Vadim, a 12-year-old Parisian, is asthmatic. For health reasons, his family sent him to the French Alps where he called himself Vincent. With the endearing and clever little Moinette, he discovers a world that never ceases to amaze him as the seasons go by. “The sun has completely disappeared. The mountain stands against the light in the green sky. It’s no longer the dome of a palace, the boy thinks, it’s an island. An island in the snow. A high island. » Catching snatches of conversations, he understands that he must keep quiet that he is the son of a Russian shoemaker of Jewish faith. Valentine Goby (Kinderzimmer, 2013) is an author who is too rare – four novels in twenty years. However, the period of confinement inspired her with this magnificent story at the height of a child with the temperament of an artist where she delicately deals with filiation, the feeling of belonging and the loss of innocence. Rich in fine descriptions of the splendors of nature, The high island disorients as much as it captivates.
To see in video