Angels in America. Le Millenium approche-Perestroïka

Mars 1985. Devant le Kremlin, deux Babouchkas balaient la neige en discutant de l'avenir de la dictature du prolétariat. On rencontre ensuite deux lesbiennes en garde des cerveaux des grands penseurs du communisme, de vieux membres du Politburo qui attendent les temps nouveaux, une fillette victime de la pollution radioactive, etc. Une sarabande de personnages, à la fois réels, poétiques, et farces, créés de main de maître par l'auteur d'«Angels in America».

Une femme, la Femme, abandonne sa vie d'occidentale, à Londres, pour se dissoudre dans la société islamique de Kaboul. Son mari et sa fille partent à sa recherche dans la ville des talibans où on leur annonce qu'elle a été assassinée. Ce n'est pas l'opinion du poète reconverti en mahram, ni de Mahala, la femme répudiée. Où est la vérité ...

K Up-A picture book based on a 1938 Czech opera, originally performed by the children of Terezin. A brother and sister try to get milk for their sick mother. They sing for coins in the town square, but Brundibar the organ grinder drowns out their words with his "teeth-chattery bone-rattley horrible song." Pepicek and Aninku then join voices with 300 other children and earn enough coins to fill their "soon-to-be-milkbucket." The playful language, with occasional rhyme and alliteration, is a perfect match for Sendak's spirited young heroes. The illustrations reflect varied undertones of a powerful story that works on different levels, including many references to the Holocaust. Scenes in the town show rich adults ignoring the desperate siblings, while other children also suffer from hunger. A banner matches a sign that covered the gates of Auschwitz, and several townsfolk wear yellow Stars of David. Brundibar vaguely resembles Hitler, particularly in one scene where he appears, huge and purple faced, with a clenched fist. A wordless spread showing grieving parents is poignant in itself, but tragic within the Holocaust context. Most kids won't get the literal references, but will respond directly to the images of the ominous, yet hopeful world depicted. In the end everyone sings triumphantly that "the wicked never win" and "our friends make us strong," but a final scribbled message from Brundibar promises that he'll be back. This is an ambitious picture book that succeeds both as a simple children's story and as a compelling statement against tyranny.Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, ORCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.