It was not easy to read this book: especially because the protagonist, in search of his origin, is not a guy like everyone. Pascal is a mulatto with an otherworldly beauty, with smooth and black hair and his eyes,of a gray-green, reminds the sea. Born on Easter day and abandoned in the shed of the Ballandra couple, both rose growers, he begins to perform miracles from an early age. People believe in him and see him as a new Messiah. But who is really this boy? Is he the son of God or is he an impostor? Pascal is not interested in all this. He has only one obsession: find his parents. He only knows his father ‘s name, Corazón, and he seeks him feverishly between Guadeloupe, New York and the favelas. Will he find his family? And what is his mission? There are many questions in this story that excites, to read in one breath. It is a work full of biblical and philosophical references that urges us to reflect on the possibility of building a more just society.
Our readers were attracted by the brightly coloured cover but I must say that, slowly, the story has really passionate them! From the beginning, and throughout the story, there are evident parallels with the Holy Scriptures in order to present Pascal, the protagonist, as a new Jesus, a Messiah of our days. His wanderings in constant search for answers to his questions about the meaning of human life and the wonderful descriptions of the French Caribbean islands and Brazil have thrilled everyone.
The writer Maryse Condé is a Guadeloupean, French language author of historical fiction. Her novels explore racial, gender, and cultural issues in a variety of historical eras and locales. Winner of the 2018 Alternative Nobel Prize, with the latest novel, dictated word for word because of the disease, she gives us her spiritual testament.
