From the bestselling author of A Ladder to the Sky—“a darkly funny novel that races like a beating heart” (People)—comes a new novel that plays out across all of human history: a story as precise as it is unlimited.This story starts with a family. For now, it is a father and a mother with two sons, one with his father’s violence in his blood, one with his mother’s artistry. One leaves. One stays. … artistry. One leaves. One stays. They will be joined by others whose deeds will determine their fate. It is a beginning.
Their stories will intertwine and evolve over the course of two thousand years. They will meet again and again at different times and in different places. From Palestine at the dawn of the first millennium and journeying across fifty countries to a life among the stars in the third, the world will change around them, but their destinies remain the same. It must play out as foretold.
From the award-winning author of The Heart’s Invisible Furies comes A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom, an epic tale of humanity. The story of all of us, stretching across two millennia. Imaginative, unique, heartbreaking, this is John Boyne at his most creative and compelling.
more
INTELLIGENT and INGENIOUS are the two best words I can think of to describe this book. One of the joys I find in picking up ANY book by John Boyne for the first time is knowing it will be different from every OTHER book I’ve read by him AND, in THIS case, different from every other book I’ve ever read. Let me try to describe it — and please understand, this won’t be easy and will take work.
Imagine a historical novel that is episodic, with chapters that follow a chronology beginning in the year 1 A.D. and ending up with an Epilogue in 2080. Each chapter is true to a different time period and global location. So one episode might take place in Namibia, or Argentina, or New Zealand and the following one could be in Scotland, North Korea, or Greece. Occasionally, a character will briefly come into contact with some recognizable figure from history.
Now layer onto this foundation one continual story about the same handful of characters. Their names change slightly as their geography changes, but they are easily recognizable and their narrative flows seamlessly. The main character is an artist who is compelled to honor his talent, even in the face of family and friends eager to impose more traditional societal expectations. The novel is about his life – his search for love and acceptance, about betrayals and revenge, about loss and recovery.
Altogether, the novel transforms into a sort of “every/any person’s” tale, one all of us can easily relate to. A documenting of human history that explores the relationships, values, struggles, and decisions that form part of our daily lives. And, as the title suggests, it’s about our own struggle to understand the nature of true wisdom. I found the book ambitious, compelling and impressive. And with a killer surprise ending!
This is a great book. Very entertaining.
Stunning
Audiobook- excellent narration
I had to give it 4 stars because I will not reread this and that gets my 5 stars. It’s not a story I’d want to relive but am so glad I read.
It was an amazing travel through times with an almost exact story just in a different time and place. What if you were reborn over and over ? How do you review a book like this ? I will not, I couldn’t do it justice. I went in totally blind it was recommended by a friend. I didn’t know what it was about and didn’t for a while reading it. Then I caught on, very interesting.
What I found the most interesting was women’s rolls and how they stood in society over the years. Oy, it was horrible. That is not even the worst there was child abuse, acceptable then and sickening always. heartbreaking deaths, violence, great loss, with short moments of joy.
The epilogue was spot on about a certain President. Read the book you’ll see.
John Boyne is one of my favorite authors so I was so excited to read his latest work. Part of what I love about his work is his ability to tell an engrossing story that spans the entire life of the main character without becoming boring. With this book, he doubles down on that concept with an epic time hopping tale that begins in the first century and ends in the year 2080. Along the way we encounter some famous historical figures as well as a couple of fictional characters from one of Boyne’s earlier works. While the story centers around an unnamed narrator and his family, the relationships and plot stay the same while the names, locations and time period change in what is a very ambitious, clever and compelling tale.
I have read everything john has written…all outstanding books…
This one the writing is very good …the story telling is decent…but there is no excitement or menace ,nothing that really pulls one into the heart of the book…
I can only say not for me…has others loved it.
Unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Boyne tells the best stories with the most incredible characters. Everything he writes is magic.