Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Feb 2014
240 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Henry has a clubfoot and is the target of relentless bullying. One day, in a violent fit of anger, Henry lashes out at the only family he has — his mother. Sent to live with other troubled boys at the Home of Lesser Brethren, an isolated farm perched in the craggy lava fields along the unforgiving Icelandic coast, Henry finds a precarious contentment among the cows. But it is the people, including the manic preacher who runs the home, who fuel Henry's frustration and sometimes rage as he yearns for a life and a home. Author Fridrik Erlings offers a young adult novel that explores cruelty and desperation, tenderness and remorse, but most importantly, kindness and friendship.
"Starred Review. [A] moody, affecting character study... Erlings poignantly describes Henry's longing for a friend and the pain of rejection ... [A] poetic and powerful novel." - Publishers Weekly
"Full of poetic renderings of the craggy terrain, Erlings' sophisticated, character- driven story builds slowly as Henry learns gratifying truths about love and family." - Booklist
"A powerful, Christian-themed exploration of a journey to self-acceptance and hard-won friendship." - Kirkus
"In this Icelandic import we enter a world of spare, Bergman-esque intensity and darkness, with a landscape of lava rock and steep cliffs, that is unforgiving and steeped in stories of tragedy and entrapment. ... A deeply engaging story." - The Horn Book
"The themes and ideas are universal, especially for troubled readers who are looking for characters to relate to in their own lives ... This is a touching story that will stay with the reader for a while." - VOYA
This information about Boy on the Edge was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Fridrik Erlings is a novelist, screenwriter, graphic designer, and musician. He is the author of the Icelandic classic Benjamin Dove as well as Fish in the Sky. Boy on the Edge, he says, is a story "about an individual with a rich inner life but with severe limitations about expressing his feelings." Fridrik Erlings lives in Iceland.
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