Island Days
Three children – two boys and a girl – spend an endless summer on a Greek island. This book is about the unbearable lightness of a friendship that is more than a friendship. Puck is Miech’s girlfriend, but they let Jakob go with them as they explore the island. ‘Swimming, cycling, climbing, walking, riding donkeys and lots and lots of laughing, especially laughing, laughing all the time. (…) These are dream days for the three of them.’
Although this begins as a summery, carefree story, it can’t stay that way. The generosity of the two young lovers, Miech and Puck, in allowing Jakob to tag along leads the three of them into a grey area, as he becomes involved in their budding relationship. From that point, the close-knit team of three begins to shake, before bursting apart with a bang.
With his vibrant style, Gideon Samson sketches an intimate picture of these young adolescents, in a sophisticated story about a love triangle, written in deceptively light sentences.
