Willow Hale has arrived on the island. She has rented a cottage. She’s not sure for how long. Her name is not really Willow, it’s Vanessa. Her last name is not Hale either. She’s hoping no-one will recognise her here. She doesn’t want anyone to remember her face from the news. She wants to live in peace and be someone else for a time and try to heal.

The island has a small population. Like most small communities an outsider is something intriguing and chats ensue in shops as residents express concern over the heating in the cottage she is renting. They say it’s freezing enough to get hypothermia.

Willow feels safe here, although she’ll have to beware of visitors to the island as they might twig to who she is.

This is a quite slim book at only around 170 pages. Although not a lot happens there is a still a lot going on.

Boyne has the knack of writing about not much but so much simultaneously, prodding you with thought-provoking issues. He looks at abuse, small communities, religion, relationships, family, loss, and isolation.

There are moments of humour. Bananas, the cat arrives unannounced and takes up residence with Willow.

Although Water is a story of reflection and healing from a terrible trauma, it is gently told and a tale which returns to my thoughts often.

Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Emily Ross

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Boyne is one of the most successful and critically acclaimed novelists of his generation. In a career spanning more than 30 years, he has published 15 novels for adults, 6 novels for younger readers, and a short story collection.

His most famous book, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, is a modern classic and, globally, the biggest selling novel by an Irish writer since records began. It was a New York Times No.1 Bestseller, and adapted for film, theatre, opera, and ballet, selling more than 11 million copies worldwide. It is used in schools on every continent to introduce young readers to their study of the Holocaust.

Visit John Boyne’s website