December 17, 2007
The Swedish crime novelist, author of the Kurt Wallander mysteries, gives a younger audience a sophisticated glimpse into a boy's psyche in this simple but captivating novel. Set in a secluded mountain town in northern Sweden in 1956, the story is full of quiet moments that fluently capture its protagonist's yearning to gain his footing in a lonely adult world he doesn't understand. Eleven-year-old Joel has questions that need to be answered. Why did his mother walk out on him and his father? If his father loves the sea, why are they holed up in the mountains? And why has his father started inviting big-breasted Sara, the loud waitress with the red hat, over for coffee? Instead of laying out each step Joel takes as he sorts things through, Mankell sends Joel on a series of thrilling midnight adventures, wherein he sneaks out of the house to search for a mysterious dog (and his own identity). Using his fertile imagination, Joel forms a secret society of explorers who share his mission and “grown-ups who think like children and act differently.” His evolving relationship with his father and his encounters with local outcasts are refreshingly life-affirming, and by the end, readers can rest assured that Joel's journey, and their own, has been a fruitful one. Ages 12-up.