Nikolski

Reviews / Votes

Stylish, offbeat, poignant and perceptive -- David Mitchell Nikolski marches to its own offbeat drum, wandering here and there, wherever strikes its fancy. It provides a number of inexplicable events that never really seem inexplicable, since we are in the middle of a novel, after all, where "inevitable interpretations" will accrue even if a writer seems to resist them. But I suspect the promising and clever Nicolas Dickner knew that all along -- Patrick Ness * Guardian * Nikolski is an intriguing debut ... don't expect a neat resolution: this novel is about journeys rather than destinations -- Melissa McClements * Financial Times * Nikolski is full of wonderful imagery and eclectic characters ... an allusive, often beautifully written and entertaining novel (elegantly translated from Canadian French). Dickner's book leaves the reader with an airy impression of having dallied in an alternative universe -- Philip Hoare * Independent * If you have a taste for the novels of Georges Perec, Thomas Pynchon or Michael Chabon, then you'll probably go for Nicolas Dickner too ... like those other writers Dickner achieves a similar suggestive allusiveness to some deep grand design ... I suspect we will be hearing more of him in the future -- David Mills * Esquire * Fabulous debut ... Dickner embodies the meaning of a true storyteller; his prose is perceptive, witty, and simply addictive ... Nikolski is a brilliant read and Dickner is an author to keep your eye on * Aesthetica * The French edition of this debut won four literary awards for the French-Canadian author * Bookseller * A brilliant exercise in multilayered storytelling -- Kate Saunders * The Times * An occasionally dazzling debut novel ... Clever and poignant * Big Issue in Scotland/Big Issue Cymru * The original, French-language version of this book won many prizes in Canada and this elegant, stylish translation reveals why ... Nicolas Dickner, who uses beautifully spare prose which can be as darkly comic as it is affecting, isn't trying to tell a conventional story, he's trying to tap into a very modern idea: that we need to understand that we all connect with each other somehow, family or not. And he does so impressively well -- Ben East * Metro * A prize-winning best-seller in Dickner's native Canada and its easy to see why ... It's a dreamlike conundrum of a novel -- Tina Jackson * Metro * It will take you on a beautiful, quirky journey with three lost souls seeking a refuge ... Dickner deserves high praise for a funny, poignant and perceptive debut -- Abigail Dean * Books Quarterly * A delightful, playful and very contemporary debut by a brilliant new author ... a quirky yet elegantly written novel -- Linda Leatherbarrow * New Books * Nikolski is captivating, combining all the great facets of storytelling. Dickner has created an intricately woven plot ... Nikolski is a magnificent example of the fine art of crafting a narrative ... a multi-layered book, which superbly blends fact and fiction, analyses the function of archaeology and contemplates the way our civilisation will be viewed by future generations -- Shona Fairweather * Aesthetica * Dickner's thrilling prose, which won him numerous prizes ... is irresistible. Deceptively simple words give shape to complex meanings and the truth about fish shops, book shops, fossils and parenthood is revealed anew, and joyously, on every page -- Melissa Katsoulis * Sunday Telegraph * Nikolski is a wonderful book of eccentric characters, strange events, broken families and oh so much more ... The writing is wonderful, almost poetry. * Book Buzz blog * A good-humoured exploration of how imagination can be used to flex and reinvent what seems to be fixed, from maps and networks of communication to ostensibly rigid social hierarchies. This is an optimistic reminder that "territory isn't measured in square kilometers" as any place can simultaneously accommodate many creative uses -- Thomas Marks * Literary Review * [A] bewitching debut ... [This] is a glorious book, packed with strange beguiling detail about travel, the sea and archaeology -- Richard Whitehead * The National * This is a multilayered story of three migrating souls finding their place in life -- Sarah Broadhurst * Bookseller *