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“A lively, exciting and funny novel, which is told with great energy and momentum. A completely convincing picture of the bizarre fantasy world of a lonely adolescent.” ―Dutch Foundation for Literature
Inventive, dreamy Gieles lives with his father and a flock of geese on a plane-spotters’ campsite next to an airstrip. The surrounding landscape reclaimed from the sea, is as isolated as Gieles himself. The fourteen-year-old boy is longing for the mysterious dreadlocked girl he’s met online, and for the affection of his absent mother, off on hapless missions to save the world.
The boy conceives a desperate, dangerous plan to attract his mother’s attention. He’ll be a hero. Just like Captain Sully, who bravely landed on the Hudson after geese flew into his engines. Goemans’s charmingly upbeat novel describes the fantasy-driven world of a teenage boy. At the same time, it tells the incredible story about how the Dutch turned water into land.
“It's a funny, tenderhearted book reminiscent of Little Miss Sunshine—it has a similar cast of lost, confused, and eccentric characters. The novel is a wonderful mix of humor and gentle melancholy. Gieles is a compassionate boy, and he seems to draw wounded people toward him in the same way that he draws forward his geese. We'd be lucky to have more like him in this world. A sweet, sympathetic novel with a sense of humor.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A well-balanced, complete novel that stands out because of its many themes and quirky, eccentric characters whose tragicomic traits are movingly identifiable.” —Jury Dioraphte Literary Award
“A book you feel homesick for as soon as you’ve closed it.” —Peter Buwalda, author of Bonita Avenue
“A hip regional novel that is every bit as good as Joe Speedboat.” —P.F. Thomése, author of Shadowchild
“Anne-Gine Goemans has written a very special and beautiful book.” —de Volkskrant
“An up-to-date and historical book, an adventurous boy's book and a moral sketch, a regional story and a development novel.” —NRC Handelsblad
“A book you do not want to leave…and finish with a sigh of pleasure.” —De Telegraaf
“An enjoyable read with captivating characters, well-paced plot, and the right amount of tension to keep the pages turning. Highly recommended” —Dutch News
“Goemans shows, once again, how agile a narrator she is.” —Trouw
“A lively, exciting and funny novel, which is told with great energy and momentum. A completely convincing picture of the bizarre fantasy world of a lonely adolescent.” —Dutch Foundation for Literature
“I am particularly enthusiastic about this novel that’s both an adventurous boy's book and a historical novel. The writing style is accessible with lots of humour.” —Inge Leest
“The Dutch Annie Proulx” —Opzij
ANNE-GINE GOEMANS worked for Volkskrant Magazine as a journalist. Gliding Flight was awarded the Dioraphte Literary Prize and the German M Pionier Award for new literary talent (previously awarded to Herman Koch). Gliding Flight was longlisted for the prestigious Libris Literature Prize.
NANCY FOREST-FLIER is a New Jersey–born translator who moved to Europe in 1982 and has worked in the Netherlands since 1988. She lives in Alkmaar. Her literary translations include The King by Kader Abdolah, Dissident for Life by Koenraad de Wolf, Gliding Flight by Anne-Gine Goemans, We and Me by Saskia de Coster, Mr. Miller by Charles den Tex, Departure Time by Truus Matti, Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt, and The Story of Shit by Midas Dekkers. Nancy also translates children’s literature and has translated for numerous Dutch museums and institutes, including The Anne Frank House and the Kröller-Müller Museum (home to the world’s second largest Van Gogh collection).