The Pull of the Ocean

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mourlevat, Jean-Claude. 2006. THE PULL OF THE OCEAN. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 0385903642.

PLOT SUMMARY

Yann is the youngest of 7 brothers, the older 6 are 3 sets of twins. Although he is the youngest and the smallest he is the leader of his brothers. One night after overhearing an argument between his parents he wakes his brothers and tells them they must run away before something bad happens. As they trudge through the countryside they grow together as a family and help each other.  

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

I enjoyed reading this book from multiple points of view. Mourlevat did a fantastic job of weaving the first person narratives together to tell the story of the brothers trek westward to the ocean. With every switch in point of view you learned more about what each brother was thinking as well as how the group looked to people they encountered. The different points of view led to the book being fast paced and a quick read. As I read the book I imagined what hand signals Yann was using to communicate with his brothers.

There are several cultural markers that help the reader know this book was set in France. The family's last name is Doutreleau and other characters name's are Jean-Michael, Francios, Pierre, Remy and Marthe. Some of the cities in the book were Perigueux and Bordeaux. Without these names it would be hard to know the setting of this book.

REVIEW EXCERPTS (AWARDS)

Mildred L. Batchelder Award
ALA Notable Book

Prix Sourcieres Winner (A French award for Children's Literature)

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Starred Review: “Indeed, Mourlevat enchantingly blends the harshly real and the make-believe, with the latter tipping the balance as this effectively haunting, fluidly translated tale comes to a close”

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Starred Review: ”A well-crafted mystery awaits anyone reading this fabled jigsaw puzzle. Multiple narratives, each from the point of view of the cast of characters, meticulously reveal pieces of the puzzle while the story slowly unfolds.”

BOOKLIST: “French author Mourlevat tells the story from multiple points of view. He also invests it with some symbolic weight…the story is intriguing, and the relationship among the brothers is heartwarming.”

CONNECTIONS

-Have students read a version of TOM THUMB then compare and contrast the two books.

-Have students write about sterotypes and what they first thought about Yann's character when they found out he was a midget and how that changed as they read the story.