absolut gandios erzählt. ( )

A heartbreaking and sweet fable of community and love. On a gray February morning that, as the narrator notes, was not a good morning for babies, simple-minded Camille's daughter Lydie is stillborn. Her neighbors' pity turns to shock when, two months later, Camille begins exulting that her baby has been returned to her... and, rather than force her to confront her shattering loss, they react with kindness. They play along. Who does it hurt, after all? Happiness is so precious and fragile... how much crueler it would be to deprive Camille of her happy fantasy, and for whose benefit? A neighbor woman contributes some hand-me-downs "for Lydie". Another brings a doll. The priest, against his better judgment, is talked into baptizing her. The role-playing becomes more and more elaborate and sweeps everybody in--and, if outsiders are flabbergasted by Lydie and her place in the community, who cares? As the years roll by and the imaginary baby grows into an imaginary child, there are hints that Lydie is only as unreal as she's perceived to be. ( )