Summary of Joe SpeedboatÂ
After a farming accident, 14-year-old Frankie Hermans is left paralysed, except for his right arm, unable to speak properly, and entirely dependent on others. However, when he befriends Joe Speedboat, an adventurous new boy in the village, everything changes. Frankie regains his zest for life, becomes a champion arm-wrestler, and falls in love with the girl PJ Eilander.
Reasons to read Joe Speedboat
“Joe Speedboat” is a captivating and eccentric coming-of-age novel, told through Frankie’s thoughts. The book is a celebration of friendship, love, and imagination, set against the backdrop of a remote rural village in the Netherlands. “Joe Speedboat” was the breakthrough novel of Dutch author Tommy Wieringa and earned him the Bordewijk Prize in 2006. Other books by Wieringa include “These are the Names” (winner of the Libris Prize), “Little Caesar”, and “The Death of Murat Idrissi”.
Setting: the Netherlands
Lomark – a fictional village, likely modelled after Huissen, in Gelderland.
Original title: Joe Speedboot
Year of publication: 2005
Nr of pages: 328
