Certainly one of my best emotions drive! This novel contains everything to me: a beautiful style, an unconventional love story, humor, metaphysics, hope (despite all ...), cynicism, adventure, a grain madness (or more!) ... To make things worse he treats a period that fascinates me: that of the forty war (especially it speaks of resistance and collaboration that mintéressent both). Above all these interest reasons, a moral of this book is to never despair and accept the craziness that is in each of us and that can be the seeds of hope in moments the blacker. Thus the main hero of this fabulous novel survive the horrors of war through their guilty pleasures: Ludo, the narrator hero is crazy and his exclusive love for Lila (who continues to live in him as true as nature when they are separated for long periods), for Lila is his love for Ludo and his fixed idea of becoming "someone" (even if it changes the project all the time without really achieve!), to Fleury ( the hero's uncle) is his passion for kites (which allow it to maintain the part of childhood that he keeps in him which allows him to remain a steadfast optimist) for Duprat (the cooked star) is self-fulfillment in the best kitchens as a challenge to be contrary elements, for Julie (Jewish madam mother) is the strong will to stay, not to give in, fight and defeat the occupier ... It is also noteworthy that this novel is not Manichean. It does not mean one side the "bad" German torturers and the other the nice French victims of the occupant. On the contrary, there is a range of characters more or less positive on both sides. But there are few true selfless hero. And Gary made the bitter fact that Nazism is part of humanity (it is too convenient to consider it inhumane to hide it) and announced that the culprits are not German but the man himself and that the next "major culprit" in the story will be another country in Europe, Asia, America or Africa. Unfortunately history has proved him right several times already ... A true masterpiece, to be enjoyed in small bites to make it last as long as possible.
