Norwegian copyright ©1989

"Echoland is the powerful and emotionally resonant first novel from Per Petterson. Written in the mold of his early story collection Ashes in My Mouth, Sand in My Shoes, it features a young Arvid Jansen, who is now twelve, on the verge of his teenage years and beginning to understand more about the world and his place in it. Set over the course of a single formative summer, the novel captures a series of episodes from Arvid's long visit to his grandparents' home in Denmark. He rides his bike around town, befriends other children on the beach, fishes for plaice, and weathers misunderstandings with his mother and grandparents, all of which Petterson imbues with the hope and yearning that come with this stage of life. Echoland is an assured and poignant beginning for an author--and character--who would go on to be loved the world over." --

English copyright ©2016

"First published with the title Ekkoland in Norway by Forlaget Oktober in 1989" --Title page verso

"First published in English by Harvill Secker/Penguin Random House UK in 2016" --Title page verso

Translated from the Norwegian