The Center of the World
Seventeen-year-old Phil has felt like an outsider as long as he can remember. All Phil has ever known about his father is that he was Number Three on his mother’s long list—third in a series of affairs that have set Phil’s family even further apart from the critical townspeople across the river. As for his own sexuality, Phil doesn’t care what the neighbors will think; he’...more
Hardcover, 480 pages
Published
May 10th 2005
by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
(first published 1998)
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I was hooked to this story from the first page. The writing style is bold, yet detailed. It's extremely deep too.
This story is about 17-year-old Phil, who is a misfit in his own town due to his mother's bad reputation. Right at the beginning of the book we are pulled into a strange and mysterious world, full of the ghosts of Phil's past. His only friend is Kat, who shares her boy troubles with him while he mopes about his non-existent ones. Phil's family has never been close; his mother, Glass,...more
This story is about 17-year-old Phil, who is a misfit in his own town due to his mother's bad reputation. Right at the beginning of the book we are pulled into a strange and mysterious world, full of the ghosts of Phil's past. His only friend is Kat, who shares her boy troubles with him while he mopes about his non-existent ones. Phil's family has never been close; his mother, Glass,...more
Der 17-jährige Phil lebt mit seiner Mutter Glass und seiner Zwillingsschwester Dianne in einem verwunschenen alten Haus namens "Visible" und wäre allein dadurch schon anders genug, um sich von den anderen Menschen der Kleinstadt zu unterscheiden und mit Misstrauen betrachtet zu werden. Außerdem ist er noch schwul, das macht die Sache nicht einfacher.
Beeindruckend erzählt er von seinen Gedanken und Gefühlen und der Reise, die das Erwachsenwerden und die Entdeckung der Liebe in all ihren Formen nu...more
Beeindruckend erzählt er von seinen Gedanken und Gefühlen und der Reise, die das Erwachsenwerden und die Entdeckung der Liebe in all ihren Formen nu...more
honestly? i picked this book up only because of the fact that the main characters name is Phil (i love that name) and 'cause he is gay and gets together with a guy called Nicholas (another name i love since CON) but thats not the reason i actually finished such a thick book in three days.
normally i am not interested in these kinda fictions but i found myself liking it. even the parts which werent about the love relationship. the mystery behind his sister and his mother, the weird doll he's been...more
normally i am not interested in these kinda fictions but i found myself liking it. even the parts which werent about the love relationship. the mystery behind his sister and his mother, the weird doll he's been...more
[4,5 Sterne]
Phil ist vieles, aber kein durchschnittlicher Junge. Mit seiner alleinerziehenden Mutter und seiner Zwillingsschwester führt er ein ebenso chaotisches wie unkonventionelles Leben in einer baufälligen Villa am Rande einer Kleinstadt. Eine Kleinstadt, die vor allem durch ihren provinziellen Charakter auffällt. „Die kleinen Leute“, bzw. „die Jenseitigen“ wie Phil und seine Familie die Stadtbewohner, welche auf der anderen Seite des Flusses wohnen nennen, meiden die ungewöhnliche Familie...more
Phil ist vieles, aber kein durchschnittlicher Junge. Mit seiner alleinerziehenden Mutter und seiner Zwillingsschwester führt er ein ebenso chaotisches wie unkonventionelles Leben in einer baufälligen Villa am Rande einer Kleinstadt. Eine Kleinstadt, die vor allem durch ihren provinziellen Charakter auffällt. „Die kleinen Leute“, bzw. „die Jenseitigen“ wie Phil und seine Familie die Stadtbewohner, welche auf der anderen Seite des Flusses wohnen nennen, meiden die ungewöhnliche Familie...more
Jul 20, 2009
Tamer Lorika
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
you-must-read-now
You know what? I didn't love it. I didn't even like it. I hated the constant flashbacks, I hated waiting in fear for what was going to happen in the REAL story, and then having the whole premise of "before the flashback" completely forgotten. But at the same time, this book HAS to be read. There is something so ... true. So undervalued and true about this book. This is real. This is life. The author just reflects a life in progress in a way that completely and perfectly details everyone else's l...more
Initially, this was gonna get 3 stars. And I wasn't even going to finish the book.
But I didn't give up and charged through till the end.
I realised that this is a kind of story that you need to be patient with. You need to really understand that even though it is not exciting and not many things are happening, it is still very important.
This book is about loving, loosing, giving, taking, finding out who you are and finding your place in the world. It is about family, friends, trust and betrayal...more
But I didn't give up and charged through till the end.
I realised that this is a kind of story that you need to be patient with. You need to really understand that even though it is not exciting and not many things are happening, it is still very important.
This book is about loving, loosing, giving, taking, finding out who you are and finding your place in the world. It is about family, friends, trust and betrayal...more
Phil is a young boy who slowly comes to grips with the world around him. He is also an outstanding character in a well thought out novel that speaks about life, love, loss, betrayal and truth. Phil grows up with his twin sister in an old architectural mystery of a home called Visible. His mother is a mix of strength, confusion, independence and hope, who teaches her children not to care about what the Little People on the other side of town think of them. And for the most part, people think they...more
Meinung:
„Die Mitte der Welt“ ist ein vielfach gelobtes und ausgezeichnetes Jugendbuch, dessen Klappentext mich vor allem angesprochen hat. Die Geschichte um Phil und seine etwas ungewöhnliche Familie sowie Nicholas, in den er sich verliebt, machten mich neugierig, sodass ich mir das Buch auch irgendwann zulegte. Lange Zeit überkam mich jedoch nicht die Lust, das Buch aufzuschlagen. Jetzt habe ich mich doch einmal herangewagt und bin erstaunt, mit was für einer wunderbaren Geschichte Andreas Stei...more
„Die Mitte der Welt“ ist ein vielfach gelobtes und ausgezeichnetes Jugendbuch, dessen Klappentext mich vor allem angesprochen hat. Die Geschichte um Phil und seine etwas ungewöhnliche Familie sowie Nicholas, in den er sich verliebt, machten mich neugierig, sodass ich mir das Buch auch irgendwann zulegte. Lange Zeit überkam mich jedoch nicht die Lust, das Buch aufzuschlagen. Jetzt habe ich mich doch einmal herangewagt und bin erstaunt, mit was für einer wunderbaren Geschichte Andreas Stei...more
If you never had a chance to dive into a story of surreal family structures - here you go...
Andreas Steinhöfel's The Center of the World tells the story of seventeen-year-old Phil, who lives with his twin sister, Dianne, and mother, Glass, in an old castle in a small German town. The father he has never met and knows little to nothing about remains in America. Glass' promiscuous sexual behavior makes the children targets of the neighborhood bullies' taunts and jeers and relegates them to the rol...more
Andreas Steinhöfel's The Center of the World tells the story of seventeen-year-old Phil, who lives with his twin sister, Dianne, and mother, Glass, in an old castle in a small German town. The father he has never met and knows little to nothing about remains in America. Glass' promiscuous sexual behavior makes the children targets of the neighborhood bullies' taunts and jeers and relegates them to the rol...more
"Was der Autor (oder der Maler, der Musiker, der Bildhauer, der Regisseur, kurz also:jeder bildende Künstler) mirm sagen will, war mir persönlich schon immer reichlich egal. Ungleich wichtiger ist mir, was ein Text, ein Gemälde, eine Noten- oder Bilderfolge mit mir macht." (Andreas Steinhöfel)
Und dieses Buch macht ganz viel mit mir. Gerade zu Ende gelesen und ich bin außerstande eine Rezension zu schreiben... SO! GUT!
Und dieses Buch macht ganz viel mit mir. Gerade zu Ende gelesen und ich bin außerstande eine Rezension zu schreiben... SO! GUT!
Die Mitte der Welt (Centre of my World) is my all time favourite book. This was the 10th time I read it and I still love it with all of my heart. It is so beautifully written, and it's magical even though it's not a fantasy book. I don't know why but I could just read some fantasy between the lines. I like Steinhöfel's style, I like the cute little poetic and philosophic lines, I love every single character. God, I want to make a movie based on this book. That sounds naive and stupid but when I...more
There’s something about this book I just love, often when I’ve got some time to myself I’ll give this book another read over. There’s a full and interesting plot, character development for pretty much everyone, plenty of sub plots and some twists and turns. It’s not a short read but it’s certainly a story you can sink your teeth and mind into.
Jan 15, 2012
flöckchen
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favourites,
i-own-these
ich kann mich nicht erinnern, bei welchem buch ich das letzte mal so von den charaktären , der sprache, der geschichte gefangen genommen wurde. großartig. ich liebe es.
Hat mir wahnsinnig gut gefallen, so soll (deutsche) Jugendliteratur aussehen. Liest sich ganz leicht so weg, ist aber eben nicht seicht und brav. Phils Homosexualität wird nicht unnötig aufgebauscht, ist aber trotzdem einer der Hauptbestandteile des Konflikts. Und der Rest der Charaktere wirkt unglaublich echt. Die Dialoge auch. Vor allem Phils Kindheitserinnerungen sind brilliant geschrieben - chapeau, Herr Steinhöfel. Einer der besten Jugendromane, der mir je über den Weg gelaufen ist - absolu...more
Hmmm... I'm really at a loss for words. This book was strange and way too mature to be a YA novel. I think. This book deals with a family that is ostracized in their small German town because the mom is the town floosy and the son is gay and the daughter is a little Wednesday Adams-ish. I liked it though. It is tragic and strange, and comforting all at the same time. As a disclaimer, there is a little adult language and actions going on. So, skip this book if you are trying to avoid that.
Oct 28, 2012
Charlotte
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
geweldige-jongerenliteratuur
Het is een prachtig verhaal. Het is echt. Steinhöfel is een verteller.
beautifully written book, with complex (and nicely odd) characters. somehow, though, it felt kind of flat to me. the whole time I was reading it, I never felt especially compelled to pick it up and start reading again. I just didn't care that much about the characters or the story. I wanted to like it more than I did, and maybe it was just bad timing...but I can't say I'd highly recommend this one...
Auch beim zweiten Lesen noch ein gutes Buch, wobei ich mich erstens an wirklich nichts erinnern konnte und jetzt zweitens deswegen nicht mehr nachvollziehen kann, was dieses Buch vor vielen Jahren zu DEM Buch gemacht hat, das so viele Leser angesprochen und berührt hat. Und genau deshalb sollte man viel mehr über das Lesen Tagebuch führen.
Jul 19, 2007
Goldie Marie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
mature young adults
Shelves:
mostmeaningfull
The Center of the World is an emotionally complex book. It is hard to recognize the difficulties going in within the surreal family. I as a reader absolutley hate one of the specific characters who causes a mass amount of heartache, and the end of book you end up cheering for the main character and all of his success.
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Born in 1962 in Battenberg, Germany, Steinhöfel now works as a translator and reviewer and writes screenplays. First and foremost, though, he is the other of numerous children's and young adult books awarded with various literature prizes. His bestseller "The Center of the World" had been nominated for the well-known and prestigious Germand Youth Literature Prize and has been published in numerous...more
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“Das habe ich nie vergessen. Dass man liebt, um die Kälte zu vergessen und den Winter zu vertreiben.”
—
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