Synopsis
”It’s up to you” is the reply from Johan’s distracted dad when Johan decides to skip piano practice and start karate lessons. The boy is 13 years old and even if his dad is physically present in the middle-class home, he is completely invisible as a father figure.
And a father figure is what Johan craves: despite having good friends and hobbies, the boy is in search of male role models. When he does not find what he needs in his dad, he looks elsewhere and as he is drawn to the masculine, he looks to his karate trainer, who turns out to be not quite right either.
The book gives us a gentle glimpse of a fragile teenage boy and his struggle to find his own path in life with no steer from the adults around him.
Reviews
"An oppressive and sensitive tale" – (Four hearts in Politiken)
"Krarup succeeds at capturing something that is challenging to describe" – (Weekendavisen)
"The cartoonist, Johan Krarup (…), succeeds at pressing the comfort barometer completely to low" – (Four stars in Avisen Denmark)
