Austrian writer Christine Nostlinger masterfully combines fantasy with the problems of modern children.
Twelve-year-old Anton feels lonely. His parents are busy with themselves, constantly sorting things out and don't even remember their son's birthday. The level of their hostility towards each other is off the charts. There is no contact with their own son. At school, no one communicates with Anton either, and the teacher even calls him an "outsider", that is, a stranger, unnecessary. The only person who understands and loves Anton is his grandmother. But she lives in another city, and they don't see each other often.
The boy keeps a diary, from which the reader learns about his sad life.
Fortunately, Anton met Karl, a man living in a TV, by pure chance. Their friendship changed the teenager's life completely. Karl turned out to be a surprisingly interesting and attractive person. He is quite a grown-up uncle. He is kind and attentive, knows many languages, helps Anton with his studies, gives him tactful advice on how to act in this or that situation. When Anton gets into trouble twice, Karl, without thinking, leaves his TV shelter to help the boy out, although the transition to a human environment is fraught for him not only with loss of height and weight, but even his life.
The book is easy to read, with increasing interest from page to page – right up to the paradoxical ending. All the events described literally call for joint reading and understanding of what happened by parents and children. Yes, modern children are not staring at TV screens, but at iPhones and iPads, but many of them probably lead the same “off-screen” life as Anton, due to loneliness and misunderstanding from loved ones.
Recommended reader age: 10+
Author: Christine Nestlinger
Translation: Pavel Frenkel
Artist: Jutta Buer
Year of release: 2020
Publisher: Melik-Pashayev
Pages: 72
Cover type: Hardcover
Dimensions: 248x175x12 mm
ISBN: 978-5-00041-365-4