Description

�?~Subtle, intelligent and humane�?T Sunday Telegraph Boyne not only opens up conversations, he writes beautifully and sensitively Woman&Home�?~A perceptive, moving exploration of guilt, grief and complicity�?T Sunday Express�?~Boyne does not put a foot wrong in this masterly novella�?T 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�?T Compelling, propulsive, and completely immersive�?T Written with the same emotional intensity and thought provoking honesty as his longer works�?T Packs a hard hitting punch with its depth of emotional understanding of what it is to be human�?T 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 ; 176 pages; 02 11 2023