La Promesse de l’aube, published in 1960, is one of the most widely read and loved books in French literature, with more than one million copies sold since its publication in paperback in 1973. Its author, Romain Gary, an immigrant of Russian and Lithuanian origin, portrays his mother, an extravagant and exuberant woman, who deploys an insane energy in the face of adversity so that her son will have a grandiose destiny. It is a story in the form of an autobiography, that of the unconditional and senseless love of a mother for her son, told with great tenderness and humor. A love beyond measure, an unattainable injunction that will be the solid foundation on which the author has based his entire existence: “you will be a hero!” A moving tale of crazy maternal love and filial loyalty.

Born in 1914 and died in 1980, Romain Gary is a multi-faceted writer, screenwriter, director, aviator and Resistance fighter during the Second World War. He is the only writer to receive the Prix Goncourt twice under two different pseudonyms. Facetious and funny, media-savvy and modest, he remains one of the most popular French writers of the 20th century.

We read this book in the fall of 2022.