John Boyne has given us a powerful story of love and loss, sweeping us across historical eras, from the dark and puritanical 1950s to the gay marriage referendum that legalized same-sex unions in Ireland. At once poignant and devastating, Boyne gives us an emotionally powerful book that delves deep into the pain and suffering that came along with being gay in post-war Ireland. The writing is beautiful and the characters are complex and sympathetic, maybe to a fault.
So while I strongly recommend this book and others have as well (Michael Kindness from Books on the Nightstand gave it a glowing review and Liberty Hardy certainly gushed over it this week in her podcast All The Books), I felt that it fell short in replicating the power of the author Boyne is trying to emulate, John Irving. Boyne goes as far as dedicating the book to Irving but it does not quite rise to the level of a Prayer for Owen Meany or The Cider House Rule, either in emotional power or in quality of prose. The absurdist elements are a little too absurd, the connecting dots that tie the story together fit a little too perfectly, the reader is able to see what is coming a mile away. This does not take away from Boyne putting out an incredibly important and powerful novel, just that it doesn't necessarily accomplish as much as the likes of Hardy suggest.
Either way, this book has tons of buzz and will get heaps of readers from those who already love Boyne's previous works and those convinced by Kindness's and Hardy's very powerful voice in the world of book recommendation. It's a worthy read and hopefully will find a readership as bowled over as they were.
