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Résumé
Résumé
A breathless adventure from international award winner Timothée de Fombelle charts a desperate search for identity across the vast expanses of Europe.
In a world between wars, a young man on the cusp of taking priestly vows is suddenly made a fugitive. Fleeing the accusations of police who blame him for a murder, as well as more sinister forces with darker intentions, Vango attempts to trace the secrets of his shrouded past and prove his innocence before all is lost. As he crisscrosses the continent via train, boat, and even the Graf Zeppelin airship, his adventures take him from Parisian rooftops to Mediterranean islands to Scottish forests. A mysterious, unforgettable, and romantic protagonist, Vango tells a thrilling story sure to captivate lovers of daring escapades and subversive heroes.
Critiques (2)
Critique de Horn Book
The hero of this fast-paced adventure tale is as elusive and capable as a superhero, as personable and obscure, a figure made wholly of romance, mystery, and action. When we first meet Vango in the mid-1930s, he's lying face-down in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, about to be ordained a priest. Within moments, police pursue him, a killer shoots at him, and he scales the front of Notre-Dame and flees like a bird. In effect, de Fombelle's novel is one long chase scene, interspersed with flashbacks to orphan Vango's idyllic childhood in Italy's Aeolian Islands and to the political pasts of those who pursue him--out of friendship or enmity. World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the rise of fascism all come into play as de Fombelle flits from scene to scene, character to character, drawing in a buffoonish police superintendent, a zeppelin commander, a clever Scots heiress, and Joseph Stalin himself--along with pirates, political activists, arms dealers, and a population of monks in a hidden monastery. Who is Vango? The question drives the story, and although de Fombelle provides some answers, he leaves readers many questions with which to await the sequel. Unusual and captivating. deirdre f. baker (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Critique de Booklist
*Starred Review* Moments before his ordination as a priest, in the shadow of Paris' Notre Dame, Vango, a 19-year-old boy who is falsely accused of murder, must flee the police. So begins a glorious adventure story that will take Vango and his pursuers not only the police but also dark forces from Joseph Stalin's Russia across Europe by foot, train, and even the celebrated airship Graf Zeppelin. Why the Russians are after him is a mystery, but, then, Vango's whole life is a mystery. Washed ashore on a tiny island with his nurse when he was only two or three, the boy doesn't know who his parents were, where he came from, or why he is being pursued. But the devil himself seems to be after him. One hairbreadth escape after another marks his uneasy progress. A mysterious young woman named the Cat, a sequestered monastery, a Scottish heiress, a notorious arms dealer, and a French police superintendent all become inextricably entwined in Vango's life. French author de Fombelle has written a brilliant, wonderfully exciting story of flight and pursuit, filled with colorful characters and head-scratching mystery. As the novel proceeds, the suspense is ratcheted up to breathtaking levels as the boy remains only one step ahead of his relentless pursuers. This reminds even the most jaded readers of the abiding pleasures of a compelling, page-turning story. The only drawback: a frustratingly inconclusive ending that demands a sequel. Readers can only hope one will be forthcoming.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2014 Booklist
