THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO LIVING

Seventeen year old Will is clever but he can't find answers to any of his questions after his mother dies in a car accident. His father seems to be drifting; his older brother stays away from home, or drinks too much when he's around. And Will just can't get past being either angry or in tears. Except when he finds his mum's old camera and starts taking photos (11 of which are included in the text).

When he meets 16 year old Taryn he falls for her in a big way. As well as sex, his mind is exploding with philosophical and religious ideas - he's trying to grasp his new reality of grief. Following in the steps of Kierkegaard, Will wants to find an idea by which he can "live and die". After a brief fling with violence and drugs, he finds himself camping out in the bush, before making it back to his mother's grave, and a more peaceful state of mind.

THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO LIVING has all the hallmarks of a literary page turner. Lia Hills writes with an ear for the lyrical, as well as capturing the perfect pitch dialogue and inner voice of a teenager in turmoil. It is a genuine crossover novel: its adult themes of death and sex and philosophy are presented through the eyes of a boy on the cusp of adulthood whose voice has appeal for an audience of adults both young and older.

Brazil: Agir/Ediouro ; USA: FSG; Greek: Motibo/Topos Books;

LEBEN IST AUCH KEINE LoeSUNG
Deutsch von Simone Wiemken
[TPB: Loewe, 01/2010]