Author(s): Jostein Gaarder

Pre-Loved Books | Contemporary Fiction

Panina Manina, a trapeze artist, falls and breaks her neck. As the ringmaster bends over her, he notices an amulet of amber around her neck, the same trinket he had given his own lost child, who was swept away in a torrent some sixteen years earlier.The theme of a father finding a long-lost child runs through this magical novel. The tale is narrated by Petter, a precocious child and fantasist who grows up to be a storyteller of disturbing mischief, and perhaps Jostein Gaarder's most intriguing character since Sophie.Rather than be an author himself, Petter makes his living selling stories and ideas to professionals suffering from writers block. It's a lucrative trade. But as Petter sits spinning his tales, he finds himself in a trap of his own making.