Bondoux, Anne, and Y. Maudet. A Time of Miracles. New York: Delacorte, 2010. Print. 0375860363
Plot Summary: Monsieur Blaise, or Koumail as he is known everyone but Gloria, is “in a rush to grow up”. Gloria adopted him after his mother, a French citizen, died in a horrible train wreck when Blaise was just an infant. Ever since, Blaise has been in hiding with her and their peers, as they flee the collapse of the Soviet Union. From dilapidated apartments, riverbanks, and other makeshift shelters, Blaise tells the story of the hardships they are facing with wit, wisdom beyond his years, and despite all of the pain around him, hope.
Critical Analysis:
A Time of Miracles is not a novel for skimming. It is a novel that you pick up, and find yourself immediately immersed in, as if it were quicksand. The manner in which Bondoux creates a voice for Blaise is incredible. He switches back and forth with ease from naïve ten-year old, to wise beyond his years sage (“ there’s nothing wrong with making up stories to make life more bearable”), and it happens so imperceptibly that you immediately connect with him. This is important when you are writing a story, especially one about an orphan who is living in wretched circumstances, with the Soviet Union collapsing down around him. It is essential because one could easily just feel sorry for Blaise and Gloria, and pity them, but as a reader, you do not.
You feel the strength in their bond, and in Blaise’s observations. For instance, “and if your feet hurt, you have to pretend they aren’t yours. They belong to somebody else. And somebody else’s feet cannot be hurting you, right?” This sentence is so powerful, and is a good example of the juxtaposition between Blaise’s positive outlooks in the face of a truly terrible situation. It is clear he gets this gift from Gloria.
Then, there are the descriptions Bondoux gives of the characters, making them almost palpable. “Her weight hampers her; I snuggle against her reassuring roundness”. She is able to perfectly describe the characters without saying, “this is Gloria, she is fat”, and “this is Blaise, he is a starving, skinny, tanned refugee”. That shows mastery and careful thought. It is for all of these reasons readers cannot help but feel invested in the story.
As far as cultural markers go, they are deeply woven into the story line. From hearing about the different types of foods that are native to this region, cream cakes, and stuffed cabbage leaves for instance, and the different types of dwellings and market places present, one really gets a feel for the culture. It is evident, that despite the horrific conditions surrounding this hodgepodge of individuals, their strong bond and culture keeps them close and grounded.
This is a deeply real story, with beloved characters, heartbreak, hope, and more heartbreak. Definitely a do not miss. Despite this being a novel that was originally written in another language, nothing is lost in translation.
Awards:
Batchelder Award (2011) (-- The Mildred L. Batchelder Award is given to the most outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States.)
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis Nominee for Jugendbuch (2012)
Reviews:
From School Library Journal: With Gloria, the only mother he's ever known, Blaise Fortune travels across the Caucasus through the civil wars of the 1990s, seeking his French birth mother. Braided into this compelling tale are the experiences of other refugees from the aftermath of the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Booklist: After the collapse of the Soviet Union, seven-year-old Koumaïl and his guardian, Gloria, flee violent unrest and begin an arduous journey across the Caucasus toward France. That’s where Koumaïl was born, according to Gloria, who describes how she found Koumaïl in the wreckage of a train accident that killed his French mother. Gloria became the boy’s devoted guardian, and Koumaïl recounts their inseparable bond as they risk everything, finding shelter in forests, camps, and gypsy settlements. Bondoux, author of the multi-award-winning The Killer’s Tears (2006), tells another unusual, wrenching story of a vulnerable child. Koumaïl’s first-person voice shifts uneasily between a young person’s naïveté and an adult’s acquired wisdom: “I’m in a rush to grow up. I sense that the world in which we live is hostile to children.” That may be a natural combination in an individual who has endured so much so young, though, and in potent details, Bondoux creates indelible scenes of resilient children who, like Koumaïl, find strength in painful memories: “To be less afraid of the darkness and the unknown, I call on my ghosts.” Grades 7-10. --Gillian Engberg -
Connections:
The Diary of Anne Frank seems like the obvious companion for this novel. Both main characters are keenly aware of how awful their circumstances are, but determined to see things in a positive light.
Other Batchelder Award Winners;
Soldier Bear (2012)
A Faraway Island (2010)
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit