Synopses & Reviews
In this honest, tender account of brotherly love, thirteen-year-old Brian is tasked with caring for his disabled older brother.
Thirteen-year-old Brian lives in a trailer on a forgotten patch of land with his divorced and uncaring father. His older brother Lucien, physically and mentally disabled, has been institutionalized for years. While Lucien’s home is undergoing renovations, he is sent to live with his father and younger brother for the summer. Their detached father leaves Brian to care for Lucien’s special needs. But how do you look after someone when you don’t know what they need? How do you make the right choices when you still have so much to discover? Summer Brother is an honest, tender account of brotherly love, which will resonate with readers of Rain Man.
Review
“A sensitive yet unsentimental depiction of poverty and disability from the perspective of an abled character.” Kirkus Reviews
Review
“Refined and subtle, and at the same time one of the most striking voices in contemporary Dutch literature” Lize Spit, author of The Melting
Review
“Robben’s style is deceptively simple. You don’t have to be an adult to read Summer Brother, yet Robben’s imagery, subtle humor, and surprising plot will connect with the most literate of readers. The novel gives a moving insight into a boyhood that gives pause for reflection.” De Standaard
About the Author
Jaap Robben is a poet, playwright, performer, and acclaimed children’s author. You Have Me to Love, his first novel for adults, won the 2014 Dutch Booksellers Award, the Dioraphte Prize, and the ANV Award for best Dutch debut. Robben was chosen as one of the featured debut authors at the 2018 Brooklyn Book Festival. Summer Brother, a bestseller in the Netherlands, is his second novel.