The Kites

byRomain Gary, Miranda Richmond Mouillot (Translator)

Format:

PaperbackEbook

Buy the book from:

AmazonOpens in a new tabApple BooksOpens in a new tabebooks.comOpens in a new tabGoogle PlayOpens in a new tabHiveOpens in a new tabKoboOpens in a new tab
A quiet village in Normandy, 1932. Ludo is ten years old and lives with his uncle, a kindly, eccentric creator of elaborate kites. One day, sitting in a strawberry field, Ludo meets the beautiful young Polish aristocrat Lila. And so begins Ludo's lifelong adventure of love and longing for Lila, who only begins to return his feelings just as Europe descends into the devastation of World War 2. After Poland and France fall, Lila and Ludo are separated. Ludo's friends in the village must find their own ways of resisting: the local restaurateur who is dedicated above all to France's haute cuisine, a Jewish brothel madam who sleeps with her unwitting enemies and Ludo, who cycles past the Nazis every day, passing on messages for the French Resistance - thinking always of Lila.

About the series

Choose 3 timeless classics for only £21 over on the Penguin Shop

The Kites is indeed a treasure, capable of accessing an enormous node of insight and almost-overwhelming beauty spliced with bittersweet candor... we are lucky to have it at last. We're going to need it.

BOMB Magazine

About Romain Gary

Details
All editions