I found this book at a flea market last fall, and bought it with a book of Mozart’s piano sonatas for $1! At the time, all I really noticed was that it was a Paul Gallico book with a title that I didn’t recognize from my mom’s bookshelf. I didn’t realize how lucky I was with my purchase until I got home and looked at it more closely. Not only was the book a first edition that was in pretty good condition, but its story was the basis for one of my favorite films as a kid: Lili, with Leslie Caron and Mel Ferrer!Love of Seven Dolls is certainly a much darker story than the one portrayed in the film. After being fired from her job, Mouche no longer knows what to do. She’s an orphan, with no home and little money. She’s skinny and plain, and all the managers at the cafés and review shows where she applied for work told her that with her looks and lack of talent, she’d only inspire pity from their patrons. As she reflects on her woes and contemplates suicide, a little voice calls out to her—a wooden puppet named Carrot Top, who offers her a means of escape by joining his traveling show.As a kid watching the film, I was always fascinated at how the puppets came to life through their interactions with the girl and seeing them through her innocent eyes. It was like magic. When reading the book, Gallico’s able to instill that same feeling through his prose. But here it has a greater significance. Mouche’s relationship with these seven dolls is like a balm. It helps her retain her sense of innocence, and helps her temporarily forget the abuse she suffers at the hands of her boss Capitaine Coq (Michel Peyrot). Michel is certainly a complex character with a sordid past, interlaced with lots of pain and suffering from childhood on. Yes, he’s a bastard, especially in his actions towards Mouche. He can’t tolerate constantly witnessing Mouche’s youth and innocence, the feelings he was denied from having even as a young boy, so he can only reason that he must destroy and corrupt it. But I do like the theory brought out in the book by Golo: Nothing is entirely bad or evil, that there’s still a soul or conscience, though it’s buried deeply. Golo and Mouche see it manifested in those seven dolls, each one bearing flaws, but also seeking approval, assurance, care and love.Definitely a good read and another favorite of mine. Though I still can’t quite come to terms that this is a book that comes from the same author that wrote The Poseidon Adventure.
'In Paris, in the spring of our times, a young girl was about to throw herself into the Seine.' I read this years ago when a teenager, and have never forgotten it. Perhaps it was my first adult novel. Sentimental yet dark, this story of a young homeless girl is set in the poorstreets of Paris, with a strange menage of characters - seven puppets, who strut their stuff on a small stage. The unfolding of the story has undercurrents of violence, but all this is escaped as Mouche, the heroine, enters the world of the seven dolls. The end inevitably brings me to tears.
What do You think about Love Of Seven Dolls (1989)?
It's a very short novel but very well-written. So poignant and the author managed to convey how troubled Michel was and Mouche innocence was so appealing. It was very hard to put down.
—Clark
Simply love this book.I like to think I'm relatively tough (not over-sentimental) but there are some books that make we weep like a child. This is one. Paul Gallico has written two of the less than ten that have done it (the other is Flowers for Mrs Harris which gets me about three ways and is simply one of the best books about human nature and the importance of dreams and decency over possessions.Paul Gallico simply does not get the reputation he deserves - too often he is thought of as someone who wrote some nice cat stories.
—Richard Beasley
*spoiler alert*I originally read this book when I was about 13 or 14, and didn't fully comprehend some of the darker themes of it. Though I was fully aware of the abusive nature of Mouche and Michel's relationship, it never fully crossed my mind that *this was rape*. I was mainly caught up in the mystery and fairy tale of the puppets and Mouche's relationship with them, and thus I found the book enchanting (and still do) and it did not upset or surprise me when Mouche and Michel ended up together, it was actually the "happy" ending I had hoped for. I realise now that it may not be as happy as I originally thought.With our modern sensibilities it now seems outrageous for Mouche to fall in love with the man who abuses her, but whatever you feel about that ending, I don't think that that is the point of this book.I don't think it's about Capitaine Coq changing, and Mouche falling in love with his new self. I always thought that the idea is that he has always had goodness in him, but only knew how to express it through his puppets. Mouche falls in love with them, not him, not realising that they are one and the same. This is why the last chapter has such a big impact; it's the moment when she realises that the puppets she loves are not real, but the man who puppets them is, and in truth it is him that she loves.Also, whilst some things in this book are now considered racism and abuse, I do not think it is right for us to judge Paul Gallico for including them. He is not promoting either rape or racism, it's just the attitudes at the time were different and we have to accept that. Take it at face value as a piece of its time, don't condemn his writing for it or you will completely spoil the magic of the book for yourself.Obviously I don't believe that women should stay with abusive partners, or that Mouche's decisions at the end and indeed throughout the book are morally or logically sound, but my point is that I don't have to in order to appreciate this book, and Gallico's writing style. I am not defending either Mouche or Coq, because it is not necessary. This is just my opinion and I wanted to share it.
—Emily
