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"A brilliant coming-of-age story with an outlandish twist . . . this wonderfully weird novel is not one to miss." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
After a farming accident plunges him into a coma for six months, Frankie Hermans wakes up to discover that he's paralyzed and mute. Bound to a wheelchair, Frankie struggles to adjust to a life where he must rely on others to complete even the simplest tasks. The only body part he can control is his right arm, which he uses obsessively to record the details of daily life in his town in Holland.
But when he meets Joe—a boy who blazed into his sleepy rural town like a meteor while Frankie slept—everything changes. Joe is a centrifugal force, both magician and daredevil, and he alone sees potential strength in Frankie's handicaps. With Joe's help, Frankie's arm will be used for more than just writing: as a champion arm-wrestler, Frankie will be powerful enough to win back his friends, and maybe even woo P.J., the girl who has them all in a tailspin . . .
From the award-winning author of These are the Names, Joe Speedboat is "[an] offbeat story of a group of boys searching for meaning . . .This work conjures John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany but with a lighter touch" (Library Journal).
"Witty, thoughtful and surprisingly tender." —The Independent
Praise for Joe Speedboat
“A brilliant coming-of-age story with an outlandish twist . . . this wonderfully weird novel is not one to miss.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Winsome . . . Wieringa’s protagonist, Frankie, has an attitude attune to Holden Caulfield, without the anxiety and the quirks. . . . [Frankie’s] unwavering and confident . . . in-your-face voice . . . applies literature to life, lyrically, with an attention to minutiae. . . . Charismatic, intelligent, he’s the kinetic energy that thrusts the narrative forward.” —Salvatore Ruggiero, Bookslut
“[An] offbeat story of a group of boys searching for meaning . . . This work conjures John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany but with a lighter touch.” —Library Journal
“[Joe Speedboat] offers a rewarding journey into the unfamiliar. It is also witty, thoughtful, and surprisingly tender as Frankie comes to realize that he has got a life to live that is still well worth the living.” —Nicholas Tucker, The Independent (UK)
“A sparkling bildungsroman . . . that recalls The World According to Garp.” —NRC Handelsblad (Holland)
“A brilliant story, beautifully written, striking and captivating not only because of the memorable characters, but because of the surprises that lie in wait at every turn.” —Neue Zurcher Zeitung (Switzerland)
“A book to fall in love with.” —Het Parool (Holland)
“This is such a lovely book, full of eccentricity and charm.” —The Bookbag (UK)
“A wonderfully eccentric and uproariously funny novel.” —Waterstone’s Books Quarterly (UK)
Tommy Wieringa was born in 1967 and grew up partly in the Netherlands and in Aruba. He began his writing career with travel stories and journalism and is the author of two previous novels, one of which was awarded Holland’s Halewijn prize and nominated for the AKO Literature Prize. This is his first novel to be published in English.