Slice of Life on the friendship between Several Children from Normandy
In this book published in 1862, the Countess of Segur plunges us back into Normandy. In the Rouville family; to another Sophie who lives with her brothers Léonce and Paul. With which the three kids live misadventures that go so far as to dye their dog in black; or to write, for a fool’s joke, a letter where the recipient is made to believe that his mother has died. In short, nonsense in which incredible disasters occur. And unlike “Trouble With Sophie” which was concentrated around one person, this book, with the presence of many parents and their friends, becomes rather a choral novel. In fact, each child, whether it is Camille, Marguerite, Henri, Paul or François, takes the author’s attention and expresses his moment of glory on the stage.
Nevertheless, this book is not plot-driven like “The Perfect Little Girls” or “The Holidays”. Indeed, it is episodic in its first tier, then turns into a series of gathering where children share stories. In this instance, it is the opportunity for us to discover the worldview of each child, in the case of Sophie her prejudices towards the English and the Chinese, and their friendships / rivalries with the comrades who listen to them. On the other hand, it is the chance for the Countess to remind us of her debut of fairy tales. Fantastic stories like those of LaMalice and her neighbor Monsieur Esbrouffe, or realistic like that of forest wolves haunting a Russian caravan. In short, tales that demonstrate the main talent of the Countess to tell stories; epics so fascinating that I want someone to make either a movie or a play.
But in the end, “The Good Children” remains a rather uneven novel in its rhythm that balances between “slice of life” and “narration within a narration”. Which is not bad in itself since it recalls the literary magic of the digressive narrative like Diderot’s “Jacques the Fatalist”. But this type of storytelling might discourage some readers who would expect a narrative with intrigue.
On the other hand, this novel remains important to consult in particular for its last chapter where Camille, while she and her family prepare for their winter in Paris, pays a visit to countryside neighbors: Simplicie and Innocent. Who are the two main characters in the novel “The Two Nitwits” and whose antics in Paris from 1863-1864 will make a stir in their entourage and the Parisians they meet. Thus, through “The Good Children”, we discover two very haughty brats, whose behavior already announces the inevitable. Their desire to spend a winter in Paris; to discover this capital that all of Camille friends boast aloud at the top of their voices. And it’s an adventure that
will continue in “The Two Nitwits”; my favorite novel of the Comtesse de Segur due to her narration worthy of Dickens’ books.
As for the illustrations of Ferogio, they generally present large shots of characters living their adventures or fairy tales, but also thumbnails at the beginning of chapters. Although the work remains very good, this individual is not the artist I prefer the most given its lack of expressiveness in the characters’ faces. Indeed, the images remain quite fixed and lack a little of the vitality that I like so much with Castelli. Who will return to “The Two Nitwits” and do a phenomenal job there. And of which I am impatient to make the next literary criticism.
For those who would be interested, here is the link to the 1893 Copy of “The Good Children” (public domain) available for free on Google Play and which the “Google Translate software” can easily translate when you select the novel’s text.
Omnes's Oasis 