Extracts

Extract: Fire by John Boyne

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Reading lists

Best romance books for ultimate escapism

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Children's reading lists

9 of the best Irish children’s books and authors

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Long books that are worth every minute of reading

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Interviews

John Boyne: the books that shaped my life

The Making of the A Ladder to the Sky audiobook

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Features

The Making of Audiobook A Ladder to the Sky

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‘Is that you, God? It’s me, Cyril’

John Boyne: The powerful books that I read in 2017

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John Boyne: The powerful books I read in 2017

From internationally bestselling author John Boyne, a contemplative story about one man trying to move forward from the trauma of his youth to become a better father to his son. 
 
Being in limbo, 30,000 feet in the air, offers time to reflect and take stock. For Aaron Umber, it’s an opportunity to connect with his 14-year-old son as they travel halfway across the world to meet a woman who isn’t expecting them. 
 
Unsettled by his past, and anxious for his future, Aaron is at a crossroads in life. The damage inflicted upon him during his youth has made him the man he is, but now threatens to widen the growing fissures between him and his only child. This trip could bind them closer together, or tear them further apart. 
 
In this penetrating examination of action and consequence, fault and attribution, acceptance and resolution, John Boyne gives us a redemptive story of a father and a son on a moving journey to mend their troubled lives. 
______ 
 
Praise for John Boyne 
 
'One of the greatest craftsmen in contemporary literature' Colum McCann 
'Among the world's greatest storytellers' Donal Ryan 
'One of the most assured novelists of his generation' Observer

John Boyne is the author of fifteen novels for adults, six for younger readers, and a collection of short stories. His 2006 novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and has been adapted for cinema, theatre, ballet, and opera. His many international bestsellers include The Heart's Invisible Furies and A Ladder to the Sky. He has won four Irish Book Awards, including Author of the Year in 2022, along with a host of other international literary prizes. His novels are published in sixty languages. 
 
 
Twitter: @JohnBoyneBooks 
Instagram: @JohnBoyneAuthor

Being in limbo, 30,000 feet in the air, offers time to reflect and take stock. For Aaron Umber, it’s an opportunity to connect with his 14-year-old son as they travel halfway across the world to meet a woman who isn’t expecting them. 
 
Unsettled by his past, and anxious for his future, Aaron is at a crossroads in life. The damage inflicted upon him during his youth has made him the man he is, but now threatens to widen the growing fissures between him and his only child. This trip could bind them closer together, or tear them further apart. 
 
In this penetrating examination of action and consequence, fault and attribution, acceptance and resolution, John Boyne gives us a redemptive story of a father and a son on a moving journey to mend their troubled lives.

Fire

'An exhilarating read' Spectator 
‘Unsettling and utterly compelling’ Woman and Home 
‘incredibly well-written’ Good Housekeeping 
'Hypnotically clean, clear prose... powerful and memorable' Irish Times 
'You will hurtle through the book, because it is such a compelling story' Irish Examiner 
______ 
 
From internationally bestselling author John Boyne, a challenging and visceral narrative that asks the question: can one cataclysmic moment turn someone into a monster? 
 
On the face of it, Freya lives a gilded existence, dancing solely to her own tune. She has all the trappings of wealth and privilege, a responsible job as a surgeon specialising in skin grafts, a beautiful flat in a sought-after development, and a flash car. But it wasn’t always like this. Hers is a life founded on darkness. 
 
Did what happened to Freya as a child one fateful summer influence the adult she would become – or was she always destined to be that person? Was she born with cruelty in her heart or did something force it into being? 
 
In Fire, John Boyne takes the reader on a chilling, uncomfortable but utterly compelling psychological journey to the epicentre of the human condition, asking the age-old question: nurture – or nature? 
______ 
 
Praise for John Boyne 
 
'One of the greatest craftsmen in contemporary literature' Colum McCann 
'Among the world's greatest storytellers' Donal Ryan 
'One of the most assured novelists of his generation' Observer 
 
 
Irish Times bestseller, May 2024

Boyne has found a neat framework for a series of original novels, linked as much by theme and image as by character and setting. Fire is an exhilarating read.

You will hurtle through the book, because it is such a compelling story, so cleverly written.

Hypnotically clean, clear prose... powerful and memorable

On the face of it, Freya lives a gilded existence, dancing solely to her own tune. She has all the trappings of wealth and privilege: a responsible job as a surgeon specializing in skin grafts, a beautiful flat in a sought-after development, and a flash car. But it wasn’t always like this. Hers is a life founded on darkness. 
 
Did what happened to Freya as a child one fateful summer influence the adult she would become – or was she always destined to be that person? Was she born with cruelty in her heart, or did something force it into being? 
 
In Fire, John Boyne takes the reader on a chilling, uncomfortable but utterly compelling psychological journey to the epicentre of the human condition, asking the age-old question: nurture – or nature?

On the face of it, Freya lives a gilded existence, dancing solely to her own tune. She has all the trappings of wealth and privilege, a responsible job as a surgeon specialising in skin grafts, a beautiful flat in a sought-after development, and a flash car. But it wasn’t always like this. Hers is a life founded on darkness. 
 
Did what happened to Freya as a child one fateful summer influence the adult she would become – or was she always destined to be that person? Was she born with cruelty in her heart or did something force it into being? 
 
In Fire, John Boyne takes the reader on a chilling, uncomfortable but utterly compelling psychological journey to the epicentre of the human condition, asking the age-old question: nurture – or nature?

The Dog Who Danced on the Moon

An affectionately illustrated bedtime story with witty wordplay that will also make grown-up readers smile &ndash; The Times 
 
There once was a boy called Jeremy Grace 
Who had a remarkable interest in space. 
He was quiet and shy, very often alone, 
Just him and his dog, spending time on their own. 
 
Jeremy dreams of journeying through space, but nobody believes in him . . . Nobody, that is, but Maxwell, his incredible dancing dog who encourages him to reach for the stars. The pair embark on an out-of-this-world adventure - but when they are faced with an incoming comet catastrophe, it takes bravery, daring and a little bit of dancing to save the day. 
 
Heartwarming and inspirational with a touch of magic, this read-aloud rhyming picture-book story encourages children to follow their dreams. 
 
This is the picture book debut from John Boyne, the author of the globally bestselling, multi-million-copy classic, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. The illustrations are by award-winning rising star Ashling Lindsay. 
 
John Boyne, The Bookseller bestseller, May 2024

John Boyne (Author) 
John Boyne is the author of fifteen novels for adults, six for younger readers, and a collection of short stories. His 2006 novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and has been adapted for cinema, theatre, ballet, and opera. His many international bestsellers include The Heart's Invisible Furies and A Ladder to the Sky. He has won four Irish Book Awards, including Author of the Year in 2022, along with a host of other international literary prizes. His novels are published in sixty languages. 
 
 
Twitter: @JohnBoyneBooks 
Instagram: @JohnBoyneAuthor 
 
Ashling Lindsay (Illustrator) 
Ashling Lindsay is an Irish artist from Belfast. She has been making picture books for eight years and has been included on some of the most prestigious award lists in the world. Her approach to making art changes with each book. She responds to every text individually by experimenting with colour and composition, using a variety of materials until she finds a combination that fits the text. This nearly always begins with analogue experiments &ndash; marks and paint on paper. Ashling teaches illustration at Belfast School of Art and is a fluent Irish speaker.

There once was a boy called Jeremy Grace 
Who had a remarkable interest in space. 
He was quiet and shy, very often alone, 
Just him and his dog, spending time on their own. 
 
Jeremy dreams of journeying through space, but nobody believes in him . . . Nobody, that is, but Maxwell, his incredible dancing dog who encourages him to reach for the stars. The pair embark on an out-of-this-world adventure - but when they are faced with an incoming comet catastrophe, it takes bravery, daring and a little bit of dancing to save the day. 
 
Heartwarming and inspirational with a touch of magic, this read-aloud rhyming picture-book story encourages children to follow their dreams. 
 
This is the picture book debut from John Boyne, the author of the globally bestselling, multi-million-copy classic, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. The illustrations are by award-winning rising star Ashling Lindsay.

Earth

‘Utterly compelling… powerful and disturbing’ Sunday Independent 
'Compelling... a potent portrait of a flawed young man' Daily Mail 
'A strong set-up, and with the masterly Boyne at the helm, the tension never lets up' Mail on Sunday 
‘New and ambitious… packed with big ideas, moral questions and social commentary’ Irish Times 
_____________ 
 
From million-copy-bestselling author John Boyne, an inescapably gritty story about one young man whose direction in life takes a vastly different turn than what he expected. 
 
It’s the tabloid sensation of the year: two well-known footballers standing in the dock, charged with sexual assault, a series of vile text messages pointing towards their guilt. 
 
As the trial unfolds, Evan Keogh reflects on the events that have led him to this moment. Since leaving his island home, his life has been a lie on many levels. He’s a talented footballer who wanted to be an artist. A gay man in a sport that rejects diversity. A defendant whose knowledge of what took place on that fateful night threatens more than just his freedom or career. 
 
The jury will deliver a verdict but, before they do, Evan must judge for himself whether the man he has become is the man he wanted to be. 
___________ 
 
What readers are saying about Earth: 
 
'I read it in one sitting' 
'I devoured this book' 
'Unputdownable' 
'Beautifully written and compelling' 
'A short, sharp read... hard to tear your eyes away'

Compelling... a potent portrait of a flawed young man

A strong set-up, and with the masterly Boyne at the helm, the tension never lets up

Utterly compelling… powerful and disturbing

New and ambitious… packed with big ideas, moral questions and social commentary

It’s the tabloid sensation of the year: two well-known footballers standing in the dock, charged with sexual assault, a series of vile text messages pointing towards their guilt. 
 
As the trial unfolds, Evan Keogh reflects on the events that have led him to this moment. Since leaving his island home, his life has been a lie on many levels. He’s a talented footballer who wanted to be an artist. A gay man in a sport that rejects diversity. A defendant whose knowledge of what took place on that fateful night threatens more than just his freedom or career. 
 
The jury will deliver a verdict but, before they do, Evan must judge for himself whether the man he has become is the man he wanted to be.

A haunting, confronting novel from the author of The Heart’s Invisible Furies

Water

‘A perceptive, moving exploration of guilt, grief and complicity’ Sunday Express 
‘Boyne does not put a foot wrong in this masterly novella’ Mail on Sunday 
'An intriguing investigation of contemporary trauma... [a] short but powerful book' Guardian 
'His quietest novel... but one just as powerful as his larger canvases' Business Post 
___________ 
 
From million-copy-bestselling author John Boyne comes a masterfully reflective story about one woman coming to terms with the demons of her past and finding a new path forward. 
 
The first thing Vanessa Carvin does when she arrives on the island is change her name. To the locals, she is Willow Hale, a solitary outsider escaping Dublin to live a hermetic existence in a small cottage, not a notorious woman on the run from her past. 
 
But scandals follow like hunting dogs. And she has some questions of her own to answer. If her ex-husband is really the monster everyone says he is, then how complicit was she in his crimes? 
 
Escaping her old life might seem like a good idea but the choices she has made throughout her marriage have consequences. Here, on the island, Vanessa must reflect on what she did - and did not do. Only then can she discover whether she is worthy of finding peace at all. 
 
Can you ever truly wash away your past? 
__________ 
 
What readers are saying: 
 
'A scorching, devastating tale' 
'Powerful, challenging and beautifully written’ 
'Compelling, propulsive, and completely immersive’ 
'Written with the same emotional intensity and thought provoking honesty as his longer works’

His quietest novel... but one just as powerful as his larger canvases

An intriguing investigation of contemporary trauma... [a] short but powerful book

Boyne does not put a foot wrong in this masterly novella

A perceptive, moving exploration of guilt, grief and complicity

Boyne not only opens up conversations, he writes beautifully and sensitively

The first thing Vanessa Carvin does when she arrives on the island is change her name. To the locals, she is Willow Hale, a solitary outsider escaping Dublin to live a hermetic existence in a small cottage, not a notorious woman on the run from her past. 
 
But scandals follow like hunting dogs. And she has some questions of her own to answer. If her ex-husband is really the monster everyone says he is, then how complicit was she in his crimes? 
 
Escaping her old life might seem like a good idea but the choices she has made throughout her marriage have consequences. Here, on the island, Vanessa must reflect on what she did - and did not do. Only then can she discover whether she is worthy of finding peace at all.

The Sequel to The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas

All The Broken Places

'Beautifully told and gripping from first page to last' Sunday Express 
'An incredible feat of storytelling... and an old-fashioned page-turner' Donal Ryan 
'Gripping and well-honed...consummately constructed, humming with tension' Guardian 
'You can't prepare yourself for the magnitude and emotional impact of this powerful novel' John Irving 
________________________________ 
 
From the author of the globally bestselling, multi-million-copy classic, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, comes its astonishing and powerful sequel. 
 
Gretel Fernsby is a quiet woman leading a quiet life. She doesn't talk about her escape from Germany seventy years ago or the dark post-war years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn't talk about her father, the commandant of one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps. 
 
But when a young family moves into the apartment below her, Gretel can't help but befriend their little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back painful memories. One night, she witnesses a violent argument between his parents, which threatens to disturb her hard-won peace. 
 
For the second time in her life, Gretel is given the chance to save a young boy. To do so would allay her guilt, grief and remorse, but it will also force her to reveal her true identity. 
 
Will she make a different choice this time, whatever the cost to herself? 
_______________________________ 
 
Praise for John Boyne 
 
'A master storyteller' Daily Express 
'One of the best novelists of Ireland' Sunday Express 
'Boyne offers writing of insight and beauty' Observer 
'John Boyne is a maestro of hisoritical fiction' John Irving

Gripping and well-honed...consummately constructed, humming with tension... a defence of literature's need to shine a light on the darkest aspects of human nature and it does so with a novelist's skill, precision and power

'What an incredible feat of storytelling. All the Broken Places is a stark confrontation of evil, an examination of guilt and deflection, and an old-fashioned page-turner. John treads the finest of narrative lines with skill and grace and proves himself yet again to be among the world's greatest storytellers. '

An eloquent meditation on guilt, complicity and redemption.. a remarkable novel, with humanity at its core

Beautifully told and gripping from first page to last

This novel, this exceptional, layered and compelling story, is built on modern history and all of us people who live it. The protagonist, the elderly, forthright and mysterious Mrs. Fernsby, is more than memorable and every one of Boyne's characters, and every scene, dark or light, is limned in truth and insight. This book moves like a freight train,with force and consequence for the reader.

'When is a monster's child culpable? Guilt and complicity are multifaceted. John Boyne is a maestro of historical fiction. You can't prepare yourself for the magnitude and emotional impact of this powerful novel'

John Boyne is not just one of Ireland's best living novelists but also one of the best novelists of Ireland

Boyne offers writing of insight and beauty

Gripping and well honed...Consumately constructed, humming with tension...A defence of literature's need to shine a light on the darkest aspets of human nature and it does so with a noveli's skill, precision and power

A remarkable novel with humanity at its core...An eloquent meditation on guilt, complicity and redemption

Beautifully told and gripping from first page to last

A really engaging novel about grief and whether or not anyone can be held accountable for the deeds of those they love

Gretel Fernsby is a quiet woman leading a quiet life. She doesn't talk about her escape from Germany seventy years ago or the dark post-war years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn't talk about her father, the commandant of one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps. 
 
But when a young family moves into the apartment below her, Gretel can't help but befriend their little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back painful memories. One night, she witnesses a violent argument between his parents, which threatens to disturb her hard-won peace. 
 
For the second time in her life, Gretel is given the chance to save a young boy. To do so would allay her guilt, grief and remorse, but it will also force her to reveal her true identity. Will she make a different choice this time, whatever the cost to herself?

John Boyne

Human life is governed by the elements – water, earth, fire and air. They are fundamental to our existence. They sustain us, but they also challenge us. 
 
In The Elements, John Boyne has created a vivid kaleidoscope to reflect that contradiction: a quartet of intertwined narratives, each providing a different perspective on cause and effect from the points of view of the enabler, the accomplice, the perpetrator and the victim. 
 
From a mother on the run from her past, to a young football star on trial, a successful surgeon grappling with childhood trauma, and finally a father on a transformative journey with his son, the four strands weave together to form a tapestry of intersecting lives. 
 
Boyne’s most ambitious work yet, The Elements is both an engrossing drama and a moving examination of the fault lines inherent to human experience. In crisp, spellbinding prose, he navigates a complex subject with extraordinary empathy and unflinching honesty, at every step challenging us to confront our own perceptions of who we are and what made us that way.

John Boyne

Books by John Boyne

Articles featuring John Boyne

Extract: Fire by John Boyne

Best romance books for ultimate escapism

9 of the best Irish children’s books and authors

Long books that are worth every minute of reading

John Boyne: the books that shaped my life

The Making of Audiobook A Ladder to the Sky

‘Is that you, God? It’s me, Cyril’

John Boyne: The powerful books I read in 2017

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