The Divine Child: A Novel of Prenatal Rebellion

Madeleine Barthelemey is pregnant with twins. On the advice of her doctor, she decides to undertake their education in utero. Celine is born – whose cleverness and erudition vanish the moment she enters the world. Witnessing her fate Louis rejects birth altogether and embarks on a campaign of prenatal rebellion. His mother tries to starve him out; he retaliates by attacking her internal organs. Louis’s fetal crusade become a cause celcbre – he soon becomes both a cult figure and a powerful media icon, eventually demanding, and receiving, an audience with God. With acerbic wit and a remarkably light touch, Pascal Bruckner plunges full force into a dystopian vision of creation gone awry, of reproductive mutiny. The Divine Child is an unforgettable, delightfully irreverent, and original tale from one of France’s most distinctive storytellers.