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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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4 Irish books we can’t wait to read this Spring

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Extracts

‘What if your favourite writer was a total sociopath?’ John Boyne delves into A Ladder to the Sky

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Blogs

8 book readings you should listen to this National Storytelling Week

 Penguin authors book gifts for Christmas

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A book for Christmas: Penguin authors remember the magic of receiving literary gifts

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

Podcasts

The Penguin Podcast: John Boyne on The Heart’s Invisible Furies

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14 books for every kind of teen reader

from the author of The Heart’s Invisible Furies

Earth

'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 
_____________ 
 
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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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'

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

It&rsquo;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&rsquo;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

&lsquo;Subtle, intelligent and humane&rsquo; Sunday Telegraph 
'Boyne not only opens up conversations, he writes beautifully and sensitively' Woman&amp;Home 
&lsquo;A perceptive, moving exploration of guilt, grief and complicity&rsquo; Sunday Express 
&lsquo;Boyne does not put a foot wrong in this masterly novella&rsquo; 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&rsquo; 
'Compelling, propulsive, and completely immersive&rsquo; 
'Written with the same emotional intensity and thought provoking honesty as his longer works&rsquo; 
'Packs a hard hitting punch with its depth of emotional understanding of what it is to be human&rsquo; 
'What an astoundingly brilliant piece of writing this is . . . by its end you feel as though you have read something much more epic in length'

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? 
 
The new novel from John Boyne, WATER, is available for pre-order now. 
_______________________________ 
 
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?

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

A small wonder of a book . . . A particular historical moment, one that cannot be told too often

The Holocaust as a subject insists on respect, precludes criticism, prefers silence. One thing is clear: this book will not go gently into any good night

An extraordinary tale of friendship and the horrors of war . . . Raw literary talent at its best

A book that lingers in the mind for quite some time . . . A subtle, calculatedly simple and ultimately moving story

Simply written and highly memorable. There are no monstrosities on the page but the true horror is all the more potent for being implicit

Stays ahead of its readers before delivering its killer-punch final pages

Full of shocking juxtapositions and leads to a horrifying denouement . . . this is a deeply affecting novel

A very human and profoundly moving introduction to one of the darkest moments in history

Thought-provoking and moving, Boyne's book is one that lingers in the mind long after its last page

I couldn't put it down. Through the eyes of a child it was innocent and oh, so chilling. I was hooked to the last page

This novel is a fine addition to a once taboo area of history, at least where children's literature is concerned. It provides an account of a dreadful episode short on actual horror but packed with overtones that remain in the imagination

'Simply written and highly memorable' Ireland on Sunday 
'A subtle, calculatedly simple and ultimately moving story' Irish Times 
'Stays ahead of its readers before delivering its killer-punch final pages' Independent 
'A small wonder of a book . . . A particular historical moment, one that cannot be told too often' Guardian 
'An extraordinary tale of friendship and the horrors of war...Raw literary talent at its best' Irish Independent 
______________ 
 
What happens when innocence is confronted by monstrous evil? 
 
Nine-year-old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust. He is oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country.All he knows is that he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no-one to play with. Until he meets Shmuel, a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who, like the other people there, wears a uniform of striped pyjamas. 
 
Bruno's friendship with Shmuel will take him from innocence to revelation.And in exploring what he is unwittingly a part of, he will inevitably become subsumed by the terrible process. 
 
The new novel by John Boyne, WATER, is available for pre-order now.

The Echo Chamber

'His relish is infectious' Times 
'The funniest book I've read in ages. Savage but compelling' Ian Rankin 
'Funny, rumbustious, unstinting and wonderfully Hogarthian' The Observer 
'Sharp, funny, and beautifully written... a brilliant reflection on the landscape we now live in' Joanna Cannon 
_______________ 
 
What a thing of wonder a mobile phone is. Six ounces of metal, glass and plastic, fashioned into a sleek, shiny, precious object. At once, a gateway to other worlds - and a treacherous weapon in the hands of the unwary, the unwitting, the inept. 
 
The Cleverley family live a gilded life, little realising how precarious their privilege is, just one tweet away from disaster. George, the patriarch, is a stalwart of television interviewing, a 'national treasure' (his words), his wife Beverley, a celebrated novelist (although not as celebrated as she would like), and their children, Nelson, Elizabeth, Achilles, various degrees of catastrophe waiting to happen. 
 
Together they will go on a journey of discovery through the Hogarthian jungle of the modern living where past presumptions count for nothing and carefully curated reputations can be destroyed in an instant. Along the way they will learn how volatile, how outraged, how unforgiving the world can be when you step from the proscribed path. 
 
Powered by John Boyne's characteristic humour and razor-sharp observation, The Echo Chamber is a satiric helter skelter, a dizzying downward spiral of action and consequence, poised somewhere between farce, absurdity and oblivion. To err is maybe to be human but to really foul things up you only need a phone. 
 
The new novel by John Boyne, WATER, is available for pre-order now.

An uproariously funny novel... John Boyne skilfully skewers the cruelties of social media and the absurdities of wokeness ... a brave and timely foray into the contemporary culture wars.

A fearless romp with big laughs along the way

A comedy of manners and lack of manners ... good fun and cheeky as hell

Funny, rumbustious, unstinting and wonderfully Hogarthian

A blisteringly funny and razor sharp satire about social media, celebrity and political correctness. I laughed SO much

Sharp, funny, and beautifully written, but it's also a brilliant reflection on the landscape we now live in

Sunday Times bestselling author, Joanna Cannon

Great rollicking story-telling ... a terrific novel for our times.

'Hugely enjoyable'

John Boyne is at his wicked best... Excruciatingly funny

A funny, biting satire on the excesses and hypocrisy of social media

Plenty of laugh out loud moments . . . This is a sharp and extremely funny page-turner

Uproariously funny. The world has never needed satire more urgently and Boyne delivers in spades.

Fun, fierce and furious, The Echo Chamber is a riotous read that is not to be missed.

[Boyne] is an incredibly versatile author...[this] is a brilliant read...a sharply satirical novel...so current, so relevant, absolutely hilarious

'The funniest book I've read in ages. Savage but compelling' Ian Rankin 
'A fearless romp with big laughs along the way' Graham Norton 
'Funny, rumbustious, unstinting and wonderfully Hogarthian' The Observer 
'His relish is infectious' Times 
_____________________________ 
 
What a thing of wonder a mobile phone is. Six ounces of metal, glass and plastic, fashioned into a sleek, shiny, precious object. At once, a gateway to other worlds - and a treacherous weapon in the hands of the unwary, the unwitting, the inept. 
 
The Cleverley family live a gilded life, little realising how precarious their privilege is, just one tweet away from disaster. George, the patriarch, is a stalwart of television interviewing, a 'national treasure' (his words), his wife Beverley, a celebrated novelist (although not as celebrated as she would like), and their children, Nelson, Elizabeth, Achilles, various degrees of catastrophe waiting to happen. 
 
Together they will go on a journey of discovery through the Hogarthian jungle of the modern living where past presumptions count for nothing and carefully curated reputations can be destroyed in an instant. Along the way they will learn how volatile, how outraged, how unforgiving the world can be when you step from the proscribed path. 
 
Powered by John Boyne's characteristic humour and razor-sharp observation, The Echo Chamber is a satiric helter skelter, a dizzying downward spiral of action and consequence, poised somewhere between farce, absurdity and oblivion. To err is maybe to be human but to really foul things up you only need a phone. 
 
'Sharp, funny, and beautifully written, but it's also a brilliant reflection on the landscape we now live in' Sunday Times bestselling author, Joanna Cannon

A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom

A dazzling novel from the author of The Heart’s Invisible Furies

The story of all of us, stretching across two millennia. Imaginative, unique, heart-breaking, this is John Boyne at his most creative and compelling.

An ambitious, epic sweep of a book...John Boyne brilliantly and economically creates a sense of history and place... an enthralling read

This novel combines the pleasures of good old-fashioned storytelling with the excitement of finding a writer who makes you look at the world anew

Throbs with enduring love, warmth and passion.

Some stories are universal. They play out across human history. And time is the river which will flow through them. 
 
It starts with a family, a family which will mutate. For now, it is a father, mother and two sons. One with his father’s violence in his blood. One who lives his mother’s artistry. One leaves. One stays. They will be joined by others whose deeds will change their fate. It is a beginning. 
 
Their stories will intertwine and evolve over the course of two thousand years – they will meet again and again at different times and in different places. From distant Palestine at the dawn of the first millennium to a life amongst the stars in the third. While the world will change around them, their destinies will remain the same. It must play out as foretold. It is written. 
 
A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom is the extraordinary new novel from acclaimed writer John Boyne. Ambitious, far-reaching and mythic, it introduces a group of characters whose lives we will come to know and will follow through time and space until they reach their natural conclusion.

John Boyne

Ashling Lindsay

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 Dog Who Danced on the Moon

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