Every Thursday he bought Pif, newly relaunched, with its free “gadget” every week. Unlike most children his age, he did not buy it for the gadget but for the adventure stories. Through a dazzling sweep of history and costume these tales played out some simple moral values. Michel slowly realized that this moral system ran through all the stories: “Ragnar the Viking”; “Teddy Ted and the Apache”; “Rahan, Son of a Savage Age”; and “Nasdine Hodja,” who duped viziers and caliphs. It was a realization that would profoundly affect him. Later, reading Nietzsche provoked only a brief irritation, and
...more
