Bondoux, Anne-Laure. The killer's tears.

BONDOUX, Anne-Laure. The killer's tears. Random House, Delacorte. 163p. map. c2003.0385-73293-7 $15.95. JSA*

This deceptively simple tale, a prizewinner in France, is in fact a haunting exploration of guilt and innocence, and of the redemptive power of a loving relationship. With a map to guide us, readers are transported to the southern tip of Chile, a place of desolation, where the story begins with a killer taking refuge at an isolated farm. Paolo, a young boy of indeterminate age, perhaps tire, perhaps ten, lives there with his parents. Angel, the killer, murders the parents and allows Paolo to live because he sees him as useful. Some time later, another wanderer named Luis takes shelter with them, and a strange dynamic starts to occur--Angel worries that Paolo might like the other person better. He claims to be Paolo's father, and so begins an emotional attachment such as Paolo has never before experienced in his miserable life. Time passes, Paolo learns to read and write from Luis, and it becomes necessary for the three of them to journey to a town to purchase more farm animals so that they can survive. At the town, Angel is identified as a wanted fugitive, Luis finds love with a young artist and escapes with her, and Paolo wants to die. Literally. It takes Angel to rescue him and help him to be attached to life: it is Angel's tears, a killer's tears, which change everything for both Angel and Paolo.

It seems necessary to describe the story in some detail to explain just how different this is from the YA fiction genre we know. I am reminded of The Giver, in that simplicity is employed to look deeply at the great themes of life--an allegorical device. The writing is excellent, and the translation from the French works well. I can imagine this book being used in classrooms, either in the original French, or in translation, to illustrate the power of language and story to engage the imagination and encourage thinking and discussion.

Claire Rosser, KLIATT