The Killer's Tears

Starred review from January 16, 2006
French author Bondoux's (The Destiny of Linus Hoppe
) evocative and beautifully translated story reaches into the icy soul of a murderer and chronicles the warming effect of a needy and innocent boy. Set on the southernmost tip of Chile, the novel begins as Angel, a wanderer, arrives at young Paolo's house and kills his parents but spares Paolo, who can bring him water and cook him soup. Over time, Angel becomes attached to the boy as they build a new life together. But then another traveler, Luis, who is a good and learned man, stops in to stay, and Angel becomes more possessive of Paolo. Eventually this conflict leads to a bad end for Angel when they make a three-day journey to the city to purchase more animals. By then readers will have grown as attached to the two odd men and the lonely boy as the characters have become to each other. When Angel is jailed, Paolo is forbidden to see him and is warned that it is "not normal" to love a murderer. "He hoped his heart would wear out and stop beating. What other way was there to stop loving someone?" If not for the mention of surveillance cameras in the town's bank, this tale could be set almost anytime, considering that the trio travels on horseback and relies upon livestock for food. An affecting fable-like style and absorbing narrative sustain this unusual story to its redemptive conclusion. Ages 12-up.

March 1, 2006
The formidably inhospitable southern tip of Chile, where the land is "so tough, desolate, and abused by the wind that even the stones seemed in pain," provides the setting for this gripping novel-length parable from France about a boy and the murderer who becomes a devoted father to him. Young Paolo Poloverdo is dirty and neglected, living little better than the animals on his parents' isolated farm; one day, an on-the-run criminal named Angel Allegria arrives and methodically knifes Paolo's parents to death. An uncharacteristic twinge of mercy causes Angel to spare Paolo's life, and the two set up house together, burying Paolo's parents on the path to the vegetable garden, where their mounded grave serves as an unavoidable reminder of Angel's past sins and Paolo's vulnerability. In commanding, starkly poetic language that lends an almost magical beauty to the harsh landscape and events, Bondoux shows how these two outcasts become emotionally dependent on each other. Encounters with the outside world, precipitated by a wealthy traveler who stays with them at the farm, only solidify their bond. By the time the law inevitably catches up with Angel, it is not at all clear who the real villain is, Angel or those who seek to "rescue" Paolo from his grasp. With sure-handed artistry, Bondoux persuades readers that the murderer and his "son" belong together.

(Copyright 2006 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2006
The inhospitable southern tip of Chile provides the setting for this gripping novel from France. Angel, an on-the-run criminal, kills young Paolo's parents; an uncharacteristic twinge of mercy causes him to spare Paolo's life. In commanding, starkly poetic language, Bondoux shows how the two become emotionally dependent on each other and persuades readers that the murderer and his "son" belong together.

(Copyright 2006 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

February 1, 2006
Gr 8 Up -Young Paolo Poloverdo -s complex life is recounted in this translation of the winner of the French Prix Sorcieres. Set in a remote location in Chile, the story begins when a boy -s parents have their throats cut by a vagrant. In a rare moment of compassion, the murderer, Angel Allegros, decides not to kill the child. Paolo -s response to these events is curiously distant, as is the entire narrative. The boy is vaguely upset by, yet matter-of-fact about, his parents - deaths. A second visitor, Luis Secunda, eventually appears and Paolo dispassionately asks Angel not to stab the man because he does not feel like digging another grave. The three settle into an uneasy routine, with the adults vying to be Paolo -s father figure. A necessary trip to buy livestock is the catalyst for a number of tragic and perhaps inevitable events, including betrayal, an attempted suicide, and capital punishment. The major plot line concerns Angel -s awakening conscience. Through his relationship with the boy, he begins to see the importance of life and love. While the book -s haunting, melancholy air will keep readers turning pages, the complex yet remote telling gives it the feel of South-American literature, which may hold more appeal for adults than for teens." -B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Library, Sag Harbor, NY"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2006
Gr. 9-12. Bondoux's latest novel is a haunting, provocative blend of allegory, gritty social commentary, and magic realism that, like David Almond's work, defies definition. The shocking contradictions begin with the first scene: a thief and murderer named Angel kills a farmer and his wife and settles into their home on the desolate tip of Chile. He spares the family's small son, Paolo, and surprises himself with the intense devotion he develops for the boy. Then a young, wealthy traveler arrives, and at Paolo's insistence, the stranger settles into the improbable household at the end of the earth. Eventually, the trio is pulled back into the wider world, and its fragile connections are threatened and torn. The symbolism occasionally feels too purposeful, the characters more representational than real. But Bondoux asks the largest questions about crime, punishment, and how souls can change in language that is both visceral and poetic, and with unsparing, emotional truth, she describes a world in which the morality of the heart doesn't always match the morality of civilized society. "Poets know how to transform things," says one character. "They look at the world and they absorb it like a drink. And then when they start talking, nothing is the same." Winner of France's prestigious Prix Sorcieres, this novel is filled with challenging ideas and potent language that will pull readers in new directions.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)