Versilio

Fiction
Country : France
Editor:
ISBN : 2221107136
Published Date : 04/05/2007

This is the story of a group of adolescents who were part of a Resistance Brigade during World War II. Barely twenty years of age, many of them were immigrants.

This is the story of a group of adolescents who were part of a Resistance Brigade during World War II. Barely twenty years of age, many of them were immigrants. What united them was their indestructible belief that freedom was worth fighting for - that one day Spring would return.

In Children of Freedom, Marc Levy captures the everyday life of Jeannot and his fellow members of the 35th Brigade. This group was based out of Toulouse and it succeeded in resisting the occupying forces, the local militia and collaborating Frenchmen. Resisting took many forms. Sometimes it was about creating havoc, undermining others' plans, dreaming and plotting about a different world. Sometimes it was about killing. The enemy had eyes and ears everywhere and no one could be trusted. Almost no one. These full blooded youngsters were not even allowed to take the risk of falling in love. For love would be too valuable a bargaining tool if any of them were ever caught. Yet even in the most dire circumstances, these young men and women found things to laugh about. Even when they had next to nothing left to give, they were generous. And even though it was forbidden, they did fall in love.
From the very first page to the last, the reader is torn between the hope that the heroes will survive, and the knowledge that their death is almost inevitable. Fast paced, profoundly moving, this novel leaves the reader with the sweet and lingering taste of a playful smile, long after it is finished.

This novel is based on a true story. The 35th Brigade did exist and it was made up of adolescents, many of whom cried "vive la France" with a foreign accent. One of the members of the Brigade was Marc Levy's father. His code name was Jeannot.

Author's biography - Marc Levy


© Davin Ken

Marc Levy was born in France on October 16th, 1961. When he turned eighteen, he joined the Red Cross, where he spent the next six years. In parallel, he studied management and computer programming at Paris-Dauphine University. In 1983, he created a computer graphics company based in France and the United States.

Six years later, he lost majority control of the group and resigned. Starting again from scratch, he returned to Paris and co-founded an interior design and planning company with two friends; the company soon became one of the leading office architecture firms in France.

At thirty-seven, Marc Levy wrote a story for the man that his son would grow up to be. In early 1999, his sister, a screenwriter (now a film director), encouraged him to send the manuscript to Editions Robert Laffont, who immediately decided to publish If Only It Were True. Before it was published, Steven Spielberg (Dreamworks) acquired film rights to the novel. The movie,  Just like Heaven, produced by Steven Spielberg, starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo, was a #1 box office hit in America in 2005.

After If Only It Were True, Marc Levy began writing full-time. All of his novels have hit the top of the best-seller list in France. They are also very successful internationally and are consistently on the bestseller list in several countries including Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, and Taiwan.

If Only It Were True, 2000 (adapted for film in 2005)

Finding You, 2001 (adapted for television in 2007)

Seven Days for an Eternity, 2003

In Another Life, 2004

If Only It Were True 2, 2005

London Mon Amour, 2006 (adapted to film in 2008)

Children of Freedom, 2007

All Those Things We Never Said, 2008.

The First Day, 2009

The First Night, 2009 (the sequel to The First Day)

The Shadow Thief, 2010

The Strange Journey of Mr. Daldry, 2011

Replay, 2012

Stronger than fear, 2013

Another Idea of Happiness, 2014

Elle & Lui, 2015

Hope, 2016

The Last of the Stanfields, 2017

 

His latest novel, A Woman Like Her, will be published in France on May 18, 2018.

 

The combined sales of Marc Levy's seventeen novels, translated into 49 languages, have surpassed the 40 million copy mark worldwide. Marc Levy is the most read French author in the world. (Source for all rankings and figures: Ipsos/Livres Hebdo/Le Figaro)

Marc Levy has also written short stories and directed a short film for Amnesty International, Nabila's Letter, screened in March 2004. In addition, he has written song lyrics for various artists including Johnny Hallyday.

 

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