At the edge of heaven – Southall Ivan – Melik-Pashayev – 2021 – ISBN 978-5-00041-437-8
At the edge of heaven
At the edge of heaven
14.99 €
Gerald Hennessy and his friends are flying to Gerald's parents' farm to celebrate his fourteenth birthday, but the pilot of their plane dies mid-air. Gerald, the only one who has ever flown a plane, takes control. However, he's only flown with his father, never setting a course or landing on his own. A true drama unfolds in the cramped cockpit of the Heron: Gerald understands that every move, every decision, could prove fatal. The author immerses the reader in the characters' thoughts and experiences, forcing them to experience every horrific detail of what unfolds on the plane—from bags overflowing with vomit to the moment the plane spirals out of control. The book captivates with its absolute honesty: Southall's characters aren't cardboard cutouts, but three-dimensional and real. Children on the threshold of adulthood come face to face with mortal danger. And although these children accept the challenge, they discover the darker sides of their nature that hinder them. Gerald saves his friends' lives, but he lurches from barely suppressed hysteria to sullen isolation. The noble, self-sacrificing Colin considers letting Gerald drown. Carol and Jen are unable to overcome their mutual dislike, even for their own good. In a critical situation, no character behaves like a typical hero. Severe trials force the children to grow up quickly, the heroes discover new qualities within themselves, and by the end of the book, they become different. Published in 1967, "The Edge of Heaven" was the third in what Southall called the "elemental trilogy"—water, fire, and air. In the first book, "Hills End" (1962), a group of children encounter the elements in a town cut off from the outside by a hurricane and flood. In the second, "Ash Road" (1965), the young heroes find themselves face to face with a terrifying forest fire. And in "The Edge of Heaven," the unearthly nature of the air is beautifully conveyed: "The world had turned gray, except for a red haze below. Above Gerald, clouds, all around him, and below, the wind whipped up dust. The altimeter read 9,400 feet."
See also:
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