The Education of a Fairy

What do you do when the woman of your life decides to leave you because she loves you?

How do you save your parents' marriage when you're eight years old?

Can a lost girl become a fairy because a little boy decided to believe in her?

With the strength, humor, and style that have made all his novels successful, Didier van Cauwelaert, winner of the Prix Goncourt for Un aller simple, shows us once again how the cruelest everyday life can tip into the marvelous, and distress can open the way to a second life.

Review from Librairie du Grimoire Ancien

Didier van Cauwelaert delivers a work of rare delicacy here, where social realism meets modern fairy tale with remarkable fluidity. A Prix Goncourt winner for Un aller simple, the author displays his full narrative mastery in L'Éducation d'une fée: refined writing, a keen sense of dialogue, and a unique ability to transform the banality of everyday life into poetic epiphany.

This novel subtly explores themes of abandonment, resilience, and faith in others. Van Cauwelaert constructs his characters with touching psychological depth, particularly the eight-year-old boy whose innocent gaze becomes the catalyst for collective metamorphosis. The author avoids the pitfalls of sentimentality to offer a nuanced reflection on the redemptive power of imagination and belief.

Published by Le Livre de Poche, this text follows in the tradition of great contemporary works that question our relationship with the magic of reality. A recommended read for all those who seek both refuge and revelation in literature.

— Librairie du Grimoire Ancien