Borderliners
Encyclopedia
Borderliners is the English translation of De måske egnede, a novel written by Danish author Peter Høeg
in 1993. It is about three children, Peter, Katerina and August who attend a private school in Copenhagen
in the mid 1970s. It is not long before the children realise they are part of an experiment initiated by the school. The objective is to show how damaged children can be saved and converted into fine citizens. The children choose to fight the experiment.
Peter is a student at Biehl's after spending all of his life in children's homes and reform schools. He is a borderline case, along with Katarina, whose parents both died in the past year, and August, severely disturbed after killing his abusive parents. Although allowed no social interaction, the children conspire to conduct their own experiment to discover what plan is being carried out at Biehl's. Hoeg touches on some of the same themes as in his acclaimed Smilla's Sense of Snow (LJ 8/93)-neglected children, scientific experiments, and technology-but this is not a thriller and may not appeal to the same audience. It is instead a fascinating intellectual puzzle that explores the themes of social control, child assessment, family, and the concept of time.
The book is also somewhat autobiographical as it reflects Peter Høeg's own schooldays at a Copenhagen private school.
Peter Høeg
Peter Høeg is a Danish writer of fiction. He received a Master of Arts in Literature from the University of Copenhagen in 1984.-Early life:Høeg was born in Copenhagen, Denmark...
in 1993. It is about three children, Peter, Katerina and August who attend a private school in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
in the mid 1970s. It is not long before the children realise they are part of an experiment initiated by the school. The objective is to show how damaged children can be saved and converted into fine citizens. The children choose to fight the experiment.
Peter is a student at Biehl's after spending all of his life in children's homes and reform schools. He is a borderline case, along with Katarina, whose parents both died in the past year, and August, severely disturbed after killing his abusive parents. Although allowed no social interaction, the children conspire to conduct their own experiment to discover what plan is being carried out at Biehl's. Hoeg touches on some of the same themes as in his acclaimed Smilla's Sense of Snow (LJ 8/93)-neglected children, scientific experiments, and technology-but this is not a thriller and may not appeal to the same audience. It is instead a fascinating intellectual puzzle that explores the themes of social control, child assessment, family, and the concept of time.
The book is also somewhat autobiographical as it reflects Peter Høeg's own schooldays at a Copenhagen private school.