The Boy from the Sea
06 February 2025Synopsis
'Compassionate, lyrical and full of devilment' - Louise Kennedy, author of Trespasses
1973. In a close-knit community on Ireland’s west coast, a baby is found abandoned on the beach. Named Brendan by Ambrose Bonnar, the fisherman who adopts him, the boy will become a source of fascination and hope for a town caught in the storm of a rapidly changing world.
Ambrose, a man more comfortable at sea than on land, brings Brendan into his home out of love. But it is a decision that will fracture his family and force this man – more comfortable at sea than on land – to try to understand himself and those he cares for.
Set over twenty years, Garrett Carr’s The Boy From the Sea is a novel about a restless boy trying to find his place in the world. It is an exploration of the ties that make us and bind us, as a family and community move irresistibly into the future.
'Beautifully written - gorgeous modern folklore' - Sarah Moss, author of Summerwater
'A novel of heart-bumping power . . . breathtaking' - Joseph O'Connor, author of Star of the Sea
'I was gripped' - Emma Donoghue, author of Room
Details
06 February 2025
9781035044566Reviews
Compulsive reading . . . Compassionate, lyrical and full of devilmentLouise Kennedy, author of Trespasses
A novel of heart-bumping power and sparkling vividness, this book evokes the seethe and surge of an island nation's sea fables while being suspicious of sentiment, often wittily so. Its depiction of a stranger's arrival recalls great rural storytelling, from Jean de Florette to Synge's mouthy playboy and the country music mystery tales in which a newcomer rides into town. This is a strange, beautiful, truly compelling triumph, a story about a very specific place that somehow comes to seem an everywhere and a people who feel familiar as faces in mirrors. A breathtaking achievementJoseph O'Connor, author of Star of the Sea and My Father's House
A ruefully funny portrait of a dysfunctional family in a struggling town, The Boy from the Sea rings painfully true. I was grippedEmma Donoghue, bestselling author of Room
The Boy from the Sea is an utterly engrossing read. Atmospheric and incredibly moving, I was captivated by the trials and triumphs of the Bonnars. A bittersweet ballad of a novel I'll be thinking about for a very long timeJan Carson, author of The Raptures
