A young woman has upped sticks and travelled to a remote island. The first thing she does on landing is change her name. Willow Hale does not come with the same baggage as Vanessa Carvin. Big nasty baggage which I will leave you to discover as the author intends. But I will say that she has good reasons for wanting to get away from it all, to leave her past behind, to escape the notoriety that her husband's crimes have associated her with and the uncertainty of exactly how much she knew at the time.
It's a time for her to stop, take stock, relax and try to come to terms with the whirlwind that her life has become. And to mourn for what she has lost. But, remember the old adage, you can't escape your past until you have made peace with it...
This relatively short novella, I believe to be a part of a series, follows Willow as she learns to live basically. To strip down her life into just what she needs to survive. How she starts to open up. Meeting some of the larger than life characters who already inhabit her new home. And as we follow Willow in the present, we also follow Vanessa in the past. Her relationship and subsequent marriage and, eventually, how it all went horribly wrong and unravelled. These vignettes give colour and clarity to Willow's present journey and also become rather cathartic as the whole horrible truth is finally laid bare.
But only then can her journey of healing begin... My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Beautifully written novella following a woman seeking solace from the infamy of her husband’s crimes. Authentic characters and astute dialogue. Particularly loved Mrs Duggan.

A though provoking tale of finding ones self
I didn't quite know where this book was going to go at the star, but that soon resolved into a tale of self discovery and their th.. Following the distance of her husband his wife moves to a small island and lives a simple live. During her time there she begins to understand more about herself and develops the inner strength and fortitude to move on with her life. It's a beautifully written book.

I'm a huge fan of John Boyne's writing and always know I'm going to go on a real journey through his amazing characters. This book is no exception.
It essentially was such a simple story, but so brilliantly executed. I was completely transported to this location, and I was hooked on the characters. (Boyne always writes such real and believable characters!)
This book had a slight 'mystery' element to it, so it kept you reading as you wanted to know what really happened to 'Willow Hale' that made her run away. But even without the mystery, I still would have kept reading due to John Boyne's atmospheric writing.

Water
A woman arrives, alone,
on an island off the Irish mainland. She almost immediately cuts off her long blonde hair off and shaves her skull leaving a greying frizz. The reader learns that she was, until recently, Vanessa Hale, but will now be known by her middle name, Willow Hale.
The cottage she is renting is austere with very few creature comforts and her only contact with the wider world, an old radio, is rendered silent by her removing its batteries and burying them in the garden. Is Willow doing penance for something she’s done in the past? She has obviously had enough of her previous life and has gone to ground or to search for, as she describes it as ‘the simplicity, the monastic nature of all of this.’
One of her two daughters, Emma, is dead and Rebecca, her surviving daughter refuses to reply to text messages and holds her accountable. Willow’s husband Brendan is in prison for a crime he swears that he didn’t commit but it’s Willow who is left having to pick up the pieces.
Despite wanting to be left alone and remain anonymous, Willow slowly gets to know people on the island and to be an observer of their lives: the matriarchal Mrs Duggan, the visiting cat Bananas, Luke Duggan and the conflicted Evan Keogh. Even if a place is temporary, somehow you can still end up putting down even baby roots.
And as the book progresses the reader learns more of Willow’s past and what happened to force her into exile. The reason that Brendan is in prison, the role of women in Ireland even today, double standards, the power of religion, abuse, isolation and betrayal. But there is also humour as a sack of potatoes is described as ‘slumped like a weary traveller by the front door.’ After she has cut off and shaved her head she thinks that she looks so different but ‘unlike the famous singer who looked like one of God’s angels when she first appeared on our television screens.’ Willow also parries with the visiting cat, ‘I have a rental agreement.’ I tell her and her eyes narrow at my insolence. ‘Do you want to see it?’
This is a literary novella of 176 pages by John Boyne, author of ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ and this is the first time that I’ve read his work. ‘Water’ is written with sensitivity especially with powerful theme being that of family secrets. The book’s title refers to how water surrounds and features in Willow’s life. Brendan was the Director of the National Swimming Federation, she is living on an island and Emma’s death was by drowning. Water to wash away sins perhaps? I noted that it was book one of a series called the Four Elements. I enjoyed reading ‘Water’ and meeting Willow.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

I am aware that I have grumbled a few times on this site about short novels or novellas. This year I’ve read short work by Philippe Besson, Claire Keegan and Mike McCormack and I’ve felt the need each time to mention my ambivalent feelings towards this form. In my review of Claire Keegan’s much celebrated “Small Things Like These” (2021) I said “faced with a couple of tempting novels, one short, one longer I’d generally pick the longer.” Trust John Boyne to challenge my prejudices.
It's no real surprise that this is one of the few under 200 pages (176 in the hardback edition) that I’m giving my top rating to. Irish author John Boyne is the author I’ve given the most five stars to ever (this will be the 6th out of the 9 books of his I’ve read).
The author is getting all elemental on us with this the first in a projected quartet which will also feature Fire, Earth & Air, producing a literary sequence which is reminiscent of the seasonal quartet which did so well for Ali Smith.
“Water” is the tale of a woman in her early fifties who arrives on a sparsely populated Irish island to escape her past. The first thing she does is change her name and shave her head so we know the past is obviously a problem. Slowly, we get to know why she is there and what she is hiding from. What John Boyne does so well is to hide the horrors amongst domestic detail – there’s a point where the situation is grim for main character Willow/Vanessa related through her first-person narrative but she becomes preoccupied with the arrival of her new credit card. Although she has chosen a solitary life there’s some great interactions especially with neighbour and busybody Mrs Duggan. The author knows exactly when to release information to us (generally just slightly before you think it’s coming, which keeps the reader on their toes). It is superbly crafted. This belies one of my issues with novellas in that despite their brevity they can feel drawn out. Here, it feels packed with character development, plot twists and a delight in story-telling. Water is everywhere, unsurprisingly as the main character has relocated onto a smaller island than where she previously lived but it is the danger and unpredictability of it which influences this work most.
I really did not want it to end but it feels as if it does so at an appropriate time which challenged another of my short-fiction notions. I’ve read two sub-200 pages books by celebrated authors back to back. In my opinion John Boyne gets the form exactly right and really drew me in whereas Mike McCormack, which also dealt with serious issues, distanced me somewhat and left me unsatisfied. I can’t wait to read the other three works in this quartet- whether they are going to be short or long.
Water is published in the UK by Doubleday on 2nd November 2023. Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

A short novella but packing a hefty emotional load, Water is the story of a woman, mother and wife who moves to a small island from Ireland in order to review her situation and rediscover herself. The narrative gradually reveals the reasons for the estrangement from her daughter and the changing of her name and appearance.
Despite the traumatic events, there are some lovely touches of humanity in the islanders she comes to know and also some welcome, deft comedy in the character of Mrs Duggan.

This author wrote one my absolute favourite books of recent years The Heart's Invisible Furies, so I always look out for their new work and this book was small, but oh so mighty!

The first in an elemental series, Water follows a woman who arrives on a remote island and almost instantly changes her name and appearance. As the story unfolds we find out more of what happened and why she wants, or needs to hide so much.

Dark yet compelling, this is a beautifully written book and I look forward to the next.

As ever, another enthralling read from John Boyne, tackling a very dark subject.

It‘s only a short read and, whilst this means it packs a heavy punch, I do wish there had been space to explore some areas a bit further.

Willow Hale arrives on a tiny Irish island from Dublin, having changed her name. What is she hiding from and can she really ever escape?

This is a beautifully written and powerful book about guilt and being a woman. Especially being a woman in Ireland which is obviously not that easy.

The first thing Vanessa does when she arrives on a remote island: she changes her name to Willow. And then she cuts her hair. She is hiding on that island from a scandal at home. Her husband was accused of a horrendous crime, her first born daughter is dead and her second daughter does not speak to her. So she moves to a cottage without WiFi and television to think about her life. In Dublin she led a life of wealth and privilege but when confronted with things her husband may have done she does not want to see. Willow is such a real life character. I could relate to her. When you read her story it is easy to judge her and say “I would have acted differently”. But would you really have?

As I said, the book is about grief, guilt and how women are held accountable of the bad things men do. The book is short and sharp, there are no unnecessary words, every sentence is needed and there is no filling in for more pages. This is, simply said, a great book I would highly recommend reading. Men and women. I was hooked from page one.

This is my third book from this author and I really don’t know why I did not read all of his books. John Boyne is a gifted writer and I am looking forward to what he is up to next.

Wow, this certainly is an impressive book. The characters feel natural and lifelike and the story itself is intense, disturbing and powerful. How Boyne ‘builds’ the story and how you learn more about the particulars of the scandal as you read on reminded me a bit of Claire Keegan’s novellas. Very well done. A brilliant novel.
Thank you Penguin Random House UK and Netgalley for that ARC.

Another 5 star hit from John Boyne - this is a novelist who never disappoints. I was surprised at the length of this novel, much shorter than previous works but he packs a lot in and it never feels rushed. The story is revealed carefully and at just the right pace to allow the reader to consider what the back story might be. A page turner but one that will leave you thinking about it afterwards. And the best thing about it is that it is the first of four such novels each focusing on a different element. Looking forward to the other three already

Wonderful!

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Water
by John Boyne

Just when you think there isn't a writer alive who could pack so much into a tiny story as Claire Keegan, along comes John Boyne, who is better known for his lengthy emmersive work, and in 160 pages, tells a story with immediate fascination about a woman who arrives on one of the Aran Islands, changes her name, crops her hair and is not falling over herself to engage the interest of the locals.

We understand she is seeking respite, she's retreating from a hostile family situation, trying to get to grips with loss and misunderstanding and shame, so much shame. Is it her shame, or is she assuming the shame of others?

Each chapter reveals a piece of her marriage and how her family came apart. With it's isolated, windswept island setting and neighbours who are not behind when it comes to coming forward there's a Father Ted-ness to the weave of the story. Boyne's trademark humour casts relief on the poignancy of what's unfolding.

The wonder is how Boyne manages to capture so much in so few pages. This is a highly emotional read and it's a rollercoaster ride. Trigger warnings that apply spell out spoilers. There's plenty of foreshadowing, but HSPs take heed.

Small but mighty, 'Water' is the first in a series of four books that Boyne is working on. I don't know the order but we have
• Fire
• Earth
• Air
to look forward to, and if they are anywhere near as powerful as this one, I can't wait.

Publication Date: 2nd November 2023
Thanks to #NetGalley and #randomhouseuk for the ARC

#bookreview #irishbookstagram #water #johnboyne
@johnboyneauthor
#novella #bookseries #irishliterature #irishfiction #5starread #senseofplace

Water is the first in a series of four individual stories with different narrators, which will comprise a literary quartet of Water, Fire, Earth and Air which form the four-novella sequence The Elements.


Water is the story of Vanessa, who has now changed her name to Willow, and her story is one of intense trauma coupled with the need to dig deep and understand her feelings of guilt and complicity.

It is remarkable how, in this short book, John Boyne is able to produce a soul searching novel that reaches into the depths of Vanessa’s soul and examines her search for understanding as she seeks a way to be at peace with herself.

Vanessa has left Dublin where she was at the centre of a storm of unwelcome attention and publicity. She has come to a remote island off the coast of Galway and she begins by changing both her name and her appearance, though she knows she is never far away from being recognised and found out.

We understand fairly quickly the life that Vanessa has led and what happened to drive her from Dublin; the questions she is asking of herself are simple: why did I not know – did I know?

On the island she lives a basic life. She interacts enough with the small community of locals to stop them being curious about her, but she asks few questions and gives little away about her own life.

She is adopted by a neighbour’s cat, aptly named Bananas, but largely her time is spent wandering and thinking about her life and the events that caused her to come to the island. She will visit the island’s church but take no part in the services. There is something about the attitudes of the church and the patriarchy that she feels are somehow complicit in the trauma that she is experiencing, though she likes and will talk to Ifechin, the local priest.

Surrounded by water; water having played a significant part in her own trauma, her feelings come to the surface when a young local man goes missing at sea.

‘The elements – water, fire, earth, air – are our greatest friends, our animators. They feed us, warm us, give us life, and yet conspire to kill us at every juncture.’

Vanessa learns of her neighbour’s circumstances and of the expectations the island places on their sons, from her neighbour’s son, the quiet but content farmer, Luke to the island’s sporting protégée. All of these encounters help us to consider whether we are who we want to be, or whether we can truly remake our lives the way we want them to be. For Vanessa, they also help her to determine whether she can go on; if her life is worth clinging onto to.

Verdict: John Boyne’s writing is lyrical and is infused with the metaphor of water. His compassion shines through and the character of Vanessa is so wholly beautifully drawn as to be exceptional. The portrait of a woman struggling with her own past is powerful and heart-rending and the whole is a moving story of change, acceptance and renewal.

On the strength of this, you really would not want to miss the other books in this quartet.

I am a big fan of John Boynes' writing, his books about people growing up in Ireland are emotional and really make you take stock of your own life. this shorter story is no different. Its about Vanessa who moves to an island to recover from a family trauma and in doing so, has a year of introspection, awakening and enlightenment. A really honest novel.about middle aged inner thoughts. Vanessa really resonated with me and I read it in one night, I just couldn't put it down.

Always love a John Boyne book and this was no exception. A wonderful writing style which kept me captivated from start to finish. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

My Rating ~ 4.5*

Water by John Boyne will publish November 2nd with Doubleday/Transworld and is described as ‘a masterfully reflective story about one woman coming to terms with the demons of her past and finding a new path forward.‘ It is the first book, from a series of four, by John Boyne that will make up The Elements. (Water, Fire, Earth and Air).

‘Water will be published on 2nd November 2023, Earth in May 2024, Fire in November 2024 and finally Air is due in May 2025. The blurb reads: “These are four individual stories with four very different narrators, all of whom have either been involved in, complicit with, or found themselves the victims of trauma, and whose experiences have been affected by the elements that give each book its title. And while each can be read as a standalone book, their characters intersect and overlap, their experiences informing the lives of each other. Taken together, this four-book sequence is Boyne’s most ambitious and powerful work to date.‘
– Taken from The Bookseller via John Boyne

Water introduces us to Vanessa Carvin, a woman trying to escape a life that has left her angry, saddened and grieving. Stripping herself of all the luxuries she once had, she cuts off her hair and chooses an almost monastic life on a small island off the west coast of Ireland. Some of the locals are curious, some are more insular but, for the most part, Vanessa is left alone. An island community has its own troubles to survive on a daily basis and Vanessa is quite happy to just melt into the background.

She spends most days in solitude but any interaction she does have is minimal and light in words. Vanessa has suffered and now just needs respite. Surrounded by water, with just the crashing of the waves and the howling of the wind, Vanessa craves the wildness and power of the elements – ‘water, fire, earth, air – (are) our greatest friends, our animators. They feed us, warm us, give us life, yet conspire to kill us at every juncture.’

John Boyne is not one to shy away from difficult themes and in Water he tackles issues from a very different perspective. Vanessa is traumatised and has been through a shattering experience. Riddled with guilt about what she thought she knew versus what society is convinced she knew has thrown Vanessa completely. Her confidence is gone. Her self-worth is gone. Vanessa is now doing all she can to keep herself from disappearing.

‘I don’t need their permission to take me away. If I could simply clap my hands and fall into a deep sleep out here, never to wake again, I would clap them’

At 176 pages, Water packs a serious punch. Sensitively handled, there are many weighty topics that are unfortunately all too relevant and prevalent in our world today. The media is full of scandal and horror. We are bombarded with images and shocking headlines. John Boyne delves a little deeper and takes the reader into the mind of a person we may not often think too much of when we hear similar stories across media platforms. The profound insights into Vanessa’s thoughts and actions are beautifully rendered and, as I would expect from John Boyne, extremely thought-provoking.

Water is a substantial yet compact read that will leave every reader with a sense of having been challenged in some way. Writing four books incorporating four of the elements of nature is intriguing but, in the hands of a writer like John Boyne, it is also a wondrous and provocative concept.

This is a powerful piece of writing, dealing as John Boyne often does, with guilt. Guilt of omission. A drop into a life at it's nadir.
Boyne as ever writes beautifully and makes us consider things we might choose to turn away from.

A sad and moving meditation on a woman set adrift by circumstance. Vanessa moves to an isolated island, shaves her hair and changes her name, living apart but seeking connection with the islanders. Her story is gradually revealed, and she moves towards resolution as we look at her life and the lives of others affected by the issues she faces.

It's a very absorbing and touching book, beautifully written but touching on some very difficult issues.

An intriguing and compelling book about a middle-aged woman who is escaping her urban middle class life to move to a remote island. She changes her name and cuts her hair in an attempt to hide her identity, the reasons for which are revealed as the narrative progresses. Although it is quite a short book, it packs quite a punch and is an interesting exploration of the impact of a despicable crime on the bystanders - in this case, the wife - as well as the victims.

With thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.