Jean-Claude Mourlevat: France Author

How do I choose a topic? It is a mystery. Why, among all the pebbles from the beach, pull this one and not another one? I think write especially because of the scars left behind on children.

Jean-Claude Mourlevat

Jean-Claude Mourlevat was born in France in 1952 and studied in Strasbourg, Stuttgart, and Bonn. He was a German teacher for a few years before devoting himself to theater. He staged one–man shows in France and abroad as well as performing in plays by Brecht, Cocteau, and Shakespeare.

His first writing was in the form of short stories that he intended to be told orally, and then he went on to write longer stories of various genres. Mourlevat learned the importance of keeping an audience entertained and on the edge of their seats through interesting narratives with twists and turns. His first novel, entitled La Balafre, was published in 1998.

Mourlevat savors the rhythm of sentences and the sheer sound of words. While he writes he speaks his words aloud as they ought to be spoken. While he writes about serious subjects such as abandonment, solitude, and violence, he does not like to focus on its misery. Whenever a topic becomes too painful he alleviates it with a lighter moment by means of fantasy or humor. The happy endings in which his heroes discover the right place after a long difficult journey illustrate the author's profound optimism.

He has won numerous awards for his writing. L'Enfant Ocean (The Pull of the Ocean) won the 2007 Mildred L. Batchelder Award given to a publisher for an outstanding children's book translated from a foreign language and published in the United States. It was also selected by the American Library Association as a Notable Book for Children. L'Enfant Ocean, told by many narrators, shows readers how the same situation can be perceived differently depending on one's point of view. This social fable introduces the themes of racism, loneliness, and inadequate parenting in a sensitive manner.

In Le Combat d'hiver (The Winter Song), published in 2006, the story of the overthrowing of a Communist-style state is portrayed through the eyes of four teenage friends. This captivating tale takes readers on a journey of love, friendship, courage, and hope while tackling adult issues in a sensitive and thoughtful way. Le Combat d'hiver received several awards, including the Prix France Televisions, 2007; Prix Saint-Exupery, 2007; Prix Sorcieres, 2008; and Prix Paul Hurtmans Belgique, 2008. Today Jean-Claude Mourlevat is considered to be one of the best authors of children's fiction in France.