An epic tale

It took a while for me to really get into this book as it is so different to anything I’ve read before from John Boyne, or in fact any other author, but I was soon swept up in the journey through the ages. This book is quite unique and I can not recommend it highly enough. The narration was wonderful and I found I could not turn it off! Totally absorbing!

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3 people found this helpful

Packed with intrigue

I wouldn’t usually read a book that leans towards historical fiction, but having loved the other 3 John Boyne novels I have read / listened to I gave it a go. The audio version helped me tremendously as the I would surely have stumbled on the pronunciations in written format. What a clever and fascinating way to touch on many events through history. I am sure a few references were lost on me, but I’ll be looking them up. Loved the ending, loved the idea and execution, love his storytelling genius. Thanks to John for educating me a little in the process too.

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a good story well told

I'm not sure what I expected from this book Love the story. I think I was expecting an insight into the human condition but ultimately ended up with some rather boring woke idealism, the narration was excellent,

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2 people found this helpful

Strange book

I am normally an avid reader of any book by John Boyne but I found this a very odd and repetitive book. I am also glad I read the absolutist first as this would have spoiled that book

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I couldn’t make sense

I got the concept of this soul travelling through time but I couldn’t find a logic to it. Some characters were just 20 years apart which would have meant that they were both alive at the same time so this soul would have been in two places at the same time. Aside from that I didn’t warm to this book which surprised as I normally love his books.

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1 person found this helpful

An incredible history

John Boyne is one of my favourite authors. I’ve read nearly all of his books. This one has now has taken first place. It is an amazing historical journey which both entertained and educated me. I didn’t immediately realise quite what was happening as the narrative developed through time and place but then I grasped what was happening. It was fascinating to hear about the way of life in each location and to follow the main character’s life-story, despite the fact that he had to cope with so much ill-fortune.
Initially the narration jarred slight simply because I kept thinking of Tim McEnery’s character in Black Adder. But quite quickly I forgot that and indeed he was the master of so
many different accents. He was very good at providing an identifiable speech pattern for each character in any given location, no mean feat considering the huge cast of this monumental work.

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Fantastic!

Following the story of a man from the time of Herod it tells the extraordinary tale of the same soul throughout time. All in different countries and cultures, the story evolves in each incarnation from Herod to Trump and every era and culture in between. It’s just a beautiful story. Wonderful. John Boyne delivers once again x

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5 people found this helpful

Excellent listen

Very unusual book. I have listened to it twice now and I have found it very entertaining.

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2 people found this helpful

I didnt really get it

The premise of this book is clever, but at the end I couldn't figure out what the point was. And the epilogue did nothing to help, it was like the author threw in a bit of current politics and a climate warning to seem current. I wanted the main character to evolve or learn through his 'ages' but there was none of that, I got pretty tired of him by the end. A chewing gum book. Passes the time, but wont fill you up.

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4 people found this helpful

Interesting Novel

This book jumps around history bound very loosely in some places. Some of the historical times are to close together and confusing. Not the worst book I’ve read but nowhere near the best.

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