The Kites by Romain Gary (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of The Kites by Romain Gary. It provides a thorough exploration of the novel’s plot, characters and main themes, including love, resistance and the power of memory. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This clear and detailed 60-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of Romain Gary
• Presentation of The Kites
• Summary of The Kites
• Character study
  • Ludo Fleury
  • Lila Bronicki
  • Ambrose Fleury
  • Marcellin Duprat
  • Julie Espinoza
• Analysis of The Kites
  • Memory and imagination
  • Individual and collective history
  • Redeeming passions

About The Kites

The Kites is Romain Gary’s last novel, and was published posthumously in 1980. Its two main characters, Ludo and Lila, must fight to preserve their love in the face of a series of obstacles: first of all, Lila’s wealthy aristocratic family refuse to countenance her marriage to the humble Ludo, and then, more dramatically, the Second World War breaks out, keeping them apart and leaving them in constant danger. In spite of its bleak setting, The Kites conveys a message of hope and humanity, and shows how memory and imagination have the power to keep the past alive.

About Romain Gary

Romain Gary was a French novelist of Jewish origin. He was born in Lithuania in 1914 and came to France when he was 14 years old. He is well known for his penchant for mystery: he wrote both under the name of Romain Gary and under the pseudonym Émile Ajar. This is why he is the only French writer to have received the Prix Goncourt on two separate occasions: once for The Roots of Heaven, and once for The Life Before Us. He committed suicide in Paris in 1980, at the age of 66.