A Bag of Marbles is a Second World War autobiographical novel by the French Jewish author Joseph Joffo. It tells the story of his flight, as a small boy, with his brother Maurice to escape from Nazi occupied France to the Zone Libre. Joseph is an ordinary boy with ordinary interests; he dislikes lessons and enjoys playing marbles with his friends. But in 1941 when Paris is occupied by the Nazis his childhood comes to an end. Never before having known what it means to be a Jew, Joseph is forced to wear a yellow star. Unwilling to wear a label announcing to the world he is different, he makes... his first business transaction with Zérati, a friend from school; his yellow star exchanged for a bag of marbles. The racism which results from the occupation leaves only one possibility to Joseph and his brother Maurice: they must flee. Their father, who owns a hairdressing salon, advises them what to do when they leave. Despite having been driven from their home because of their Jewish identity, they are told they must never let anyone know that they are Jews. They are attempting to escape from the grasp of Hitler and his S.S. men as they infiltrate France.
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| Author: | Joseph Joffo |
| Genre: | Autobiographical novel, Children's literature |
| Year published: | 1973 |
| Number of editions: | 3 |