pick“I dreamed that I dreamed about the musty grey soil of the island and the sweet perfume it emits after rainfall, a double remove from a place I will never visit again. My mother explained to me once… We find the scent comforting, she told me, because we want to believe there‘ll be a welcoming place for us one day, when we‘re buried deep inside it.”
Phenomenal. John Boyne never disappoints me.
Hubby is at a late meeting. I‘m in my blanket fort with a flashlight. Shhh….
pickAfter reading Water I moved immediately to this book and for a short book (148 pages) it dealt with a lot of big issues such as sexuality, sex work, abuse, and guilt. Again, a difficult read (and at times I struggled with the timeline of this book and how it fit with the previous, loosely connected book). Still, I am interested in finishing the series.
pickIn this installment a pair of famous footballers are on trial for rape. We follow our MC, Evan, as he takes stock of his life and how he ended up in this situation.
As always, Boyne makes us take a hard look at the consequences of life‘s choices, be it those that we make or those that have been made for us.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
On to Fire! 🔥
pick3.8/5 🌟
Not as good as the first book, but still engaging and worth the read.
It was either Earth or Fire. Earth won. I can‘t wait for Air.
pickThese short books really pack a punch. There are three, Earth, Water and Fire and this is the second one I‘ve read. Famous footballer, Evan, and his teammate, Robbie, are accused of rape. Did they do it? And what has led him to this courtroom, awaiting the verdict? It‘s a gripper and I‘m very much looking forward to the third book.
I am caught up with this series and wow are they good. In Earth, a young soccer player goes on trial for rape. Couldn‘t put this down.
2nd in this wonderful novella series from the wonderful John Boyne - let‘s see if it‘s as good as the wonderful water 💦 Mollie & her squeaky baby toy 🧸 agree 😆
Earth AND Water by Boyne are equally loved but, I can only fit one 😂🤷♀️ High points and all the honorable mentions go to People Who Knew Me by Kim Hooper. #readingbracket2024 @CSeydel
pickSo intense, so disturbing, so quintessentially Boyne. The ending was perfection. #TBRtarot
Blackwell‘s for the win! Could only find it on Amazon but I refuse to give them a penny.
@BarbaraBB
pickI already finished it thanks to some undisturbed reading time at #gladstones24 🥰
I loved this book just as much as the first in the series, maybe even more. It‘s dark and sad. Evan is a professional football player. He‘s gay and would‘ve have preferred to be a painter. Life just doesn‘t go according to plan. And now he‘s standing trial for his part in the rape of a girl.
So good. I have to preorder Fire!
I love John Boyne and I already love this book after barely 10 pages. “…. films that didn‘t have explosions in it.” 😂
#WeeklyForecast 41/24
This will be the week of my traveling to Gladstone for the very first time and meeting up with a lot of Littens! Very excited about this and about the books I‘ll be bringing. I think, because everything can change of course. 🤦🏻♀️
A Persephone seems fit to read in an old library, Keep it in the Family and Blood like Mine are comfort reads and Earth and Tell me Everything are favorite authors so I can‘t go wrong!
pickUm, wow. The second in Boyne‘s elements series hits every bit as hard as the first. My second recent look at entitled men in the era of #metoo recently but a totally different take. TW in spoiler tag.
An Irish boy leaves his small home island for England. He has hard time before reluctantly becoming a soccer star. Unfortunately, a teammate draws him into an accused rape and subsequent trial. Great twists! 😬🤫
pickAnother very impressive addition to Boyne‘s elements series. Earth does all the good things that Water does- it‘s taut, sparse, unflinching, observational writing about an extremely confronting topic. Earth is a bit more direct in its storytelling than Water is, which will appeal to some readers, while others will miss the subtleties. I loved seeing how Boyne would unspool the connections between the stories.
pickA quick, compelling read. Although there‘s actually nothing nice about the topic, or most of the people in the book.
pickThe next book, after Water, in the ‘four elements‘ set by John Boyne.
This one, about a gay footballer caught up in a sexual assault scandal with a 19-year old girl, is as compelling as the first book. I couldn‘t put it down and read it in one sitting (it is only short though!)
There was one bit that just seemed a bit OTT! But then what do I know about this murky tabloid world?! Be interested to hear what others think…
Out 18th April in UK.
Earth | 
