Does anyone know the title and author of this book?

Question

I'd be enternally grateful to anyone who could tell me the title and author of this book. I'm sure it's a recently released novel and it's about two English schoolboys living in either Africa or continental Europe. One boy is described as being an orphan who is a bit plain and he is taken by his more interesting friend who has a mysterious family background. The two decide to do some investigating and things start to spill out.

That's all I can remember from the synopsis.

Thanks for the help but it's not 'The Impressionist'. The boys in this book were about twelve/thirteen years old.

Answer 1

Could it be "The Impressionist" by Hari Kunzru? It was published in April 2002. Here's a link to the book at Abebooks (there's a plot summary there that describes it pretty well): http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=847197096&searchurl=kn%3Denglish%2Bschoolboys%2B%252B%2Borphan%2B%252B%2Bafrica%26sts%3Dt%26x%3D0%26y%3D0

Good luck to you! :-)

Answer 2

The Kite Runner??

Answer 3

"The Death of the Heart" by Elizabeth Bowen fits this except the children are girls, not boys.

I looked for quite some time,but do not have enough information to find your book. I did find information on some listservs that might help you and include it here:
Fiction is usually cataloged by author and title, not by subject or plot line, which makes identifying books
by their plot an often difficult endeavor. One of the best ways to find books for which you know only the plot is to
ask other knowledgeable and well-read people for help. There are several resources you can consult to do this.

First, there is a listserv known as Fiction_L to which you might submit your question. Fiction_L, according
to its home page, "has come up with answers to numerous fiction and non-fiction "stumpers" much to the delight of many
patrons, as well as librarians, happy to find the title of a book they read 20 years ago (or just a couple months ago)."
Thus, if you post your question here, someone may be able to help you identify the story. You can learn how to subscribe
and post messages to Fiction_L at the following web page:

http://www.webrary.org/rs/FLmenu.html

Second, you can post your question to the Project Wombat listserv. Project Wombat, as it describes itself, is
"an e-mail discussion list for difficult reference questions." Project Wombat is read by librarians, scholars, students,
professionals, and people from all walks of life, so by posting your question to the listserv you are drawing upon the
collective memories and resources of thousands of people. As such, Project Wombat is a great place to ask about a book
for which you remember only the plot. The Project Wombat website, from which you can learn how to subscribe and post
a message, is located at the following URL:

http://www.project-wombat.org/

Another option is to submit your question to a service offered by Abebooks known as "BookSleuth":

http://forums.abebooks.com/abesleuthcom

In addition, Loganberry Books offer a fee-based ($2) research service known as "Stump the Bookseller" for people
who can recall only plot details of a book for which they are seeking. Its URL is:

http://www.logan.com/loganberry/stump-form.html

When submitting your questions to these sites and listservs, try to provide as much information about the book
as you can, including all elements of the plot you remember, so that readers will have the best chance of identifying
it. You may actually find it easier to ask a librarian at your local library to submit a query on your behalf.

Besides the above resources, you may wish to submit your question to several others depending on the genre of
the book you remember. For example, if the book you are thinking of is a children's book, you can submit your question
to a children's literature listserv. Some children's literature listservs are listed at http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dKbrown/listserv.html
You can also contact the Child_Lit listserv at Rutger's University (http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~mjoseph/childlit/about.html
).

Two databases useful for identifying books are *NoveList* (or *NoveList K-8* if the book is for children or
young adults) and *What Do I Read Next?* Both of these databases are available from home with a valid NYPL card at NYPL's
Databases page (http://www.nypl.org/databases/). To access these from home, you will be asked to enter the barcode on
the back of your NYPL card.

At these databases you can search for a book using a variety of criteria. At NoveList K-8, for example, you
can click on *Search Our Database* and then choose the criteria you want to use, such as *Describe a Plot, Topic, or
Unit*. Using the *Describe a Plot, Topic, or Unit* search, we entered the keywords *wrong way; child*. You can then
further limit your search by clicking on *Levels* and choosing a level--Young Adult, Children's, or Easy--, choosing
a reading level, etc., but you do not have to limit your search if you do not wish to do so. When you are ready to search,
click on *Search*. A search using the keywords *wrong way; child* and not choosing any of the Limits yielded a list
of 142 titles. Limiting the search by *Level* to only include *Children's* and *Easy* books resulted in a list of 112
titles. One that seems to come close to what you are describing is the following:

Don't Say That, Willy Nilly! by Anna Powell
Summary: "While on his way to the store to buy cabbage for dinner, Willy Nilly manages to say the wrong thing
to almost everyone he meets."

Using the database What Do I Read Next, you can also look for books by choosing various criteria from drop-down
menus.

You can also do Keyword searches of NYPL's catalogs to see if you can find this book.
To see if The New York Public Library (NYPL) owns particular items (such as books, periodicals, videos, etc.)
please check The Library's catalogs:
http://www.nypl.org/books/

Materials listed in CATNYP cannot be borrowed. If you want to borrow an item from The Library, please try searching
in LEO or LEOTELNET. For help in using LEO please click on the word "Help", located in the upper right hand corner of
the LEO catalog.

A list of NYPL locations and hours can be found online here:
http://www.nypl.org/hours/

To try to find a book similar to what you are describing, you can go to NYPL's online catalogs, click on the
LEO Catalog and then click on *Expanded Search*. Once you are on the Expanded Search page, you can do an *All Keyword*
search, using the words *wrong way*. Then scroll down to the *Limits* section, click on *Format*, and from the Format
drop-down menu select the option *Children's Material*; then click on *Go*. You will receive a list of 8 items, including
the following:

Make Way for Dumb Bunnies
by Denim, Sue, 1966-
Scholastic, c1996.
Call #: J PIC D
Summary: The Dumb Bunnies have a very active day, during which they do many things backwards or wrong.

An Internet search on Google (http://www.google.com) using the words *"wrong way" children's story* brought
up sites with possible book titles, including the following:

Powell's. com. Wrong Way Rabbit (Hello Reader!) by Teddy Slater.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=0785705910
Summary: "Meet Tibbar Jack--the Wrong-Way Rabbit. He walks backwards. He talks backwards. And he is very funny.
Part of the Hello Reader! series, The Wrong-Way Rabbit has been tested for vocabulary and sentence length to encourage
young readers. This story is designed for pre-school-age readers. Full-color throughout."

R. Michelson Galleries.Diane deGroat Gallery.
http://www.rmichelson.com/Artist_Pages/deGroat/diane_degroat_gallery.htm
This site has illustrations from the book Wrong Way Rabbit, who illustrated Teddy Slater's book of the same
name.
Sources:Above Web sites accessed Sept. 1, 2006.
New York Public Library