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Oh, this was good! Actually, I think it's the best of his that I've read, partly because he has a defter touch with the foreshadowing here than in some others. I enjoyed the telling of this from the wife's point of view and her anguish re questioning her complicity/"stupidity".
I want to read "Earth" now!

5/5 🌟

Seeing this book everywhere, I finally decided to pick it up—and wow, I‘m so glad I did! A fantastic read from start to finish. A beautifully written tale of guilt, regrets, life choices, and coming to terms with the consequences of our actions. Highly recommend!

Currently enjoying 'Water' by John Boyne.

I appreciated the pacing of this short novel. Slowly but surely you learn the story behind the woman who arrives on an island off the west coast of Ireland, who cuts her hair and seeks to isolate herself from the residents. It‘s a moving story. The guilt of not fully seeing something going on around you and the blame associated with that. … I‘m trying to find out why booksellers in the US can‘t purchase this for their shelves but Amazon can.

Goodness, what a book. Very thankful to my local library for acquiring this and Earth so that I could read them! Not an easy read, but are any of Boyne‘s books light and fluffy? I loved this.

I really enjoyed this one. Set on an island off of Galway. Where the water is all around and healing. I loved the descriptions of island life. I have Earth ready to go now too.

‘Water has been the undoing of me. It has been the undoing of my family. We swim in it in the womb. We are composed of it. We drink it. We are drawn to it throughout our lives , more than mountains deserts or canyons. But it is terrible. Water kills. ‘

5 Stars • "Water" by John Boyne follows Vanessa Carvin, who renames herself Willow Hale, as she escapes to an Irish island to flee her past. Her husband, Brendan, was imprisoned for child abuse, and she seeks solitude to escape public judgment and confront her own complicity. The novel explores themes of identity, isolation, and redemption through Willow's interactions with islanders and her internal struggles. ⬇️

What a wonderful book. How I love John Boyne. And how I felt for Vanessa and her trauma, guilt, grief, and anger. The small Irish island community. All adds to a fabulous and sad experience, one I am glad to be a part of for an ample 160 pages. I can‘t wait for the other elements and have already purchased a copy of Earth!

Love Boyne's writing! I want to know what happens in the sequel but don't want to pay $25 for 176 page book. Womp womp. Off to see if my library can order it!

I wasn‘t sure how I was going to feel about this because I don‘t always get on with Boyne but I liked this very much and think it‘s an accomplished novella (novel?) Water does everything I like in a short, serious work of fiction. It‘s relentlessly bleak, direct, has many layers, characterises with complexity, resolves but doesn‘t solve, evokes emotion and place, and does it all with a brevity of expression.

John Boyne is a master at writing emotion. This book is short but says a lot. Looking at the roles of men and women, abuse, suicide, small town ideologies, and religion, this book crams a lot into its pages but is never preachy. It would make a fantastic book club pick. I love the idea of his Elements series and will definitely be getting the next one.

A short book. Such a great story teller. Follows one character. I believe there are 2 more books to come . In the next one Earth we follow the life of one of the characters mentioned in this book. Clever. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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A short book that packs a powerful little story. I‘ll look forward to the next one.

This author is an auto buy for me. So excited to dive in. Pun intended. 🤿🏊🏻‍♀️🏄🏻‍♀️

Always great to read the latest Boyne. Can‘t wait for the next three elements. Boyne tackles the issues in life that hurts us the most, but in a way that you really want to read about them. The short book is so much more than just story. Boyne truly is one of the greatest storytellers ever. ❤️

Bought myself an early birthday present!

My friend and I met the wonderful author John Boyne last night at his book 📖 launch 🚀 tour , what a lovely man he‘s my favourite living male author , really enjoyed his talk and chatting to him afterwards and so so nice to be in a room of like minded people ☺️happy Friday fellow book 📚 lovers 🥰

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?

#netgalley #water

Published in the UK 2nd Nov.

For the lucky ones that can get this one on NG, go request it! 🥰🥰🥰