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Tarmac - Apokalypse Für Anfänger (2013)

by Nicolas Dickner(Favorite Author)

3.47 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction

publisher

btb

review 1: I loved this book. It is written from the point of view of a young man, Mickey Bauermann, but focused on Hope Randall. Hope is from a family that is genetically predisposed to focus on the end of the world. As each family member goes through puberty they also become focused on a particular date as the end of the world. When that date is reached and world continues, they descend into madness. When her conceived date arrives, Hope's mother Ann decides she must head west from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. They only make is as far as Rivière-du-Loup before their car gives out. It is there that Hope comes into Mickey's life. As Hope copes with her mother's increasing mental instability, she relies on Mickey and his family for the normalcy of life. Mickey is infatuated with her, but a... morelso in awe.There is much humour and insight here, and above all, compassion.Hope is well named, and her own wanderings in search of confirmation of her world ending date (July 17, 2001) are very interesting.I highly recommend this book.
review 2: I wish I could have read this novel with beginner's mind, instead of constantly remembering how much I loved Nikolski...but alas, no! I think it only fair to be honest that I went with 3 stars (instead of 4) because, with Nikolski, I treasured the reading, like a visit with wonderful and interesting friends. In Apocalypse for Beginners, I felt more like I was reading a journal of a young man trying to make sense of his friend, her family, mental illness and where he fit into this world (world= his community and workplace, media events, relationships...)I love Dickner's voice, first. I feel as though he has true compassion for his characters, it is apparent that they come from the heart, and the familial situations within which the characters are placed are so realistic, what a joy. Mickey's family is a wonderful portrait of the transitioning 80s/90s decade, complete with the concrete hopes of his father/parents. They lay a foundation upon which to reflect on Hope's very different family situation, and a very honest portrayal of a young woman's life with intergenerational mental illness.Some might say I am looking too hard into this topic, that the novel would be much more fun if I just read it on the surface. However, there are many truths in this story about the realities of mental illness, suicide, addiction, and identity confusion that Hope owns. Some novels work as bibliotherapy for my clients, and this could be one of them. I haven't yet decided how to define the intention of suggesting this story to a client, so if anyone has any suggestions, I am open to them. less

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