Early one morning, a young lady arrives at a secluded beach, and goes out for a swim. Later that morning, several families arrive, including kids ranging from toddlers to teens. A homeless Algerian refugee had spent his night in the underbrush near the beach, and also arrives there.
Soon they find that there are several unusual occurrences. They find the body of the woman who arrived first, except she is now an old lady, and has died while swimming. They first notice that the children seem to be maturing rather rapidly. They attempt to leave the beach, but are unable to.
In their accelerated world, communities, allegiances, prejudices and parental instincts are all brought to the forefront and tested as they each deal with the fallout of their trying circumstances.
This book was originally written in French, and I read the English translated version. The beautifully drawn comic brings out all the emotions of the characters magnificently; the rage, frustration, anger, hatred and love just leaps out from the characters’ faces. This was later also made into a movie called ‘Old’, but I doubt M Night Shyamalan has done justice to this stark and impressive comic. A good read.