The Book of Pearl, by Timothee de Fombelle

This fractured fairy tale of an exiled prince is difficult to get into, as the disjointed narration is off-putting. It gradually becomes easier to read as the narration is reduced to the occasional, if seemingly unnecessary, intrusion into the story. Jumping between occupied France in World War II and a land of fairies and magic, Joshua ‘Ilian’ Pearl is searching for a way to return to his lost life and love. The narrator’s purpose becomes clear towards the end of the book, but his insertion into the story remains clunky and unconvincing. There is some nice writing of the patisserie and the Pearls' relationship with their adoptive son. As an undoubtedly tragic fairy story, the Book of Pearl doesn’t quite work. If there is meant to be anything deeper to discover – perhaps about displaced persons or the search for self? – it is hard to find, or possibly lost in translation from the original French.