Daniel: A Novel - Hardcover

Mankell, Henning

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1595581936 ISBN 13: 9781595581938

Publisher: The New Press, 2010

Synopsis

Henning Mankell is a worldwide phenomenon: his books have been translated into forty languages with more than 35 million copies in print, and both his critical acclaim and fan base only continue to grow. His new novel Daniel is an elegiac, unexpected story that only he could have told.

In the 1870s, Hans Bengler arrives in Cape Town from Småland, Sweden, driven by a singular desire: to discover an insect no one has seen before and name it after himself. But then he impulsively adopts a young San orphan, a boy he christens Daniel and brings with him back to Sweden—a quite different specimen than he first contemplated. Daniel is told to call Bengler "Father," taught to knock on doors and bow, and continually struggles to understand this strange new land of mud and snow that surrounds and seemingly entraps him. At the same time, he is haunted by visions of his murdered parents calling him home to Africa. Knowing that the only way home is by sea, he decides he must learn to walk on water if he is ever to reclaim his true place in the world.

Evocative and sometimes brutal, the novel takes Daniel through a series of tragedies and betrayals that culminate in a shocking act. Mankell tells this indelible story with a ruthless elegance all his own.

About this title

Review:

Historical touches mingle with elements of magic realism to convey themes dear to the author s heart. "Los Angeles Times"
An engrossing story, with a real sense of pace and adventure, illuminated by empathy with the bewilderment and longing of a clever, lonely child. "The Independent "(London)
A quiet tragedy. "The Boston Globe"
Mankell s fierce instinct for social criticism is admirable. "The New York Times Book Review"
A writer with the imagination, brains, resources . . . [who] make[s] thoughtful, challenging, exciting, artistic novels. "The Philadelphia Inquirer"
Mankell is expert at depicting brutal scenes. He s also adept at getting inside exotic heads like Daniel s; this book s greatest strength is imagination. Its second greatest is empathy. "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"
""
Earnest and heartbreaking. . . . Mankell fully understands Daniel's radically different cultural perspective and indelibly captures the boy's longing to return to his homeland and the tragic consequences of his forced exile. "Publishers Weekly"
""
A haunting and fascinating story of clashes of culture and race in the nineteenth century as well as a touching, sometimes cruel examination of familial and other human ties. "Booklist""

"Historical touches mingle with elements of magic realism to convey themes dear to the author's heart." --Los Angeles Times

"An engrossing story, with a real sense of pace and adventure, illuminated by empathy with the bewilderment and longing of a clever, lonely child." --The Independent (London)

"A quiet tragedy." --The Boston Globe

"Mankell's fierce instinct for social criticism is admirable."--The New York Times Book Review

"A writer with the imagination, brains, resources . . . [who] make[s] thoughtful, challenging, exciting, artistic novels."--The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Mankell is expert at depicting brutal scenes. He's also adept at getting inside exotic heads like Daniel's; this book's greatest strength is imagination. Its second greatest is empathy." --Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Earnest and heartbreaking. . . . Mankell fully understands Daniel's radically different cultural perspective and indelibly captures the boy's longing to return to his homeland and the tragic consequences of his forced exile." --Publishers Weekly

"A haunting and fascinating story of clashes of culture and race in the nineteenth century as well as a touching, sometimes cruel examination of familial and other human ties." --Booklist

Book Description:

A compelling story of a child driven to violence through loss and loneliness

About this edition

• Publisher: The New Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1595581936
• ISBN 13: 9781595581938
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288