Twelve Years, Seven Months and Eleven Days

Walden is 12 years old, seven months, and three days. At this age, every day is important, even if Walden only realizes this when his father leaves him alone for a week in a forest cabin. Just like in the book by the great Henry Thoreau, which his father tormented him with throughout his childhood. What did Walden do wrong? It's clear that he does not live up to his father's expectations; he is not manly enough, he is not a fighter. The baseball game in which Walden didn't hit a single ball seems to have been fateful. On the third day of the wild life, Walden has no time for thoughts; he needs to find food. Both the baseball bat and the 'Remington' provided by his father come into play.
But gradually it becomes clear that Walden's exile is not a punishment at all and that the adult world is much more complicated and foolish than a child can imagine.
Lorris Murray (1951-2021) was a master of detective prose. He wrote several dozen novels, some of them in collaboration with his sisters Marie-Od and Elvira.