Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt is a world-famous celebrity—one of the most-read and staged French authors. In each of the books included in the Cycle of the Invisible—“Oscar and the Pink Lady,” “Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran,” “Noah’s Children,” “The Sumo Wrestler Who Couldn’t Stay Fat,” “Ten Children Never Had by Mrs. Ming”—brilliant intellectual mechanics combines with deep humanity. Behind the outward simplicity bordering on minimalism, behind the transparent clarity of the style, lie the wisdom of a philosophical parable, irony, and humor—so dear to us in Schmitt’s books.