The one who manages to overcome the hurdle of a second, if not a third book, certainly deserves the title of writer, as is often heard in the hallways of Parisian publishing houses. After two first novels, “The Sword and the Dove” (1997) and “The Gate of Sands” (2008), Michel Cals leaves behind the enigma of the vast desert expanses in which he had wanted to immerse the reader and make them a witness to his questions, to return with “The Little Sloth” to the lands of his origins. This approach, common among humans, makes sense. After the exploration of such vast foreign expanses, it is no longer quite the same man who returned to the West. The intimate self-reflection characterizes the style of this “childhood in the South.” Stifling in his last book, the heat has become reassuring, enveloping. Maternal, we might dare say, if the psychological metaphor weren’t so often overused.
Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter whether the professor of literature who teaches at the University of Nice is recounting his own life or weaving adventures around a borrowed biography. Written in the language of this Languedoc region, these dozens of small slices of life, with their fast pace despite sometimes being repetitive, are imbued with the scent of rosemary and lavender and plunge us into an authentic and warm atmosphere. At the crossroads of “The Life Before Us” and “Marius,” this subtle mix of Romain Gary and Marcel Pagnol nurtures the coming-of-age journey of a little boy, which concludes with the death of “pépé” and marks his entry into adulthood. Beforehand, the young hero will have had numerous experiences: for example, recognizing the other in the person of the stranger—the narrative description of “Monsieur Allal” is powerful in its affect—while the reminiscence of games around the washhouse is as brief as it is rich in childhood imagination. The land often calls to the sea. Let us thank Michel Cals for this human-sized escapade. This third novel is a reflection of the kids who adorn the cover: mischievous, curious, brimming with energy. The “little sloth” is surely not lazy about life.
