A Bridge to the Stars Audiobook By Henning Mankell, Laurie Thompson cover art

A Bridge to the Stars

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A Bridge to the Stars

By: Henning Mankell, Laurie Thompson
Narrated by: Francis Greenslade
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Two things are hard for Joel Gustafson to cope with: not knowing why, and not being able to do anything about it. Joel and his father live in a small town in cold northern Sweden. Joel’s father was once a sailor who lived by the sea. Joel’s mother once lived with them. Joel’s father abandoned the sea. Joel’s mother abandoned Joel and his father. While looking out his window late one misty night, Joel sees a lonely dog in the street. He spots the animal again and begins sneaking out night after night, trying to find it. During these nocturnal outings, Joel discovers aspects of his life he has never imagined. A Bridge to the Stars is a magical mystery that leaves the reader spellbound and full of hope for Joel and his father’s future.©1990 Henning Mankell. Translation Laurie Thompson 2005 (P)2008 Bolinda Publishing Action & Adventure Fiction

Critic reviews

'The Nordic King of the European thriller writers.' (The Observer)
'Touching tale of a young boy growing up in northern Sweden.' (The Bookseller)
'One of the world's leading authors has written a moving story about a teenager's life in Northern Sweden.' (Publishing News)
'Henning Mankell, prize-winning author of the Inspector Wallander series, has a winner with his first novel for young adults. Francis Greenslade narrates the story of 11-year-old Joel and his father, who live in the cold, desolate forests of northern Sweden. In spite of Samuel's abandonment of the sea to make a life as a tree cutter, Joel's mother deserted the family. Greenslade's Australian accent adds to the surreal atmosphere, making Sweden's dark and desolate winter a character. You feel the loss, loneliness, and confusion that send Joel out searching for a dog he has spotted from his window. And you'll feel the coldness of the Swedish winter that has penetrated Joel's heart begin to thaw as spring slowly warms his heart and his life.' (AudioFile Magazine)
'This is a deep, serious story, written with the lightest of touches and no hint of condescension. Mankell pays his readers the compliment of taking them seriously and the Joels among them will respond to this philanthropist - one who literally likes his fellow humans.' (The Guardian)
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Henning mankel is a diverse author, and if your expecting a mystery, or fast paced action adventure story this is not it
I saw bad reviews on this book. I thought it was interesting, good.
mankel has written a variety of story's with many different genres.
please enjoy his insight, on life, love, and the human spirit in this book!

sweet story of a young boy coming to age

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Not my kinda book. Not up to the excellent standards of Mankell's Kurt Wallender.....done with this series.

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What would have made A Bridge to the Stars better?

It would have been good if this book had a plot. It meandered around introducing us to the people in the boy's village and spent a lot of time with him kicking himself about mistakes he made. I kept waiting for the plot to begin.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Francis Greenslade?

I was tempted to listen at double speed--this read is s l o w!

You didn???t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I'm sorry I bought the sequel before listening to this book--it even has the same awful narrator. Bummer.

Any additional comments?

I've listened to some of Henning Mankell's detective novels for adults and liked them. This children's book went nowhere very slowly.

A disappointment

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