#josephjoffo

[cinefilos-bikar]

El día de hoy no es una critica. Pero es una pequeña historia.

Mi perrita destruyo mi libro de “un saco de canicas”. Es por eso que decidí volverlo a empastar, pero diseñe mi propia portada del libro.

[onix-ona]

Un sac de billes.

[marshmalloworld]

Ce matin, je suis allée voir le film Un sac de billes. C'était une très belle interprétation du témoignage de Joseph Joffo. J'ai eu la chance de rencontrer Mr Joffo étant enfant lors d'un salon littéraire et j'étais partie avec la BD (adaptation de son roman) signée de sa main. Encore une journée sous le signe de l'émotion 💙 #lifestyle #unsacdebilles #josephjoffo #igersparis #neverforget

[bookyj]

a bag of marbles

As fulfilling as it is to learn independently, learning from another’s experiences can be equally as rewarding. Un Sac de Billes, Joseph Joffo’s heart-wrenching autobiographical work, plunges the reader deep into ten-year-old Joe’s imagination against the backdrop of 1941 occupied Paris. This story – of sheer courage and incredible individuals – is delivered through the eyes of a 10-year-old child, who expresses everything he feels, sees, smells and fears; as we, the readers, gawp at the boys’ luck and initiative. Joe’s parents send him and his brother, Maurice, on a terrifying and perilous journey across France to seek safety in the zone libre in a final desperate clutch at life. Once told the plan: travel across France alone to safety with older brothers in the south, Joe says 'C’en était fait de l’enfance.' Our childhood was over. The boys, still naïve to the meaning of their yellow stars, embark on an exciting and fantastic adventure. The novel opens with a game of marbles, highlighting their innocent and carefree life, which is wonderfully juxtaposed with the rest of the tale as the reader watches this childhood slowly fade away.

Their journey takes them from Paris to Dax and on to Hagetmau, during which they experience the stubborn generosity of the French public, amongst demarcation lines and paper checks. After (effortlessly) crossing the line, they make their way to the near-Italian coastal town of Menton, through Aire-­sur­-l’Adour and Marseille, where they see the sea for the first time. La vie est belle for young Joe and Maurice; they make deals with the Italian soldiers, accepting cigarettes in exchange for tracking down fresh parsley. Life is also petrifying, however, when they find themselves under personal scrutiny at the Gestapo HQ in Nice. Their journey is as much a geographical adventure as it is the journey from boy to man, as they encounter problems, politics and people. The reader is continually learning about French identity, specifically the Rue de Clignancourt Jewish community; history, as the brothers laugh at a Count’s ridiculous tales of French monarchy and, finally, of French resilience demonstrated by the nerve of several strangers they meet along the way. Beautifully apt is Joe’s favourite marble, the ‘globe’, which makes him feel as though he has the entire world in his pocket. The entire story, which moves quickly through a vast and changing country, is brought together perfectly in the boys’ love of marbles: in the simple things in life.  Not only does the reader learn about war-torn France, but also about personal development, courage and resilience as they develop new skills and grow as individuals. The boys return at the end of the war only to find their Paris very altered from before. Joe sees his reflection and says ‘C’est vrai, J’ai grandi’. It’s true, I grew up.

Joe shows us the world through his eyes, that is, France under attack from the viewpoint of a 10 year old. Not only does the reader learn the poignant events of the war and the humility of the French people, but can enjoy the French tradition of brotherhood regardless of religious or historical identity. Papa says that his heart feels at home in France because France is ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’. And it is precisely this, which rescues his two boys from the horrors of an era forever embedded in our histories.