From one of France's best-known authors comes this evocative meditation on the human comedy. A freighter is impounded in the port of Marseilles when its owners

Ilvie Little, the curious elf, has had enough of the beautiful but boring land of the elves and decides to discover the big, wide world.Together with her friend

A sailor famed for his seamanship and luck is shipwrecked on a tiny island, where his darkest hour gives rise to rescue and a new life.