THE PULL OF THE OCEAN

THE PULL OF THE OCEAN
A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mourlevat, Jean-Claude. 2006. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 0385733488

B. PLOT SUMMARY
Seven brothers flee their parent’s home in France led by the youngest. Yann, small and mute leads his six older brothers, all twins, away from their home on the belief that the parents are planning to kill them. The story chronicles their journey to the sea and their reunion with their parents.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This story is told by multiple narrators, each with a different yet similar perspective, except the cruel businessman that imprisons them in his home. Short chapters separate the narrators, which include the boys, their parents, and the people that encounter them on their journey. The author sets the emotional stage for this story with the mother’s lack of caring as evidenced by her willingness to hit Yann, the youngest boy. To the backdrop of rain and thunder Yann convinces his older brothers they must leave immediately without giving them a reason. Their journey is told by people they encountered that helped them or simply by people that observed them. Most people took a compassionate approach dealing with the boys.

Cultural markers include the French name the family has, Doutreleau, as well as the names of other characters such as Etcheverry, Viard, and Faure in the book, and the French towns the boys traveled through.

Chronicling the journey the boys travel shows the closeness of brothers as well as the daily irritations. This is exhibited through the boys’ acceptance of Yann’s leadership without question and the way they help one another.

Although the book deals with the harshness of life, poverty, parental neglect and abuse, the end offers hope with the apparent concern of the mother and father upon hearing from the boys.

D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Booklist (December 1, 2006 (Vol. 103, No. 7))
Unlike his six older brothers--three sets of twins--who are all tall for their age, 10-year-old Yann is a miniature, no more than two feet tall. However, despite his diminutive stature, his youth, and the fact that he is mute, he is the cleverest of the lot and their unquestioned leader. When he wakes his brothers one dark and stormy night and convinces them that they must leave their parents’ farm, they follow him unquestioningly. Sound familiar? It should; it's a retelling of "Tom Thumb."In addition to giving his version a contemporary setting, French author Mourlevat tells the story from multiple points of view. He also invests it with some symbolic weight--Yann can be viewed as a Christ figure. The ending leaves readers a bit at sea, but the story is intriguing, and the relationship among the brothers is heartwarming.


Publishers Weekly (January 1, 2007)
A mute 10-year-old boy stars in this inventive modern-day play on Charles Perrault's Tom Thumb. Yann, the size of a toddler, is the youngest of seven sons of poor, sour parents and the only one who is not a twin ("Yann came last and alone. Like the period at the end of a sentence"). The lad silently communicates with his brothers, but never with his parents. One night, he overhears his parents bickering and awakens his siblings; letting them know that their father plans to harm them (the author reveals the actual content of the couple's conversation later). Yann then leads the three sets of twins out into the rainy darkness. The peripatetic story weaves together first-person accounts by each twin as well as individuals who have spotted or interacted with the children. Under Yann's direction (he navigates by turning his head in all directions and then pointing the way), the brothers traverse the French countryside, heading west toward the ocean. The story takes a dark turn before they are reunited with their seemingly softened parents. Yet Yann slips away once more, stowing away on a merchant marine ship to continue his journey west. The captain observes, "I had the sudden impression that this child wasn't real, that he had stepped right out of a fairy tale." Indeed, Mourlevat enchantingly blends the harshly real and the make-believe, with the latter tipping the balance as this effectively haunting, fluidly translated tale comes to a close. Ages 12-up. (Dec.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

E. CONNECTIONS
Students can write how they would feel if they thought a parent wanted to kill them, list and discuss reasons to run away from home, or extend the book by adding another chapter.
Look for TOM THUMB in the following book:
Gustafson, Scott. CLASSIC FAIRY TALES. ISBN 086713089X