The Pebble: An Allegory of the Holocaust by Marius Marcinkevičius, illustrated by Inga Dagilė and translated by Jura Avizienis is a clever telling of the Holocaust story via one child’s experiences. We follow a child from inside to the ghetto, to the day they leave and do not return. The mystical element might be assumed “real” and therefore, having a younger child missing the metaphor, but older readers/children and adults will appreciate it. The artwork is sparse, but creates a tone that allows the realism to be seen, but with a softer side. The use of color is important and is a character itself, while supporting the lore. A mixture of folklore, mythology, history, things are not an easy read, but worth the time.
Overall, this is an experience book with no two people who will experience the same thing. Also, I am not really sure I can recommend this book in my usual way. Which is me telling you to just pick it up and read. And my, “Trust me, you’ll like it,” without really giving a summary. This is not an easy book and not just for the reasons you might think. Therefore, not everyone should read it, or at least they need to find it “when the time is right.” The actual acts of the time period are not shown or told as we would see in another book but things are almost in a surreal way. The narrator of the story does “battle” but much of it is in his mind, and not reality. However, things are still straightforward and you know what is going to happen with real events.
There are several pieces that go into the fantastical elements and some straddle the line. This is more of a folktale due to what the pebbles are actually made from. And things like the symbol of the blackbirds solo are the soldiers represented, but we see the soldiers as well. Things are not “smooth” yet things flow. The recommendation I give is read this book four times: first read the illustrations or text; second read reverse illustrations/text; third combine the two; and finally you can give it to a child or read with them.
