Enemy of the Ants

Ants beware. When Jonas opens his box of matches, there’s nowhere to hide. Not only is Jonas an enemy to ants, he hates cats, dogs, snails, cows … and his grandmother, too. The boy’s violent behaviour towards animals and other children is fuelled by frustration and anger. He worships his mother, but her undivided attention is hard to secure with all those “uncles” flitting in and out of their lives, not to mention the imminent new arrival whom Jonas has labelled the “football”. When Jonas and his mother run away to grandmother’s farm following a violent incident at their home, the little boy’s world is turned on its head. His hateful grandmother spies on his every move from behind her bedroom curtains, his pregnant mother picks up a new man and the football is about to make its debut. Then Jonas gets involved with strange little Sarah, and a series of tragic events begins to unfold … With literary finesse, Stephan Valentin examines the distress of a lonely child whose behaviour mirrors society’s indifference to his plight.

Ants beware. When Jonas opens his box of matches, there’s nowhere to hide. Not only is Jonas an enemy to ants, he hates cats, dogs, snails, cows … and his grandmother, too. The boy’s violent behaviour towards animals and other children is fuelled by frustration and anger. He worships his mother, but her undivided attention is hard to secure with all those “uncles” flitting in and out of their lives, not to mention the imminent new arrival whom Jonas has labelled the “football”. When Jonas and his mother run away to grandmother’s farm following a violent incident at their home, the little boy’s world is turned on its head. His hateful grandmother spies on his every move from behind her bedroom curtains, his pregnant mother picks up a new man and the football is about to make its debut. Then Jonas gets involved with strange little Sarah, and a series of tragic events begins to unfold … With literary finesse, Stephan Valentin examines the distress of a lonely child whose behaviour mirrors society’s indifference to his plight.

Stephan Valentin grew up in Germany and moved to Paris at the age of twenty to study drama and psychology. After several volunteer stints as a child psychologist in Africa and India, he returned to Paris where he has his own practice. Stephan Valentin is the author of several non-fiction titles on parenting and child psychology. His short story "Der Taubenturm" was awarded Germany’s prestigious Bettina von Arnim Prize. His first novel "Enemy of the Ants" is currently being adapted for the cinema in Germany.