Nikolski | Granta

  • Published: 04/08/2011
  • ISBN: 9781846274404
  • Granta Books
  • 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.

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

The Author

Born in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, Nicolas Dickner won two literary awards for his first published work, the short story collection L’encyclopédie du petit cercle. His debut novel, Nikolski (Portobello, 2009) scooped almost every major literary award in Quebec, as well as the Governor General’s Literary Award for Translation.

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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.