This poignant novel explores how a unilateral decision can change a life.
Two things are hard for Joel Gustafson to cope with: not kn... read full description
Two things are hard for Joel Gustafson to cope with: not kn... read full description
reviews
Aug 30, 2010
MJ
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I was 85% through this book when I put it down for good. I never stop in the middle of books. This book was simply THAT BAD.
I started reading the book in the mistaken belief that it was a Kurt Wallender mystery. In fact, it is one of a series of coming-of-age tales with an 11-year-old boy, Joel, at their center. Joel lives with his dad in the far, cold north of Sweden, eats boiled potatoes every night for dinner, wonders about his absent mom, and wanders the streets at the witching h More...
I started reading the book in the mistaken belief that it was a Kurt Wallender mystery. In fact, it is one of a series of coming-of-age tales with an 11-year-old boy, Joel, at their center. Joel lives with his dad in the far, cold north of Sweden, eats boiled potatoes every night for dinner, wonders about his absent mom, and wanders the streets at the witching h More...
Jul 25, 2009
A Bridge to the Stars, by Henning Mankell, the first in the Joel Gustafson series mentioned above. Narrated by Francis Greenslade, produced by Bolinda Publishing, downloaded from audicle.com.
In this book we meet Joel who is eleven. He lives alone with his father. His mother abandoned them many years ago. Then, a couple of things start to happen which Joel must deal with. For one thing, his father starts to date a waitress at the neighborhood bar, and sometimes spends the night w More...
In this book we meet Joel who is eleven. He lives alone with his father. His mother abandoned them many years ago. Then, a couple of things start to happen which Joel must deal with. For one thing, his father starts to date a waitress at the neighborhood bar, and sometimes spends the night w More...
Jan 04, 2010
Stacy
rated it: 
It's easy to see that this was originally a foreign book, translated into english. I found the wording interesting and fresh---not written in the usual way. On the back cover, however, the discription is a little too overdone: "If he hadn't seen that solitary dog, nothing might have happened. Nothing of what later became so important that it changed everything. Nothing of what was so exciting at first, but became so horrible..." I never discovered the horrible part---and although
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Jul 27, 2011
Michele
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Nov 25, 2011
Carl
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Some very stirring scenes in this one, though inconsistent. A young boy, unhappy because his mother has left him and his father, falls under the spell of a friend. Together the two flirt with evil . . . our hero drawn in by the spell the other boys casts on him. The climactic scene--our hero climbs a railway trestle because of a dare--is wonderful, but too much of the book is predictable. Unhappy boy meets eccentric adults (noseless woman, crazy man) who show him that life encompasses more th
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Jul 29, 2011
One of the more unusual children's book trilogies that I have read. Joel and his father Samuel have been left by Joel's mother, and they are neither of them very happy about it. THey are both irritable about what they have to do as a result of the abandonment, and they are not a good team. When Samuel begins to flirt with Sara, Joel gets almost murderous in his anger at both her and his father. The story takes place in 1050's rural Sweden, and the thoughts of the characters lend a bleakness
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Jul 27, 2010
Bettie
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Feb 08, 2009
Leland
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This short novel by Swedish writer Henning Mankell is the first of several books about Joel, a 12 year old growing up in a remote part of Northern Sweden with his father. It is followed by a second book, The Twilight of the Stars and most recently, The Boy Who Slept in the Snow (also known as When the Snow Fell).
This book is not very similar to other works by Mankell, except that it is highly sensitive and insightful of character and setting (traits which make even the grisly murder More...
This book is not very similar to other works by Mankell, except that it is highly sensitive and insightful of character and setting (traits which make even the grisly murder More...
Jan 23, 2008
Tracie
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Eleven-year-old Joel Gustafuson is at an awkward age. He is still very imaginative but sees he will soon grow up and give up childish ways. During the winter of this story, Joel, begins to explore his world and test the boundaries of life in his small, isolated village. He uneasily befriends a new boy in town who pushes him to do things he doesn't feel sure about such as put ants in the kitchen of a lonely local woman who is outcast because of a physical deformity. He also worries constan
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Aug 18, 2008
george
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Joel is almost twelve and desperately wants something to happen. His mother left a long time ago and it's just Joel and Samuel, his father, now. One night Joel wakes up and sees a dog wandering the streets--Joel feels that this dog is very special and is following a star. From that point on Joel is determined to find the dog and sets up his own secret society (membership: one) to find it. But in the midst of this he discovers that he is not the only one with a secret--his father is missing some
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May 17, 2010
Brandee
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I didn't like Joel, and his whiny childlike ways. For 11, going on 12 he is very self absorbed and childish. Are all 11 year olds that way? There are 2 more companion novels to this book, but it seems hardly possible to write 2 more entire books about this child and make anyone want to read them. The book lacked excitement, or at the very least something to hook you into reading more.
Jan 13, 2012
Pmalcpoet
rated it:
A short, sweet coming-of-age story in which an "almost twelve" year-old boy has adventures and learns about life and himself. It seems Henning Mankell can remember what it was like to be this age, and how a young boy's mind works. It was touching, and a nice short read for a snowy day.
Mar 09, 2008
Julie
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I didn't like the main character Joel very much, and the narration felt detached, so it was a hard book to like. I was surprised to see there will be a sequel in July 2008. Joel comes across as very self-centered, a dreamer but in a naive/childish way. The book has some qualities of a Cormier book (Ture wanting to create fear and the secret society at night), but it never reaches a climax like a Cormier book.
There were characters I liked--Gertrud and the man who drove around at night More...
There were characters I liked--Gertrud and the man who drove around at night More...
Sep 17, 2011
Donna
rated it:
This is a lovely story told from the perspective of an 11-year old boy whose mother abandoned him when he was a baby. He lives with his father, a former seaman, now working in the forests in Sweden. The boy has a rich fantasy life which leads him into unusual adventures.
Feb 13, 2010
Chris
rated it:
Similar in style and theme to the fantastic, "Jim the Boy," this book wasn't quite as moving. Still, it's an enjoyable coming-of-age story that nicely portrays the larger adult world from a young man's perspective.
Dec 06, 2009
THIS BOOK WAS SO BAD THAT I HAD TO PERSONALLY MAKE A CATEGORY FOR THIS BOOK. YOUR LIFE WILL BE BETTER IF YOU DO NOT EVEN GLANCE AT THIS BOOK.
Aug 06, 2010
Paul
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I warmed to this story despite having misgivings at first. The highly-strung, very imaginative Joel is painted very well.
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May 23, 2011
Mariana
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A good coming-of-age book for junior readers. The first of four. I look forward to the others.
Oct 10, 2010
Lars
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Interesting book by the author of the Wallander series. Not a mystery but interesting
Mar 21, 2008
Virginia
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I'm crazy about Henning Mankell's adult mysteries about the Swedish police detective Kurt Wallander. This novel for children -- not so much. Joel's situation is touching -- living with a remote father who can't or won't tell him anything about the mother who abandoned them. His behavior, however, doesn't ring true; he seems both younger and older than an eleven-year-old boy. The cold nothern Sweden setting lends atmosphere, but the plot never really takes off.
Jan 29, 2011
Book Him Danno
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An interesting tale of a young boy who dreams of his lost mother and his present, but distant father. I enjoyed the story and felt for the boy, he was brave and yet needed to be loved and cared for. This is one of my husbands favorite authors.
Jun 10, 2008
Kathryn
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A boy looks out on a Swedish winter night and sees a lone elkhound running toward a star. He follows it on subsequent nights and lives partially in a dreamland and partially in reality. Wonderfully written and poignant.
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Mar 07, 2008
Lori
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This was a good young person book. It was short and would probably be appropriate for someone of middle school age.
Sep 26, 2011
Varsha
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i didnt really understand this story and I am still unsure of its meaning
Feb 11, 2012
Feb 04, 2012
