Бешеный

27 avgusta 1934 goda 56 podrostkov sbezhali iz kolonii dli͡a nesovershennoletnikh na frant͡suzskom ostrove Belʹ-Ilʹ. S ostrova oni vybratʹsi͡a nikak ne mogli. Na sbezhavshikh malʹchikov - nekotorye ne starshe desi͡ati let - obʺi͡avili okhotu. Nadzirateli, zhandarmy, mestnye zhiteli i dazhe redkie turisty s azartom ryskali po ostrovu v poiskakh izmozhdennykh, obessilennykh beglet͡sov. Za kazhdogo malʹchishku, i nevazhno, desi͡atʹ emu let ili vosemnadt͡satʹ, obʺi͡avili nagradu v 20 frankov. Budut poĭmany vse beglet͡sy, krome odnogo. . . Istorii͡a ėta polnostʹi͡u pravdivai͡a. Kolonii͡a na ostrove Belʹ-Ilʹ sushchestvovala s kont͡sa XIX veka, i s ee obitateli͡ami tam obrashchalisʹ ochenʹ zhestoko. Mnogie iz nikh nikakikh prestupleniĭ ne sovershili, a vsego-navsego byli sirotami ili podkidyshami, kotorykh nado bylo kuda-to pristroitʹ. Popadali tuda i sovsem malenʹkie malʹchiki. I pobeg vospitannikov, kak ikh nazyvali, a na samom dele zakli͡uchennykh, avtor ne vydumal. A vot glavnogo geroi͡a, Zhi͡uli͡a Bonno, ne sushchestvovalo. Po nekotorym dokumentam, beglet͡sov bylo 55 i vse oni byli poĭmany, po drugim - 56 i odnogo presledovateli tak i ne nashli. Sorzh Shalandon, po ego sobstvennym slovam, vlez v shkuru ėtogo pi͡atʹdesi͡at shestogo i napisal istorii͡u podrostka, pokhozhego na nego samogo, - odinokogo, broshennogo rodnymi, nakazannogo bez viny, mechtai͡ushchego o mesti i myslenno raspravli͡ai͡ushchegosi͡a s obidchikami, chtoby ne prishlosʹ delatʹ ėtogo v realʹnosti. Udivitelʹno dinamichnyĭ, ėmot͡sionalʹnyĭ roman. Chitai͡a ego, ne mozheshʹ ne perezhivatʹ za sudʹbu i͡unogobeglet͡sa.

On August 27, 1934, 56 teenagers escaped from a juvenile colony on the French island of Belle-Ile. There was no way they could get off the island. The runaway boys, some no older than ten years old, were hunted. Guards, gendarmes, locals, and even the occasional tourist eagerly scoured the island in search of exhausted, exhausted fugitives. A reward of 20 francs was announced for each boy, no matter if he was ten or eighteen years old. All but one of the fugitives will be caught. . . This story is completely true. The colony on Belle Ile Island has existed since the end of the 19th century, and its inhabitants were treated very harshly there. Many of them had committed no crimes, but were simply orphans or foundlings who needed to be placed somewhere. Very young boys also got there. And the escape of the pupils, as they were called, but actually prisoners, was not invented by the author. But the main character, Jules Bonnot, did not exist. According to some documents, there were 55 fugitives and all of them were caught, according to others — 56 and the pursuers never found one. Sorge Chalandon, in his own words, got into the shoes of this fifty—sixth and wrote the story of a teenager who looked like himself - lonely, abandoned by his family, punished without guilt, dreaming of revenge and mentally cracking down on his abusers so that he would not have to do it in reality. An amazingly dynamic, emotional novel. Reading it, you can't help but worry about the fate of the young fugitive.