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"A writer of satanic genius" (France-Soir), Michel Tournier is widely lauded as the most remarkable French novelist of his generation. Infusing a classical style with an entirely original and complex vision of the world, his audacious works arouse passionate reactions. Now, in his newest novel, Tournier creates a talke of disturbing power, a haunting story of innocence lost and regained.
Tending his sheep in the solitude of a desert oasis, Idris, a young Berber shepherd, has his photo snapped by a beautiful blonde tournig in a Land-Rover. Compelled to recover that part of his soul which the alluring stranger has spirited away, he leaves begind the Sahara and, following a trail blazed by countless Algerian emigrants, is drawn to the seductive corruption of Paris. With no money and no valuables other than a tiny teardrop made of gold, Idris wanders, a lost child in a bizarre and dreamlike world. But it is the "golden droplet" which holds the key to his destiny. A rare Berber jewel symbolizing true beauty, the droplet is also an Ancient Roman talisman, a protector of innocence and freedom. Idris has been told that he will lose the precious amulet once he becomes a man. Now, as others like the woman in the desert attempt to capture and possess his handsome image, he must struggle to hold on to the sweet yet fragile purity of his youth.
Says the London Observer of Michel Tournier, " He has taken old stories known to all mankind, and transformed them, not beyond recognition, but into something modern and more profound." THE GOLDEN DROPLET is such a story. A myth, an allegory for our time, it is a magical novel imbued wiht the electric prose that has made Tournier one of hte contemporary masters of European fiction.

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