'An epic.... Impactful and provocative' The New York Times 'An almost note-perfect piece of
first-person storytelling' Guardian 'Subtle intelligent and humane' Sunday Telegraph
____________ John Boyne's acclaimed quartet of Water Earth Fire and Air come together at
last. Human life is governed by the elements - water earth fire and air. They are
fundamental to our existence. They sustain us but they also challenge us. In The Elements
John Boyne has created a vivid kaleidoscope to reflect that contradiction: a quartet of
intertwined narratives each providing a different perspective on cause and effect from the
points of view of the enabler the accomplice the perpetrator and the victim. From a mother
on the run from her past to a young football star on trial a successful surgeon grappling
with childhood trauma and finally a father on a transformative journey with his son the four
strands weave together to form a tapestry of intersecting lives. Boyne's most ambitious work
yet The Elements is both an engrossing drama and a moving examination of the fault lines
inherent to human experience. In crisp spellbinding prose he navigates a complex subject with
extraordinary empathy and unflinching honesty at every step challenging us to confront our own
perceptions of who we are and what made us that way.
