The Ringmaster´s daughter

A magical novel from the author of the international bestseller Sophie’s World. Panina Manina, a circus trapeze artist, falls and breaks her neck. As the ringmaster bends over her he sees around her neck an amber charm, just like the one he gave to his own child before she was swept away in a torrent sixteen years before. The theme of a father finding a long-lost child runs through this magical novel. The tale is narrated by Petter, Jostein Gaarder’s most intriguing creation since Sophie, a precocious child and fantasist who grows up to be a storyteller of disturbing mischief. Rather than be an author himself, Petter makes his living selling stories and ideas to professionals suffering from writer’s block. It’s a lucrative trade. But as he sits like a spider in the centre of his web, Petter finds himself in a trap of his own making.