Who is Willow Hale? When Vanessa Carvin arrives on an unnamed Irish island, she changes her name to Willow and shaves her head. Can she simply disappear or will her past follow her? Water by John Boyne is first in his Elements quartet. It is a small book with a powerful story. Vanessa is escaping a truly horrendous time but at heart she knows she must acknowledge the choices she made throughout a difficult marriage. On the island she hopes to escape notice, but few people live there and everyone is curious about the newcomer. Her landlord is invisible, her daughter Rebecca is ghosting her messages, her nearest neighbour is nosy. She does connect with local priest Ifechi, Bananas the cat and neighbouring young farmer Luke. ‘I can call myself Willow Hale till the cows come home but, underneath, I’m still Vanessa Carvin. I just can’t let anyone know.’
Slowly as Vanessa remembers, her story becomes clearer. The offence committed by her husband, what she did and didn’t do during this time. Families were broken, not only families of the victims but also the family of the guilty party. Actions have consequences. John Boyne writes with such intensity of emotion and spareness on the page, he takes you straight into Vanessa’s shoes. It takes distance, isolation on an almost empty island surrounded by sea, for Vanessa to admit what happened.
I’m intrigued to see how the books in this quartet of novellas are linked; by theme, character, setting? At the end of Water, Willow says, ‘The elements – water, fire, earth, air – are our greatest friends, our animators. They feed us, warm us, give us life, and yet conspire to kill us at every juncture.’ Earth is next.
Sensitive. Bold. Excellent.

Click the title to read my reviews of these other novels by John Boyne:-
A HISTORY OF LONELINESS
A LADDER TO THE SKY
A TRAVELLER AT THE GATES OF WISDOM
ALL THE BROKEN PLACES
STAY WHERE YOU ARE AND THEN LEAVE
THE HEART’S INVISIBLE FURIES… Curious? Read the first paragraph of THE HEART’S INVISIBLE FURIES here.
EARTH #2ELEMENTS

If you like this, try:-
‘Old God’s Time’ by Sebastian Barry
‘Did You Ever Have a Family’ by Bill Clegg
‘My Name is Lucy Barton’ by Elizabeth Strout

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview WATER by @JohnBoyneBooks https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7rt via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:-