BOOK REVIEW

Love of Seven Dolls by Paul Gallico

Can you suspend judging problematic content to enjoy a beautifully written book?

My copy of Love of Seven Dolls. Photo by author — fair use

Love of Seven Dolls by Paul Gallico is the tale of Mouche (a young woman cast adrift in 1950s Paris), seven puppets who befriend her, and their mysterious puppeteer, Capitaine Coq. I found the 90-page story beautiful, poignant, dark, joyful, and also quite challenging.

I came across Love of Seven Dolls in a Re-Read in Madrid. For those living in Spain, you’ll know that Re-Read is a bookstore chain selling second-hand books. They usually have a selection of English-language books so the stores have been a great source of reading material since I moved to Barcelona.

Love of Seven Dolls was written by the American writer, Paul Gallico (1897–1976). Gallico started his career as a sports journalist before turning to fiction writing in the 1930s. His most famous works are probably The Poseidon Adventure and The Snow Goose.

You might find elements of Love of Seven Dolls familiar. Gallico originally wrote a short story, The Man Who Hated People, in 1950. That story inspired the 1953 film, Lili, starring Leslie Caron, which in turn inspired the 1961 Broadway musical, Carnival. In the meantime, Gallico reworked The Man Who Hated People into…