- Published: 07/01/2010
- ISBN: 9781846271663
- 129x20mm
- 272 pages
Nikolski
Nicolas Dickner
Translated by Lazer Lederhendler
Three young people, born thousands of miles apart, each cut themselves adrift from their birthplaces and set out to discover what – or who – might anchor them in their lives. Over the course of the next ten years, Noah, Joyce and an unnamed narrator will each settle for a time in Montreal, their paths almost criss-crossing and their own stories weaving in and out of other wondrous tales, about such things as a pair of fearsome female pirates, a team of urban archaeologists, several enormous tuna fish, a mysterious book without a cover, and a broken compass whose needle obstinately points to the north Alaskan village of Nikolski. Intricately plotted and shimmering with originality, Nikolski charts the curious courses of migration that can eventually lead to home.
£7.99
Stylish, offbeat, poignant and perceptive
David Mitchell
Nikolski marches to its own offbeat drum, wandering here and there, wherever strikes its fancy. It provides a number of inexplicable events that never really seem inexplicable, since we are in the middle of a novel, after all, where "inevitable interpretations" will accrue even if a writer seems to resist them. But I suspect the promising and clever Nicolas Dickner knew that all along
Patrick Ness, Guardian
Nikolski is an intriguing debut ... don't expect a neat resolution: this novel is about journeys rather than destinations
Melissa McClements, Financial Times
From the Same Author
Apocalypse for Beginners
Nicolas Dickner, translated by Lazer Lederhendler
Boy meets girl and… boom! The boy falls hopelessly in love and secretly harbours hopes for their romantic future. And the girl? Well, the girl is fully convinced that there is no future at all: not just for them, but for the entire planet. Moving between Canada and Japan, between solid ground and flights of the surreal, this is the sweet, surprising story of two people travelling from friendship to romance, and from separation to the possibility of reunion.