Poil de Carotte

by Jules Renard

"Poil de Carotte" by Jules Renard is an autobiographical novel published in 1894. It follows a red-haired boy nicknamed "Carrot Top" who endures daily humiliation from his siblings and hatred from his mother while his father remains indifferent. To survive his miserable childhood, the unloved child relies on cunning and wit. Told through a series of short, non-chronological episodes, the work reveals the sources of Renard's skepticism, irony, and cruel powers of observation.