The Most Precious of Cargoes
For readers of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Book Thief, Jean-Claude Grumberg’s haunting fable, an enormous bestseller in his native France, tells a story of the Holocaust and the remarkable acts of kindness of which people are capable.
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'A magnificent small book to read urgently' Libération
Once upon a time in an enormous forest there lived a poor woodcutter and his wife. Around them a war wages, and hunger is a constant companion. Yet every night, the woodcutter's wife prays for a child.
On a train crossing the forest, a Jewish father holds his twin children. His wife no longer has enough milk to feed them. In hopes of saving both their lives, he wraps his daughter in a shawl and gently throws her from the train.
While foraging for food, the woodcutter's wife finds a bundle, a baby girl wrapped in a shawl. She knows that this little girl will be pursued, but she cannot ignore this gift: she will accept the precious cargo, and raise her as her own. . .
Set against the horrors of the Holocaust and told with a fairytale-like lyricism, The Most Precious of Cargoes, translated from French by Frank Wynne, is a deeply moving fable about family and redemption, a story that reminds us that humanity can be found in the most inhumane of places.
Additional information
| Weight | 130 g |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 197 × 130 × 9 mm |
| Author | |
| Publisher | Picador |
| Imprint | Picador |
| Cover | Paperback |
| Pages | 112 |
| Language | English |
| Edition | 1st paperback ed |
| Dewey | 843.914 (edition:23) |
| Readership | General – Trade / Code: K |
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