It's a funny, tenderhearted book reminiscent of Little Miss Sunshine—it has a similar cast of lost, confused, and eccentric characters. The novel is a wonderful mix of humor and gentle melancholy. Gieles is a compassionate boy, and he seems to draw wounded people toward him in the same way that he draws forward his geese. We'd be lucky to have more like him in this world. A sweet, sympathetic novel with a sense of humor.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A well-balanced, complete novel that stands out because of its many themes and quirky, eccentric characters whose tragicomic traits are movingly identifiable.” —Jury Dioraphte Literary Award
“A book you feel homesick for as soon as you’ve closed it.” —Peter Buwalda, author of Bonita Avenue
“A hip regional novel that is every bit as good as Joe Speedboat.” —P.F. Thomése, author of Shadowchild
“Anne-Gine Goemans has written a very special and beautiful book.” —de Volkskrant
“An up-to-date and historical book, an adventurous boy's book and a moral sketch, a regional story and a development novel.” —NRC Handelsblad
“A book you do not want to leave…and finish with a sigh of pleasure.” —De Telegraaf
“An enjoyable read with captivating characters, well-paced plot, and the right amount of tension to keep the pages turning. Highly recommended” —Dutch News
“Goemans shows, once again, how agile a narrator she is.” —Trouw
“A lively, exciting and funny novel, which is told with great energy and momentum. A completely convincing picture of the bizarre fantasy world of a lonely adolescent.” —Dutch Foundation for Literature
“I am particularly enthusiastic about this novel that’s both an adventurous boy's book and a historical novel. The writing style is accessible with lots of humour.” —Inge Leest
“The Dutch Annie Proulx” —Opzij
2018-12-11
A teenage boy trains his pet geese surrounded by a cast of characters even more eccentric than he is.
It's the present day, more or less, and we're in the Netherlands. Gieles is almost 15. His mother has been gone for months on yet another vague mission of aid to Africa. Gieles and his father wait at home, with Uncle Fred, next door to an airport runway that has been steadily taking over the neighborhood. Gieles' father works for the airport, shooing away the flocks of birds that threaten to cause accidents. Gieles' personal hero is Capt. Sully, who miraculously landed a plane after a number of geese tangled themselves up in its engines. This is Goemans' second novel, her first to be translated into English. It's a funny, tenderhearted book reminiscent of Little Miss Sunshine—it has a similar cast of lost, confused, and eccentric characters. Gieles befriends an overweight older neighbor who calls himself Super Waling and who soon starts sharing with Gieles chapters of a story he's writing. Super Waling's story concerns his own ancestors but also the larger Dutch history of reclaiming land from water. Gieles, meanwhile, is trying to train his two pet geese to perform a secret feat of heroics so impressive it will convince his wayward mother to stay home. Goemans occasionally skates a little too close to sentimentality, and not all her characters come equally to life (Gieles' silent, stoic father, for one), but still, the novel is a wonderful mix of humor and gentle melancholy. Gieles is a compassionate boy, and he seems to draw wounded people toward him in the same way that he draws forward his geese. We'd be lucky to have more like him in this world.
A sweet, sympathetic novel with a sense of humor.
