art of clowning. He performs his own routines in theaters and at celebrations. His play about a silent clown has been performed more than 600 times, and his first publication also came out of the theater in 1997. Since then, he has published more than 20 books. As Murlot himself says, writing is done in solitude, and yet it opens up the possibility of many new encounters. Murlot gives lectures, holds meetings in schools, bookstores, and not only in remote corners of France, but all over the world—in Russia, China, and Greece. And everywhere he meets comrades: readers, publishers, librarians, teachers, and fellow writers. And all these people who love books cannot be bad—or so he believes. Today, J.-C. Murlot lives with his wife and two children in Saint-Étienne, right on the banks of the Loire.

Ian is the youngest child in the Dutrelot family. Unlike his six brothers, he is naturally gifted with extraordinary intelligence and academic ability. Strangely enough, this does not please his dim-witted parents—quite the opposite. Despite being unable to speak, Ian talks with his eyes—this way, he can convey any thought. One night, Ian and his brothers stage an escape—they absolutely must reach the ocean. Why? Only one Ian knows, a fairy-tale boy-who-is-a-thumb, whom his brothers help to bring to life a mysterious dream.

"This is one of those stories that simply carries you along; you just have to follow obediently. And, what's really cool, you aren't bombarded with opinions and ideas. I think everyone who reads this book will take something of their own from it, and that's what I like about it. And I also really like how it's written. It's just one of those books that are required reading and yet are genuinely interesting."

Kerry Spellman, 12 years old

"On their journey, the boys meet a number of trusting characters, each of whom for some reason sympathizes with their difficulties and unwittingly becomes an accomplice in their hopeless journey."

Robin Gioia, 10 years old