by Janne Teller
First published 2012
Pierre Anthon learns a terrible truth and shouts it from the branches of a plum tree. Nothing has importance, he tells his classmates. Nothing deserves effort. His friends refuse to accept this verdict. They decide to prove him wrong by gathering things that matter deeply to them. In an abandoned sawmill, they build a pile of meaningful objects. Each student must contribute something precious. The search for significance reveals adult secrets, shame, and envy through the voices of children. The pile grows as the stakes rise. Students discover they only recognize importance when they lose something forever. By then it becomes too late. The quest to prove meaning exists transforms into something darker. What begins as defiance against Pierre Anthon's nihilism becomes a mirror reflecting society's hidden shames.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Sawmill
Period: 21st-century
152 pages · Paperback · Alberdania
Content warnings: depression, suicide