THE MULTIPLE CHILD

by Andr‚e Chedid ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 1995

Elements of Silas Marner, A Christmas Carol, and--God help us, every one--St. Exup‚ry's soporific The Little Prince are traceable throughout this maudlin r‚cit about a wounded war refugee who brings joy into the lives of miscellaneous troubled adults. He's Omar-Jo, who lost an arm during the bombings in Lebanon and has consequently become a placid contemplative preadolescent whose metaphysical sweetness (he keeps saying things like ""Life is the movies"") makes the boy All Things To All People. Flashbacks describe his family and history, but God alone knows where he's coming from--or why Chedid, a much-honored French writer of Lebanese descent, is taken so seriously by so many presumably otherwise intelligent people. A suffocating paean to the wisdom of childhood, not to mention the pleasures of arrested development.

Pub Date: Sept. 5, 1995

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 208

Publisher: Mercury

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1995

Categories: FICTION