The last invisible boy

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The Last Invisible Boy is a children's book by Evan Kuhlman that was nominated for the German Youth Literature Prize 2011 .

The protagonist is twelve-year-old Finn Garret, who writes down in his diary how the sudden death of his father, who died in a plane crash, threw him off course. In response to the loss of his father, his hair turns white, his skin turns pale, he feels like he is slowly dissolving and he experiences himself as a ghost. He develops the frightening idea that one day he will become invisible.

In the diary it becomes clear in several facets how Finn copes with his grief . The diary entries alternate between the present and past experiences. Line drawings and cartoons loosen up Finn's entries, and the impression of authenticity of the writer and the diary itself emerges .

action

In flashbacks, Finn remembers experiences with his father in his diary, which in retrospect he interprets differently than he originally experienced. He describes positive joint ventures and recognizes the dichotomy of his father, who would have liked to spend more time with his family. In relation to the current situation, he describes the temporary distance from his mother, from whom he does not know how to support her in her grief. Finn also deals in his diary entries with the reactions of the environment in connection with the early death of the father. He describes this as unhelpful. Shortly after death, he experiences the donations as too concentrated and undifferentiated, as a result he finds himself, his mother and his younger brother on their own. The question of guilt also becomes an issue for Finn. He sees the culprit in the father's friend, since without him the father would not have participated in the flight and also with the flight crew, who would have misjudged the situation during the flight. Helpful people who support Finn in further coping with grief are the friendship with his girlfriend Melanie and the relationship with his younger brother Derek, who has developed a more offensive form of coping with grief. His mother, who has her hair dyed white to support him, is also experienced positively in this phase. The relationship with the grandfather is described as ambivalent . On the one hand, Finn feels that the grandfather is strongly attached to the past, too drawn into it and realizes that clinging to the past is no solution, on the other hand, symbolic actions of the grandfather, such as planting a tree for the father , helps Finn to focus on life again and to face the pain of having lost his father. His bottom line is that everyone's life is “big and beautiful”. When asked what may come after death, he comes to the inner realization that his father was light.

The question of why his hair turned white could not be conclusively answered by Finn. Nervous shock, the desire to become a spirit in order to be reunited with the father or a feeling of responsibility for the death of the father were mentioned as possible explanations by him and those around him.

reception

The book, The Last Invisible Boy, was nominated for the 2011 German Youth Literature Prize in the children's book category. In a book review in the Süddeutsche Zeitung , the book is described as a very ambitious project that, due to its literary power, falls outside the conventional framework of children's literature . The last invisible boy was presented by ekz.bibliotheksservice in the context of the books for boys campaign . The campaign is based on the conception of the shortlist from 2008, which was published under the motto “Ran an die Jungs”. The background to this is the knowledge that boys only pick up books when suitable books are available.

output

  • Evan Kuhlman: The Last Invisible Boy . Translated by Uwe-Michael Gutzschhahn. With comics by JP Coovert. dtv junior, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-423-76001-0 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Book review, accessed January 17, 2012
  2. ↑ Nomination for the German Youth Literature Prize 2011 . Website German Youth Literature Prize
  3. ^ Book review in Süddeutsche Zeitung , May 7, 2010, quoted on bücher.de
  4. ↑ Books for Boys . (PDF; 774 kB) Ekz; Retrieved January 17, 2012