Pascal Bruckner never ceases to surprise me. "The Divine Child" is the story of a mother-to-be, that believes the unborn children have too much spare time on their hands; time is one of the most valuable things in the world and babies are basically wasting all this time sitting and being little dummies. She decides to educate her twin babies from the first days of pregnancy, offering them a huge advantage compared with others. But when the babies read the first newspapers, they start to wonder whether to become alive or not. Louis decides to stay inside the protective womb, while Celine chooses to live her life and experience all the things that she read about.

The book is full of ironic and satirical passages - more than once, behind a funny dialogue lies a profound idea or concept. It's definitively not the kind of book for everyone; there are some disgusting and intriguing passages, or some that might seem a bit offensive to some readers. There's also a lot of fantasy involved, with many situations that are impossible to believe or even imagine.

While reading the book, I found myself asking a few questions. How would life be if one manages not to be born? A mother offers the perfect shelter for the unborn baby; protected, isolated and completely shielded from the outside world, the baby has the chance to exist, yet not live. It's a very interesting concept that can provoke many questions.

The last chapter goes even further. Louis, the divine child that exists without being alive, experiences the temptations of life. Intelligence and eternal knowledge do not manage to protect the little devil from the seductive tentacles of human emotions. Will he succumb and become alive?