The Boy from the Sea

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What to expect

As read on BBC Radio 4
A Sunday Times Best Book of the Year
An Observer Best Debut of the Year

'Compassionate, lyrical and full of devilment' - Louise Kennedy, author of Trespasses
'A joy . . . vivid, loving and genuinely funny' - The Sunday Times
'I didn't want it to ever end' - Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things

The Boy from the Sea is Garrett Carr's brilliantly moving tale of an abandoned baby who rocks a small Irish town, bringing together a community - and igniting lifelong rivalries.

Perfect for fans of Kate Atkinson and Claire Keegan.

In 1973 on the west coast of Ireland, a baby is found abandoned on the beach. Who is he? Where is he from?

Ambrose, a local fisherman, is far more interested in who he will become and – with a curious community looking on – takes the baby home and adopts him. But for Declan, the baby’s new brother, this arrival is surely bad news. Rivalries can be decades in the making . . .

Set over twenty years, The Boy from the Sea is about a restless boy trying to find his place, in a town caught in the storm of a rapidly changing world.

Readers love The Boy from the Sea:

'Left me feeling warm and satisfied when I finished it and I’ve thought about it daily since then' *****
'Books are meant to change you, to shape you, and to heal you, and The Boy from the Sea does all those things' *****
'You feel like you’re right there in the village' *****
'Stunning. I found myself waking up at 5am because I was desperate to read more' *****
'Felt like I was stepping off life's treadmill and immersing myself in another world' *****

Critics Review

Compulsive reading . . . Compassionate, lyrical and full of devilment
Louise Kennedy, author of Trespasses
Warm, funny, full of lightly worn wisdom and wit. In short, it is a joy . . . the power of Carr’s novel lies in the contrast between its warm hilarity and the cold truths those jokes contain . . . vivid, loving and genuinely funny
The Sunday Times
A beautifully written, tragi-comic triumph
Sunday Independent
A novel of heart-bumping power and sparkling vividness. 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 achievement
Joseph O'Connor, author of Star of the Sea and My Father's House
A tremendous story about a family changed by the arrival of a strange boy, which feels like an instant classic . . . huge hearted, masterful . . . Told in a captivating communal voice like nothing I've ever read before . . . The Boy from the Sea is a dazzling exploration of the ties that make and bind us
Lauren Brown, The Bookseller, Book of the Month
A ruefully funny portrait of a dysfunctional family in a struggling town, The Boy from the Sea rings painfully true. I was gripped
Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of Room
Beautifully written - gorgeous modern folklore
Sarah Moss, author of Summerwater
Stunning
Good Housekeeping
Outstanding . . . one of those beautiful books that soothe the soul
Prima Magazine
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 time
Jan Carson, author of The Raptures
The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr captures the changing feelings and textures of the latter decades of the twentieth century in Ireland more precisely than any other recent novel I could name. Its language and sensibility reflects the sly humour of its Donegal setting, and the reader is riveted by the heroic efforts of its characters to hold on to one another in the face of gale-force winds of historical change
Niamh Mulvey, author of The Amendments
An original and rambunctious Irish seafaring novel that vividly portrays a community moving through changing times and tides—as lively a portrait as it is convincing. With a refreshing narrative approach, The Boy From the Sea excels in its clarity and particularity of voice
Caoilinn Hughes, author of The Alternatives
The Boy from the Sea has that rare quality I often find myself searching for in a novel – narrative intimacy among the vastness of life. Garrett Carr is meticulous and precise in his writing – the skilled invisibility of a true craftsman
Rónán Hession, author of Ghost Mountain
The Boy from the Sea is a single-generation family saga as dazzlingly compact as it is comprehensively insightful, a love story in which the tenderness and forbearance are all the more moving for the eloquence with which the hardships and reticence are rendered. This is as impressively wise and idiosyncratic a novel as I’ve read in years
Jim Shepard, author of The Book of Aron
A lyrical, beautifully written portrait of a place and its people
Mail on Sunday
Lyrical
The i
Hypnotic . . . Carr has a terrific knack for detail, both poetic and quotidian . . . This is a surprising, tender and warm-hearted novel about a real place and real people: a gentle gift for spring
The Guardian
The son of a Killybegs fisherman, Carr writes from knowledge and reflects with good humour on his characters' inability to understand themselves . . . plenty of emotion and feeling
Daily Mirror
Charming . . . humorous . . . a fresh perspective
Financial Times
Wry, observant, various and thoughtful, this novel does something only art can
Irish Times
Expansive and intimate, funny and warm . . . it carries a cargo hold full of feeling beneath decks
The Herald
Beautifully observed, funny and poignant. I didn't want it to ever end
Jennie Godfrey, Sunday Times bestselling author of The List of Suspicious Things
A delectably warm, communal voice through which the reader bears witness to one family’s most private moments
The Observer
A mesmerising, meditative debut; reminiscent of John McGahern and Jon McGregor
Irish Independent
This stunning literary offering holds your heart in its hands from the first page to the last. Masterfully crafted, mischievous and moving
The Courier
Charming . . . a quiet meditation on how family, community and industry intertwine around the bountiful but perilous Atlantic . . . Carr’s biggest strength lies in capturing the fishbowl quality of small-town life
The List
Beautiful, funny, utterly glorious
Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina
Really impressed by The Boy From the Sea . . . a fascinating family dynamic and an unusual narrative voice. Highly recommended.
John Boyne, author of The Heart's Invisible Furies
Poignant and humane, this work expertly depicts a close-knit community, hardscrabble lives and sibling rivalries
The Economist
Lyrical
The i
Charming . . . offers a sort of Irish silver-tongued devilry some where between Sebastian Barry and Donal Ryan
The Critic
Epitomizing great storytelling from the get-go . . . beautifully observed
Woman's Weekly
[Carr] displays a well honed gift for crafting an involving story
Evening Standard
Expansive . . . an ode to Donegal and its no-nonsense people
The Times, 80 Best Books to Take On Holiday This Summer

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