WATER by John Boyne

There’s a reason they don’t hire me to write promo copy for John Boyne. From the author who set back Holocaust education fifty years comes… That said, it’s been almost two decades since that book and we’re all allowed out youthful indiscretions, so I thought I’d give Boyne another go. After all, people love the guy. And he really does seem to write from a place of kindness.

Water is the story of a woman who flees to a remote Irish island when her life collapses around her. Hidden away in a small cottage, she is forced to question her role in the heinous crimes of her husband and subsequent suicide of their daughter. Meanwhile, she encounters a bunch of locals, some of whom would not be out of place in Royston Vasey.

Water is almost exactly what you might expect from Boyne. It positively drips with good intentions. I feel petty dissing someone who’s heart is so clearly in the right place so I’ll just say that Water is lighter than its subject matter might demand, but still quite lovely (if a bit cheesy). Coming from the low, low striped pyjama bar, that’s high praise indeed.

Water by John Boyne
Doubleday, 2023
166 pages