Publisher's Synopsis
A controversial novel of sexual awakening by an author who has already been compared with Dostoevsky. The Norwegian publishing sensation of 1998, it was awarded the Norwegian Literary Critics' Award and hailed as a 'Lolita for today'. Set in 1996, it centres around the life of Henrik Vankel, a young teacher in a coastal community. Lonely and shy, he is possessed by a desire for Miriam, an innocent young thirteen-year-old and one of his pupils. Sharp, sensitive, beautiful and tragic, this is a sensational debut novel from an exceptionally talented writer.
