THE FANTASTIC BROTHER

The master French story teller again demonstrates his ability (see Fofana, 1962, p. 238, J-76) to create a mystifying, poetic tale of adventure and romance. Young Lucas and Marie Ange live in a strange faraway world-- a world lorded over by Marie's father, the kind, but imposing old Comte de Lieue. Lucas is called to the estate from his father's nearby cottage to be a companion for the elderly man and his delicate son. The scene shifts from the French estate to the dense wilds of Africa and back again. Disguises don't fool the wise Comte, who tells only Lucas his secret before his death. It is a rich, deep tale which belongs to a fading genre; the characters are meticulously developed as the reader is held captive-- having willingly suspended disbelief-- from first page to last.