SOURCE: Thompson, William. Review of Poisson d'or, by J. M. G. Le Clézio. World Literature Today 71, no. 4 (fall 1997): 748.

In the following review, Thompson relates how Poisson d'or follows in the thematic tradition of Le Clézio's previous novels.

Poisson d'or is the first-person account of a young North African woman, Laila, who is kidnapped and sold as a young child and who encounters in her journeys (through Africa, Europe, and America) a vast range of humanity, rich and poor, kind and cruel. Some mistreat and exploit her; others suffer and struggle like her. Midway through the text, Laila—the “golden fish” of the title—realizes that the many people with whom she comes in contact each have their own personal agendas to follow, and that she cannot depend on others to assist her as she confronts the harsh realities of life: ‘J'avais compris que si les gens...