John Boyne 
Water 
A haunting, confronting novel from the author of The Heart s Invisible Furies

‘Subtle, intelligent and humane’ Sunday Telegraph
“Boyne not only opens up conversations, he writes beautifully and sensitively“ Woman&Home
‘A perceptive, moving exploration of guilt, grief and complicity’ Sunday Express
‘Boyne does not put a foot wrong in this masterly novella’ Mail on Sunday
“An intriguing investigation of contemporary trauma… [a] short but powerful book“ Guardian
“His quietest novel… but one just as powerful as his larger canvases“ Business Post
___________
From million-copy-bestselling author John Boyne comes 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.
Can you ever truly wash away your past?
___________
What readers are saying:
“A scorching, devastating tale“
“Powerful, challenging and beautifully written’
“Compelling, propulsive, and completely immersive’
“Written with the same emotional intensity and thought provoking honesty as his longer works’
“Packs a hard hitting punch with its depth of emotional understanding of what it is to be human’
“What an astoundingly brilliant piece of writing this is . . . by its end you feel as though you have read something much more epic in length“