Max et les poissons by Sophie Adriansen

Max et les poissons Reviews

• 
  Alwynne

  Seen entirely from the perspective of a small boy, Sophie Adriansen recreates the events of the notorious July 1942 Vélodrome d’Hiver round-up when thousands of French Jews were arrested and held at a sports arena in Paris, prior to being sent to internment centres and later to concentration camps like Auschwitz. Over the course of two days French police arrested over 13,00 Jewish citizens, including 4,000 children, ‘les enfants du juillet.’ In Adriansen’s novel her central character Max and his family are part of this group. Seven-year-old Max’s too young to understand what’s happening, he only knows that his beloved pet goldfish has been left behind with nobody to care for him, and this severed relationship becomes a potent symbol of Max’s confusion and growing sense of loss.
  
  Adriansen’s award-winning children's story’s simply told in a series of short scenes convincingly detailing Max’s experiences, thoughts and feelings. I’ve seen Adriansen’s work compared to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas but fortunately Adriansen never opts for the kind of cheap melodrama and emotional manipulation I associate with that brand of Holocaust novel, nor is she so casual about fact versus fiction. She provides a wealth of supporting material explaining what is, and isn't, historically accurate here, as well as useful talking points around anti-Semitism during the war. The tone and style reminded me most of Judith Kerr’s When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit Adriansen’s writing’s similarly direct and understated and all the more moving and powerful for it.
• 
  Alyssa

  C'est triste et touchant ! Très rapide à lire (20min) mais super bien
• 
  Tralemaniunlibro

  Questo libro mi ha profondamente commossa. Ed è avvenuto quasi senza rendermene conto, così come il protagonista non ha avuto il tempo di rendersi conto che presto avrebbe perso la sua famiglia per sempre.
  
  Max è un bambino felice. Ha due genitori amorevoli, una sorella più grande e, da pochi giorni, con lui c’è anche Auguste. Quest’ultimo è un pesciolino, che Max ha fortemente desiderato e del quale non vede l’ora di prendersi cura. Tuttavia Max e il suo pesciolino vivono in un momento storico dove preoccupazioni ce ne sono molte, anche se ancora non ne hanno piena coscienza.
  
  Tutto quello che il bambino sa è che da tempo è costretto a portare una stella gialla sui vestiti, una stella che non può togliersi mai, per nessuna ragione. Alcuni compagni di scuola lo prendono in giro per questo, ma lui non si perde d’animo e nella sua immaginazione si vede come uno sceriffo, che porta con orgoglio quel simbolo a sei punte. Quello che invece a Max non è chiaro sono alcuni termini che iniziano a diffondersi tra i dialoghi dei suoi conoscenti con insistenza sempre maggiore, come “rastrellamento” e “discriminazione”.
  ...continua sul blog:
  https://tralemaniunlibro.blogspot.com...
• 
  Izabel ✨️

  Une histoire très touchante sur la seconde guerre mondiale. Elle est certes très courte mais l'un n'empêche pas l'autre.
  
  Le personnage de Max est très attachant, j'avais envie de le prendre dans mes bras et de le serrer très fort.
• 
  Gabriel Alexandru

  😭😭😭😭
• 
  Claire Saim

  Le petit Max vient de recevoir un poisson rouge, parce qu’il est excellent à l’école. Il a aussi une étoile jaune cousue sur sa veste, et il aime ça, il a l’impression d’être un shérif ! En plus, c’est bientôt son anniversaire, il va fêter ses 8 ans, pourquoi ne pas en profiter pour demander un second poisson en cadeau ?
  
  Les quelques jours avant la rafle du Vel’ d’Hiv’, vus par les yeux d’un petit garçon de 8 ans... Il n’y a presque rien à ajouter, tout est dit. Les mots sont simples, beaux, innocents, et pourtant laissent deviner l’angoisse et l’immense incompréhension.
  
  A mettre en un maximum de mains, pour comprendre, provoquer la discussion, et surtout, ne pas oublier... A partir de 9 ans.
• 
  Stephen

  A short book in French for younger readers, sensitively introducing them to the events around the Rafle du Vélodrome d'Hiver. A round up of Jews living in Nazi occupied France in the Second World War. Max is just about to turn 8. He won a prize in school for being the best student and he also gets to wear a yellow star. However he comes to feel the yellow star is not good, and then the roundup happens on his birthday.
  
  The book is understated, and Max's youth and naivety temper the story a little, but it still, inevitably, holds sadness. In the vein of the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, although not the same. A good read and the French was easy because it is meant for children.
• 
  KrystieWonka

  C'est un petit roman historique sur la rafle du Vélodrome d'hiver. L'histoire est racontée du point de vue de Max, un enfant juif de 7 ans qui fête son anniversaire au même moment.
  C'est agréable à lire et je pense que c'est parfait pour les enfants et pour qu'ils comprennent mieux ce qui est arrivé pendant la Seconde Guerre Mondiale. (sans toute l'horreur bien sûr)
  Je l'ai lu très vite (le livre est très court) et j'ai bien aimé ma lecture même si je ne fais pas partie du public visé.
• 
  Melainebooks

  Roman historique sur la rafle du Vel'hiv' du point de vue de Max, un enfant juif de 7 ans (fêtant son anniversaire ce fameux 16 juillet). Le point de vue est enfantin donc exempt d'horreur.