Blue Boy is the fictionalised autobiography of Giono's boyhood. Much of the story is seen through the eyes of the young Jean, however the novel is written in the lyrical style and language and with the hedonistic and mystical insight which characterise Giono's greatest works. Sensuousness, the benign figure of Jean's father, Pere Jean, and an intensely tender and loving regard for human suffering and for the beauties of the world provide a unity of tone and subject matter.