Prince - by Ib Michael (Paperback)

About the Book

In 1912 at a Danish seaside hotel, 12-year-old Malte, a charity case from the city, revels in the freedom of summer. Malte spends his days on the beach, and when a coffin containing a young sailor drifts ashore, the boy is soon absorbed in the sailor's tragic love story and dramatic death.

Book Synopsis

For lovers of Howard Norman's The Bird Artist, Prince is an evocative, richly imagined novel about a defining season in the life of a young outcast. In 1912 at a provinical Danish seaside hotel, twelve-year-old Malte, a charity case from the city, revels in the freedom of summer. Largely a solitary boy, Malte spends his days on the beach, transfixed by the sea. When a coffin containing a young sailor drifts ashore, Malte is soon absorbed in the sailor's tragic love story and dramatic death, and their fates become dangerously intertwined.

Review Quotes

"[Prince] stirs one's awe at the mystery of life and consciousness and reminds the adult reader of the wonderland that the world can be when viewed through younger eyes." --Bruce Bawer, The New York Times Book Review

"Although there is a fierce logic to both [Michael's] physical and his ethereal Denmark, there is also a dreamy openness to his gentle ghost story that continues to haunt long after Malte's summer is done." --Jonathan Levi, Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Stunning...a tale of love that survives death, and of magical discoveries made in childhood." --Deloris Tarzan Ament, The Seattle Times

"Evocative...Michael's book has a lovely, tinkling quaintness, like a boardwalk calliope, and haunting images of the sea as both a liberator and captor of souls." --Donna Rifkind, Baltimore Sun

About the Author

Ib Michael is one of Denmark's foremost writers. The author of more than twenty books, he has traveled throughout the world. Prince is his first novel to be published in the United States. He lives in Copenhagen.