The Journey to the End of the World (Joel Gustafsson Stories) [Import] [Paperback]

Henning Mankell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Joel Gustafsson Stories | Publication Date: April 1, 2008

Continuing Mankell’s magical account of a boyhood spent in northern Sweden, Joel is fifteen and has left school, wanting to become a merchant sailor and travel far away from his home town in the north of Sweden. But first he must face up to the past and meet his mother who ran off when he was small. After such a long time, how will Joel and his dad cope with such a reunion, and will Joel ever sail the seas as he dreams?

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for A Bridge to the Stars:
“Mankell is as proficient a writer for teenagers as he is for adults.”—Observer

About the Author

Internationally acclaimed author HENNING MANKELL has written the eight novels in the Kurt Wallander Mystery series, among many other novels set in Sweden or Africa. The books have been published in 35 countries and consistently top the bestseller lists. His novel Sidetracked won the CWA Gold Dagger in 2001. Born in the Swedish village of Sveg in 1948, Mankell now divides his time between Sweden and Maputo, Mozambique, where he is head of Teatro Avenida.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Andersen Press (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1842706667
• ISBN-13: 978-1842706664
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.5 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,714,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander mysteries are global bestsellers and have been adapted for television as a BAFTA Award-winning BBC series starring Kenneth Branagh. Mankell was awarded the Crime Writers' Association's Macallan Gold Dagger and the German Tolerance Prize, among many others. He divides his time between Sweden and Mozambique.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars is not enough to describe this book and this series,, April 21, 2008

By 

Scully Bloke (Wiltshire, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Journey to the End of the World (Joel Gustafsson Stories) (Paperback)

This is the 4th and final book in the series about young Joel Gustafson. It is an absolutely charming, witty, heart rending series that I would advise anyone of any age to read.

In this final book Joel is fifteen and has come to the end of his school years. Will he live his dream of him and his father Samuel leaving Northern Sweden for a life on a ship travelling on a Journey to the end of the world or will the letter telling him where his mum is now living change this. She left him when he was a baby and has never been in touch.

I cant tell you enough how much I enjoyed this series and this book. 5 stars is not enough. It absolutely moved me to tears, first book ever to do this.

Henning Mankell is a craftsman writer and this short series is his writing at the pinnacle of his skills.

For reader information the previous books in the series are as follows:-
First:- A bridge to the stars
Second:- Shadows in the twilight
Third:- When the snow fell
Fourth:- The Journey to the end of the world

Read and enjoy them, I promise you will not be dissapointed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Both heartbreaking and thoroughly satisfying, June 8, 2011

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Journey to the End of the World (Paperback)

Henning Mankell's previous novels featuring teenager Joel Gustafson have been quiet books, well suited to their setting in a small town in northern Sweden. More happens inside Joel's head than outside it, and readers who have been fortunate enough to follow his growth over three books know that he has been coming into his own, changing from a boy with fanciful visions and barely hidden fears to one whose growing confidence, sense of self, and understanding of the world has not damped his curiosity one bit.

Now, in JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE WORLD, the final book about Joel and his father, Mankell realizes his earlier vision while still granting readers plenty of surprises, finally allowing Joel to go, and grow, into the world around him.

As the novel opens, Joel is about to turn 15, a landmark birthday for him: "He'll be allowed to ride a moped. And see adults-only films. His birthday will be the day he no longer needs to sneak into the cinema without being seen. He'll be able to walk past the caretaker with a ticket in his hand. Becoming fifteen is an important event. But he feels worried. What will happen?" Of course, even more of a landmark than the ability to watch adult films is the fact that he'll no longer be required to attend school. This combination of anticipation and trepidation will be familiar to anyone who's read previous books about Joel. For that matter, it will be familiar to anyone who's been a teenager, who's stood at that crossroads between childhood and adulthood without a clear map in hand.

Joel is convinced that now is the time to follow through on his father's long-term plan to finally quit his job as a lumberjack and return to life as a sailor, the life Joel also wants to claim for himself. But when his dad gets a letter revealing the whereabouts of his long-lost mother, everyone's plans might be rerouted. The trip to Stockholm further fuels Joel's wanderlust; for his father, however, the journey does just the opposite, driving him back to northern Sweden, to the quiet life he never thought he wanted.

JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE WORLD is both heartbreaking and thoroughly satisfying, as Joel must --- in somewhat dramatic fashion --- take leave of his childhood home even as he pursues his childhood dreams. At times it may seem that Mankell is trying to tie up too many of the stories he's spent three books drawing out; it's hard to say if Joel's rapid transformation into an independent, self-reliant young man seems abrupt because of the story or because of his (still very young) age. Will Joel's future be as expansive as his imagination? Mankell's storytelling about Joel may be done, but his character --- and future journeys --- will likely live on for a very long time in readers' own imaginations.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Read, December 7, 2011

By 

EltonJ2 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Journey to the End of the World (Paperback)

My 14 year old son read this book for a School project. He said it was pretty intersting and liked what he read. The story actually sounded interesting as he described the overall plot!!