The Pull of the Ocean
by Jean-Claude Mourlevat

A. Bibliography

Mourlevat, Jean-Claude. 2006. THE PULL OF THE OCEAN. New York, NY: Delacorte Press. ISBN 0385733488

B. PLOT SUMMARY

Translated from the French novel L'enfant Ocean, The Pull of the Ocean is loosely based on Tom Thumb by Charles Perrault. Discovering that his parents plan on doing all of the boys great harm, Yann, the youngest and a midget, leads his brothers to where he thinks they will be safe - the ocean. The story is told by various characters in the story (21 total), including the brothers, a truck driver, and a writer. Each person they encounter shares their perspective of the boys' adventure.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The setting for this work is a small village in France. As the boys are led across the French countryside by Yann, it is obvious by the names of the places they travel that they are in France: Perigueux, Limoges and Bordeaux. Each of these are on the way to the ocean. Other cultural markers noted are the boys lack of a traditional French shirt, LaCoste, indicating that they are in poverty as well as seeking shelter in a soccer stadium. Soccer is a huge sport in Europe and it certainly makes sense that the boys would see this as a safe place to hide.

This book is hard to pin down for placing in a particular genre but the Best of the Best Committee at PSLA has placed it in realistic fiction.

D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Publisher's Weekly: "Mourlevat enchantingly blends the harshly read and the make-believe ... [in this] effectively haunting, fluidly translated tale."

School Library Journal: "A well-crafted mystery awaits anyone reading this fabled jigsaw puzzle . . . a memorable novel that readers will find engaging and intellectually satisfying."

E. CONNECTIONS

1. As a class, discuss how one might go about getting to the beach from their current homes. What would be a viable means of transportation? How might they survive? Where would they go once they arrived?

2. Using a large map, locate France and determine how long it would truly take Yann to reach America. Discuss how immigration happened across U.S. history, including Ellis Island on the east coast and San Francisco on the west coast.