Author: Jean-Christophe Rufin
Translator: Won-hee Lee
Publisher: Jakgajeongshin
540 pages | 223*152mm
| Important! Please read before you order! |
| >>>This book is written in Korean only. |
About This Book
A page-turner that won the Prix Goncourt in 2001, Rufin's third offering (after
The Abyssinian and The Siege of Isfahan) fits neatly into the romance novel mold
of beautiful maidens, brave knights and dastardly villains. The story centers on
the plight of two 16th-century French orphans, Just and Colombe, who are tricked
into joining a colonial expedition to subjugate Brazil. The enterprise is
commanded by Chevalier Durand de Villegagnon, a colonist whose actual memoirs
provided Rufin with some of the details that inspired this novel. Once across
the ocean, Villegagnon prematurely dubs Brazil the "New France" and sets about
combating his enemies: the hot Brazilian sun, the native residents and the
Portuguese, who claimed sole right to Brazil long before. Years roll by and as
the action proceeds, a question hovers portentously over the book: will the
orphans grow up to be cruel colonialists or secular humanists who appreciate the
Indians' wisdom? Rufin provides plenty of rousing action, yet somehow, despite
the author's historical research, the book never rises far above melodrama. This
is partly due to tired word choice and to the playlike structure of scenes that
end with a conveniently chiming clock or thunder in the distance. Mostly,
however, it is the natural consequence of the novel's overly neat divide between
good and evil. --From Publishers Weekly
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