Wandering Stars
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Summary
In the summer of 1943, a small village in Nice, France, became a Jewish quarter under Italian administration, and Esther's peaceful youth was shattered—followed by fear, shame, a flight over mountains and rivers, and her father's departure.
After the war, Esther and her mother set out to find the legendary homeland: the newly founded Israel. On that precarious journey, she discovers the power of prayer and religion and learns to wait. When she reaches the holy land she dreams of—a place of olive trees, doves, churches, and mosques—she meets Naima, who is heading to a refugee camp. A Jewish girl and an Arab girl exchange only a glance and each other's names, and never meet again...
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who like Le Clézio and follow French literary translations
- Literary readers comfortable with a slow pace, atmosphere, and psychological description
- Readers interested in war trauma, migration, and identity
- Deep readers looking for a slim novel for quiet hours
Not a good fit for
- Readers expecting a strong plot and a fast-paced war story
- Readers who want only light entertainment and prefer not to deal with heavy themes
- Readers impatient with passages on religion and faith
Reading tips
- Read a few dozen pages a day and leave time for Esther's perceptions to seep in.
- Notice the recurring images of "waiting" and "light"; they anchor the book's mood.
- When Naima appears, look back at earlier passages; the contrast between the two girls is a key to the title.
- After finishing, read an interview with or short essay on Le Clézio to better understand his perspective on wandering.
About the publisher
People's Literature Publishing House publishes across classical literature, foreign literature, documentary writing and folk literature, with 492 titles in its catalogue. Representative books range from the Chinese classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms to Lao She's Teahouse and Longxu Ditch in the Selected Works of Lao She, as well as translated foreign literature such as Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, Dante's Divine Comedy and Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels, alongside documentary and fictional works including Primo Levi's If This Is a Man and João Guimarães Rosa's The Devil to Pay in the Backlands. Its authors include Chinese writers such as Lao She, translators such as Shen Emeri and Li Wenjun, and foreign authors such as James Wood. Overall, the house has a strong record in editing classic works and translating foreign literature, with a publishing character that bridges Chinese and foreign writing and values textual quality.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 新版译序
- 译序
- 艾莲娜
- 艾斯苔尔
- 萘玛
- 太阳的孩子
- 伊丽莎白
FAQ
Is this book suitable for middle school students?
I haven't read Le Clézio. Is this a good place to start?
The two girls never meet again. Isn't that ending too faint?
Is the translation smooth to read?
Comments
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About the author
Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio is a French writer born in Nice in 1940 and the winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature. He made his debut in 1963 with Le Procès-Verbal and is known for works such as Désert and Le Chercheur d'or, focusing on marginalized people and multicultural themes; he is regarded as one of the "Trois Grâces" of French literature. His writing often centers on wanderers, outsiders, and those overlooked by modern society, combining poetic language with critical observation, and holds an important place in contemporary French literature. This site carries five of his works, including The Man Who Had Never Seen the Sea, Wandering Star, Burning Heart (Nobel Laureate Library Edition), Nomadic Identity, and Breton Ballads, commonly classified under classics and foreign literature.
Yuan Xiaoyi has 12 works listed in this Chinese book database, while public information about her remains limited: details such as her year of birth, native place, education, and professional positions cannot be confirmed. Judging from the works available, her writing and translation interests center mainly on French and foreign literature. Her representative works include The Myth of Sisyphus, Return from the Bear's Mouth, Life Elsewhere, Simple Passion, Song of Tenderness, War, War, War, and Wandering Stars, as well as literary appreciation works such as Literary Legends: Eleven Lectures on Modern French Classics. Her works are commonly classified under foreign literature, literary appreciation, and prose and miscellaneous writings, with some connection to Eastern philosophy. Overall, she engages in the translation and criticism of foreign literature as well as in prose essays on reading and thought, with a style that emphasizes close reading and philosophical reflection and will appeal to readers interested in modern French literature and the reading of foreign literature.
