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A review by fantine
Why We Took the Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf
4.0
Mike has been taught by his disgraced businessman father and alcoholic mother that the world is a bad place full of bad people, and after spending hours on a photorealistic portrait of Beyoncé for his crush to not invite him to her party, he has to agree.
Until the weird new Russian kid (who reminded me of my all time favourite fictional teen Boris from [b:The Goldfinch|17333223|The Goldfinch|Donna Tartt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1378710146l/17333223._SY75_.jpg|24065147] <3) proposes they crash the party - in a stolen car. Suddenly free from militant teachers, judgemental classmates and societal pressures, our juvenile delinquents embark on a road trip to nowhere via the lawless autobahns and unpaved village roads of outer Berlin, no map or compass necessary.
Along the way they meet a cultishly cheerful family obsessed with Harry Potter, a trigger-happy old man outcast by the country he once served who reminisces on his lost love, and a peculiar girl who calls a rubbish tip home. As tumultuous and messy as teenagerhood itself, the story twists through moments of tranquil self-discovery and heart-pounding heartbreak never relinquishing wit and always hurtling onward.
Darkly funny and surprisingly moving it was such a joy to follow these boys, abandoned by adults, navigate change and connection together. An underrated gem of a coming of age road trip novel.
Until the weird new Russian kid (who reminded me of my all time favourite fictional teen Boris from [b:The Goldfinch|17333223|The Goldfinch|Donna Tartt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1378710146l/17333223._SY75_.jpg|24065147] <3) proposes they crash the party - in a stolen car. Suddenly free from militant teachers, judgemental classmates and societal pressures, our juvenile delinquents embark on a road trip to nowhere via the lawless autobahns and unpaved village roads of outer Berlin, no map or compass necessary.
Along the way they meet a cultishly cheerful family obsessed with Harry Potter, a trigger-happy old man outcast by the country he once served who reminisces on his lost love, and a peculiar girl who calls a rubbish tip home. As tumultuous and messy as teenagerhood itself, the story twists through moments of tranquil self-discovery and heart-pounding heartbreak never relinquishing wit and always hurtling onward.
Darkly funny and surprisingly moving it was such a joy to follow these boys, abandoned by adults, navigate change and connection together. An underrated gem of a coming of age road trip novel.