Gabi's Review

Water is the title of John Boyne's new novella. Water is the great purifier and rebirther in literature. Willow can change her name and put a lot of water between herself and her former life, but can a remote Irish island distance her enough to escape her past and an association with her husband's crimes? John Boyne is such a versatile writer this is a very different subject for him. This hardback novella is a perfect gift for fans.

Publishers Reviews

From internationally bestselling author John Boyne, 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.