The classic French novel celebrated for its deeply felt depiction of childhood. Neglected by his parents, bullied by his peers, left to wander the streets and woods by himself (that is, when he isn’t locked in his room or the cellar for punishment), the little redheaded boy known as “Poil de Carotte” [“Carrot Top”] manages to triumph through imagination, cunning, and sheer persistence. An inspiration to writers as diverse as Barthelme, Beckett, and Sartre, Jules Renard’s timeless novel-in-stories is at once the lyrical account of a hard-knock provincial childhood and a frighteningly acute psychological study of how cruelty can affect a young mind-a book that is by turns chilling, humorous, and quietly beautiful.