Water : A haunting, confronting novel from the author of The Hearts Invisible Furies

Author: Boyne, John

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Published on 2 November 2023 by Transworld Publishers Ltd (Doubleday) in the United Kingdom.

Hardback | 176 pages
144 x 224 x 20 | 290g

Subtle, intelligent and humane Sunday Telegraph'Boyne not only opens up conversations, he writes beautifully and sensitively' Woman&HomeA perceptive, moving exploration of guilt, grief and complicity Sunday ExpressBoyne 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 PostFrom 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'Packs a hard hitting punch with its depth of emotional understanding of what it is to be human'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'