Lorsque la guerre fait irruption dans son village, le quotidien d’Adel, un petit garçon, bascule. Parents divorcés, amis absents, il lui reste heureusement deux insectes imaginaires qui lui tiennent lieu de compagnons. Amené à prendre très vite des décisions qui le dépassent, Adel se retrouve dans un camp au milieu du désert où les combattants, ces grandes personnes, ont l’air d’enfants perdus, et où le cheikh le force à agir en adulte. L’occasion pour Adel de s’interroger sur le regard que l’on porte sur lui, et de se forger, seul, sa propre identité... Jadd Hilal signe avec fraîcheur le roman d’un apprentissage quelque peu décalé, en miroir de nos interrogations.

When war breaks out in his village, Adel's daily life is turned upside down. His parents are divorced, his friends are away, but fortunately he still has two imaginary insects to keep him company. Quickly forced to make decisions that are beyond his control, Adel finds himself in a camp in the middle of the desert where the combatants, these grown-ups, look like lost children, and where the sheikh forces him to act like an adult. It's an opportunity for Adel to question the way people see him, and to forge his own identity on his own... Jadd Hilal has written a fresh novel about a slightly offbeat apprenticeship that mirrors our own questions.