Joseph Joffo Quote
a bag of marbles It is the most representative work of the French Joseph Joffo. Despite being rejected by several publishers, he managed to publish it in 1973 in his native country, where it immediately became a publishing success. The text recounts the writer's experiences with his brother Maurece at the beginning of World War II, when they were just children.
It is a story in which vicissitudes and injustices abound, however, despite the hard times lived, hope never fades. In recent decades, the title has been published in 18 different languages, with a record sales of more than 20 million copies. A year after its presentation, the narrative was recognized with the Broquette-Gonin prize.
Summary of a bag of marbles
Start of occupation
France, year 1941, the Joffo couple lived in Paris in a modest way and happy, along with their minor children, Maurice and Joseph. As usual, the little ones had fun playing marbles, until one day, without warning, everything changed. Returning to their father's barbershop, the children ran into two officers from the SS organization, in what was their first encounter with the Nazis.
momentous decision
After the German invasion, everyone's life was drastically transformed; the Joffo family began to fear for their safety. To protect your children, decided to send them to Menton (free zone), where they would reunite with their older brothers. However, due to the imposition of the yellow star, it was not easy to go unnoticed, so they had to disguise themselves to elude the army.
a difficult journey
The exhaustion from the kilometers traveled was overwhelming. During the crossing they managed to earn money and be able to eat, although the lack of supplies due to the contingency of war made everything difficult. The road was plagued by Nazi soldiers, so they had to make adventures to avoid being arrested.
without losing hope
Despite every obstacle, the young people met with Albert and Henri in Menton, and, after a long period, they later joined their parents in Nice. Once in family, they returned to normality again and returned to school for a consecutive year.
However, the calm did not last long, Ya que the Italian occupation zone was broken into by the Germans, which caused them to have to separate. That was how the Joffo brothers and the rest of their family embarked on a new adventure. In this period of uncertainty full of ups and downs, they had to deal with difficulties, arrests, deportations and more, just because they were Jewish.
Basic data of the work
a bag of marbles is a autobiographical novel, set in Paris, France, in the 40s. The plot unfolds over 11 chapters —253 pages—. It is narrated in the first person by one of its protagonists, with a simple and sensitive language. The author highlighted compassion, love and brotherhood throughout history.
Characters
Joseph (JoJo)
He is the protagonist and main narrator of the novel. He is 10 years old and is the youngest son of the Joffo family. Along with his brother, he embarks on a hard journey to save their lives.. Throughout the journey he showed great courage, which allowed him to strengthen himself and jump over the obstacles that came his way.
Maurice
He is another of the novel's protagonists. who accompanies Jojo on the trip to the free zone. Although she was only 12 years old, temperately assumed his role as older brother. That is why I try to fully comply with the instructions of his father, despite the difficulties along the way. Just as at all times he protected his brother and showed him his love.
Mr Joffo
He is the father of Maurice and Joseph. He -key piece of history— is the one who must make the difficult decision to send his two youngest children away. In addition, she instructed them about the migration process and how they should behave until they find their brothers. He harshly taught them how they had to deny that they were Jews, because their being alive depended on that.
Other characters
During the course of the story, several characters intervened who were representative for the Joffo. Among them, your brothers, who protected them at different key moments. also stand out Zerati —Jojo's non-Jewish friend, who supported him in a difficult circumstance— and the bishop of the city —who helped them deceive the Gestapo to continue their flight—.
Film adaptations
So far, two movies have been made. a bag of marbles, both of French production. The first was directed by Jacques Doillon in 1975, just two years after the novel's release. Unfortunately, the film did not have professional actors, and did not enjoy the approval of the author of the work.
The second film was released in 2017 and was directed by Cristian Duguay. This time the adaptation was faithful to what was narrated in the book, and therefore captivated a large audience. The film was masterfully set, getting to accurately show the torrential aftermath left by Nazi occupation on French soil.
About the author, Joseph Joffo
joseph joffo
Joseph Joffo was born on April 2, 1931 in Pais, France. His father was the Russian émigré Romano Joffo and his mother the violinist Anna Markoff. He lived his childhood in the Jewish neighborhood Arrodissement, in the French capital. There studied at the college on Rue Ferdinand-Flocom. For a decade everything went completely normal until the arrival of the Nazis in the country.
In his adolescence, after reuniting with his family, he settled again in Paris. At the age of fourteen he dropped out of school. —driven by the death of his father— and took over the reins of the family barbershop with his brothers.
Work experience
Throughout his life Joseph Joff stood out as a writer, screenwriter, actor, novelist and businessman. For many years he worked as a hairdresser and continued his father's legacy by founding a dozen salons in Paris, with more than 400 employees. This is how he built a famous beauty empire with a wide and select clientele.
In 1970, due to a ski incident, he was forced to be at home and run his business from there. In the long run, this caused him to delegate the direction of his salons, allowing him to begin to capture his childhood memories, and see the birth of his first novel.
Literary race
In 1973, the author published his first novel, a bag of marbles, with edition of the writer Patrick Cauvin. The work received a resounding success and catapulted Joffo's career. Although his start in the literary world was late, the impulse of this title was such that the author was able to continue his life as a writer. That first triumph was followed by another 16 novels, among which stand out: Anna and her orchestra (1975) Simon and the boy (1981) and The sharing (2005)
Death
Joseph Joffo died on December 6, 2018 in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, on the French Riviera, aged 87. For a long time he struggled with a serious illness that led him to spend his last days in a hospital. His remains rest in Père Lachaise Cemetery, one of the largest and most recognized in Paris.