Very disappointed with this. The concept of following more or less the same characters, reincarnated over time, sounded interesting but it just fell flat for me, and I stopped reading about a third of the way through. The story didn't move forward quickly enough, and the characters seemed flat and two-dimensional

A unique story spanning two thousand years of human history. I have read a couple of John Boynes adult novels and though this did not disappoint, the ending was somewhat short and I wanted a little more from the storytelling. An easy and enjoyable read.

This is a 3.5 stars rounded down to 3 stars because I expected more from the author.
The writing style is pleasant and easy going so the story did not drag but it also did not have much substance.
The story is of a quiet artistic man beginning when he is a boy living with his family and continuing throughout his life encompassing love and loss.
But this is not a simple narrative because there is a gimmick – every chapter jumps forward through time and space: the setting changes to a different country and a different time but with the same characters although their names are subtly changed to be more ethnically appropriate.
We hop from scene to scene and although it is obvious a mountain of research must have been required the story itself is frustratingly superficial. It left me feeling like I had read one of those history books in primary school that try to give an impression of the era in a few short pages.
I found it difficult to make strong emotional connections with any of the characters, most of whom were drawn in very broad strokes. The main character was a little too passive which is bizarre considering the motivation for his journey is revenge.
I enjoy the author’s writing style so the reading experience wasn’t unpleasant but when I had finished reading I was l left wondering why I had bothered.

Where to start? ‘A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom’ by John Boyne is like no other book I’ve read. It’s a historical, classical, contemporary mash-up which takes a group of characters on a journey through the centuries, starting with Palestine in AD1 and ending in AD2080 living in a colony in space. The same group of characters feature in each chapter, advancing in time and moving location, each time with different names though always starting with the same letter.
In Palestine we first hear the voice of our, in the beginning, unnamed sole protagonist. This is his story told in soundbite chapters. He starts with his own origins, the meeting of his father Marinus and mother Floriana and progresses across two thousand years to the near future. At times there is violence, much against women but also brutal murder, torture and random killing. There is betrayal, cruelty, prejudice, foolhardiness and bravery, love and loyalty. Essentially it is the story of one family – mother, father, two brothers and a sister. One brother has the strength and brutality of his father, the other has the creativity of his mother.
As the decades pass and the story progresses, the brothers progress through childhood to adults, they fight, argue, divide, meet and divide again. Each chapter offers a snapshot of a place and time in history, sometimes set against the backdrop of real events and people. And always the family is placed at the centre of the action, with a supporting cast of recognisable characters who re-appear.
To explain the story here is too complex and would contain too many spoilers. Read it for yourself but prepare to be challenged. The print book is 407 pages long. I read it on Kindle and it seemed longer than that. Some chapters whizz by, others creep. Each new time/setting includes a little recap from the end of the previous chapter, a device essential in the first third of the book but I think dispensable once the structure and device is familiar to the reader.
Such an ambitious project, I read it with a spirit of adventure, never knowing what was coming next.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

A good read. The story spans over two thousand years and the lead character travels through different countries, but although names change its easy to keep up with. A bit violent in parts but overall a very interesting book but different from my usual genre

It all starts with a family. One that never really changes only mutates.
2 sons. A dad. A mother.... the same every generation- yet not.

This book was certainly nothing like I had ever read before I give it 5 stars for originality and the author's very clear ability to write a good story.

I really wanted to love this book. I really tried. One of my favourite books of all time is John Boyne's: The Hearts Invisible Furies and I really wanted this book to live up to it- but for me it just wasn't as good.
Although I did love the idea that the main character stayed the same (although changed) throughout a period of hundreds of years- I just couldn't fall deeply into the book.

I eagerly await the next John Boyne novel and hope it draws me in the way The Hearts Invisible Furies did- if you haven't read that book- you really must!!

I adore all of John's adult books I've read so far. This one was very different. It was very clever the way it was written and the historical detail must have taken an awful lot of research, I learnt lots about various periods in history. However, I feel that while the book impressed in form, it fell down a little in the story. The main premise that the main character was seeking his cousin for revenge went on too long. It wasn't enough to drive the story forward for me. The biggest let down was the last two chapters. The whole Trump spontaneously combusting was plain ridiculous and the last chapter in space was just odd. A very unsatisfactory ending to what was a very clever idea of a book.

Boyne's books are like putting on a familiar and well loved jumper. The Heart's Invisible Furies will forever remain one of my all time favourite books so I am always excited to see what Boyne gets up to next.

You definitely have to concentrate with this book, time travel is never a light subject but Boyne uses it in such a beautiful way. Exploring what makes us human and across a 2000 year timeline is a master stroke. The scope of this novel is something to be marvelled at and whilst at points I did become slightly confused with the constant changes in location and period of history, it was more a reminder to the reader to slow down and take your time. I enjoyed being taken along by our nameless narrator through the many themes of life, death, love, loss, creation and destruction. Boyne writes so well about the inner workings and vulnerabilities of us mere mortals and is what draws me back time and time again to his stories.

I would thoroughly recommend this as a slow burner that you can get your teeth stuck into, to be savoured as you charter the start of civilisation right through the very end.

Possibly one of the most unique books ever written.

One of the modalities I study, Multidimensional Cellular Healing or easier to remember, Heart & Soul Healing teaches that we all have DNA of our forefathers embedded and carry it with us. This could be the plague, war, slavery, hardship to name but a few. We might see some of these as past lives if we do a regression session.

John Boyne – in this extraordinary novel, has reiterated this point for me and made me realise that our past is part of our DNA.

I will have to read this book again and again. One sitting is not sufficient. I’ve already started, and each time I pick up the book, I discover something new about how John Boyne sees our past and our future. An aside, I know several people have mentioned in their reviews how disappointed they were that he mentions Trump and his influence on the world. To me, it made perfect sense. It would be similar to saying “don’t mention Hitler.”

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

John Boyne is a writer of extraordinary imagination. He has come up with a character who lives multiple lives throughout the whole of history and locations throughout the world, from AD 1 to 2080, from ancient Palestine to a huge populated space station. Each jump in time continues the story onwards a little, retaining the same characters with name changes to suit each time and location. Each one features the main character's father, mother, elder brother, his sister, wives, son and cousin and these always have names starting with the letter of original character, so are instantly recognizable. There are some generic characters, a particularly amusing one is The Great Elephant of Bayt Sahur, which translates in later episodes as The Great Bear of Kayseri, The great Ostrich of Asmara, The Great Hippopotamus of Madara, and so on. and we also meet many famous historical figures such as Michaelangelo, Shakespeare, King Macbeth, Capain Tasman, etc. The main character has a different talent in each life - he is an artist, sculptor, potter, author, poet, bookbinder, etc. There are so many themes; the dismal fate of women, rape, homosexuality, sexual deviance, revenge, There is much blood spilt by decapitation, mutilation, execution, war, Whilst I appreciated the research, imagination and sheer audacity of the scope of this book, I did find each change of time and place to be a little jarring and even a little tedious towards the end. I expected a surprise at the end, which I did get, and I did enjoy the 2016 chapter. However, if he had just held off until the 2020 Pandemic had revealed itself, the book might have had a completely different ending!

Loved the story and enjoyed travelling through the times and many countries along with our hero but I’d hoped there would have been more emphasis on the travel-through-time aspect of the story and that more (if any at all) explanation was given as to the why’s and how's of it all.
I kept waiting for that... discovery but nothing came. It just seemed to end abruptly.

John Boyne is so fantastically versatile in his writing. There is no topic that he cannot mould and shape and arrange to suit his style and skill set. The storyline here was so different from anything I’ve read before. From 30% in or so I finally got to grips with how it was written but initially the huge jumps in dates and distance between suggested locations confused me. The names changed from chapter to chapter, which was a very interesting concept, the change in places, in continents even, and huge jump in years, at first only served to add confusion but gradually gave way to my recognition of the mammoth task Boyne had undertaken and delivered with such fine accomplishment. Me did research enough to write 30 or 40 novels such was the variation in locations and settings of the different phases of this novel. The story too was good and I began to long to see what changes would come with the next era. I really loved when I recognised other characters from his previous novels. I thought they were expertly included in the narrative. And I loved 2016 and the epilogue so much. They represented how life is and how life could so easily be. I can’t imagine how much time and effort, drafting and redrafting went into this accomplishment but I applaud the author’s efforts. The is a novel the likes of which we’ve never seen before. Well done John Boyne, again!!!!

I was intrigued by the concept – one central character has many incarnations in different times and places across human history (starting in 1 CE), yet the thread of his life is uninterrupted – and wondered how Boyne was going to pull it off, but I trusted him as a storyteller after The Heart’s Invisible Furies and A Ladder to the Sky.

The unnamed narrator’s family dynamic is always the same: father a warrior, mother a craftswoman, older brother gone away, scheming sister, crippled ‘cousin’ adopted into the family, and so on. As the years (and centuries) pass, he develops his handiwork – whether that be making jewelry, doing cave paintings, creating the Bamiyan Buddhas, illuminating the Book of Kells or making the sails for Columbus’s ships – and has several ill-fated relationships. He is also a murderer, or accessory to murder, several times over, generally driven by honor or revenge.

Character names morph to be appropriate for the region but retain the same first letter, so you know the older brother is always a J, the sister is always an A, etc. By the end, there is nearly one archetypal character for each letter of the alphabet (I lost count a bit, but I think there are around 20). The jumps forward in time range between 15 and 65 years and change the outward specifics of the characters’ lives drastically: for instance, in Somalia in 260 they are slaveholders, while in the next chapter, set in South Korea in 311, they are slaves. All along, though, the narrator states his intention to “live among the stars”; a belief that this is possible keeps him going at times when he might otherwise have despaired and taken his own life.

Especially as the book gets into more familiar historical territory from the past century, you have to wonder why each vignette is necessary. I’ll admit that what happens to Trump in the speculative near-future section is very satisfying, but the portraits of his supporters don’t ring true, unless they are meant as caricatures.

The final chapter, set in space in 2080, reminded me of The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, while the narrator’s overall vision for life reminded me of Earthseed, the religion in Octavia E. Butler’s Parable series (really, just read that instead). The narrator, part of a first generation born in space into a new utopian community, looks back to a home planet he never knew – perhaps all that went before is meant to be his dreams or imaginings of life there, which could account for how bland and unrealistic some of it is?

Because the main character is an Everyman (perhaps modeled after Joseph Campbell’s hero with the thousand faces?), I felt that I never had an intimate understanding of him. Except insomuch as he is a fellow creative type, I don’t think Boyne cared much about his main character, either, or dove very deep into his psyche; he is often passive and drawn into situations he doesn’t choose. On the whole, the writing is capable but flat; despite the many melodramatic occurrences, the story feels plodding, as if in each chapter Boyne was doing the bare minimum to evoke a time period and setting. It’s impossible to know all 50 locales through and through, so he skates by on shallow, received knowledge. This struck me as a very indulgent project overall, especially with all the cameos from historical figures like Michelangelo, Shakespeare and Ned Kelly.

I think what Boyne was trying to do here is to give nostalgic snapshots of the best and worst of human history, looking back from its potential end, and ultimately to lend mythic significance to events that we find either commonplace or still hardly believable (a Trump presidency). (Speaking of myths, my favorite character was a Tiresias figure who recurs to offer help and advice.) If cut by half or more and packaged as a collection of more polished and fleshed-out short stories, this promising idea could have led to an exciting work, but instead it is both too little and too much: the thinness of each individual story line and the suspicion that together, after all these words and all this drama, they don’t add up to much. Ultimately, the attempt to fuse historical fiction and science fiction was a failure.

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House, Transworld and John Boyne, for this e-copy in return for my honest review. I'm a massive fan of John Boyne, he never fails to disappoint. He's a master at his craft and a genius storyteller. The premise of one narrator telling a story that spans 2,000 years is a daunting one, but this book is breathtakingly well written.

I went into this book excited. I'd not long finished and absolutely adored [book:The Heart's Invisible Furies|33253215], and was fully expecting to be blown away again.

At the same time I was wary, as had it not been for the author I don't think I'd have picked this book up. A story that spans the millenia did not appeal to me, as I like my historic fiction within the last couple of hundred years and the mention of space also turned me off. Nevertheless, this is John Boyne. Surely I'd love it.

But...I didn't. This story follows the tale of one character, the tribulations of his family and his quest for revenge after losing women he loved. However, this character is fluid in both time and matter - he is born in the first century AD, comes of age over the next 1,000 years and spends his adult years across the next 2,000. Each time we meet him he is older (though not by as many years as have passed) living in a new time, as a different person, in countries across the globe. Is he reincarnated, or is his story universal to many different men? It isn't clear, but what remains the same is the path his life has taken and the people in his life (albeit as different versions of themselves, in the same way that he is different each time).

I think my problem with this book is that if you strip away the clever structure, the story underneath didn't really touch me. I get it, Boyne likes to play with structure - in ...Invisible Furies the story is told in seven-year leaps because apparently the human body replaces all its cells every seven years, and so we are basically a different person every seven years. However, whilst that was a nice quirk of ...Invisible Furies, it wasn't even one that I was aware of as I read and certainly didn't impact the story overly much. But in this book, the structure completely dominates, and it put up a barrier to me really connecting with the characters. Without that connection, I felt the quest for revenge didn't really tally up with the emotions which were supposed to be fuelling it. And that's the polar opposite to his other books that I've read, where it was entirely the characters and their story that pulled me in and kept me turning the pages. With this one, I was really just turning the pages to get to the end.

That isn't to say I didn't enjoy this book, as I did finish it and I did appreciate just how clever the structure was. I think this will definitely appeal to people who enjoy deep history and who like a book that experiments with structure. I'm just not one of those people, and I'm sure Boyne is aware of and fine with the fact that this will be a Marmite book.

I will say though, there are so many countries and religions and cultures and races and times covered in this book that it will be interesting to see what the reception is in terms of factual accuracy and the general feeling toward authors writing from perspectives which are not their own. I usually take it on a book-by-book basis, but there is a section of this book in which Boyne almost seems to be goading those who will object in this case...and it left a bad taste in my mouth. That I had that sense of distaste whilst going into an ending which felt at odds with the rest of the book, really did cement that this was just not the book for me.

This book is unlike anything you have or will ever read. It is a mind-blowing trip through time. Boyne’s knowledge and intellect shines through as he brings us on a stomping ride through the ages. It’s a gritty read, Not for the faint hearted at times. But an absolute riot. Took me a while to understand what Boyne was doing with this book but his mastery of language is unequivocal and the end result is a masterpiece.

I haven't read many of John Boyne's books but I enjoyed the books I have read. The Heart's Invisible Furies is one of my favourite books – ever.

I'm not sure what to say about this book. It wasn't quite what I expected and in fact it took me a bit of time to realise what was going on. The actual writing is good and the author has a wonderful way with words. I liked the idea of the book but I'm not sure I really 'got it'.

It is definitely 'sprawling'. Going from AD 1 to AD 2016. Followed by the epilogue set in AD 2080. The nameless narrator is always a craftsman/creative of some sort (it changes with each new place and time). Each chapter is set in a different geographical location and a bit further on in time. I couldn't find the link between the different locations. I don't know if I was missing the link or if I was looking for a connection that wasn't there. It's a bit difficult to explain but names changed although the basic characters were still part of the story but to me it seemed a bit disjointed and I didn't feel involved with the characters.

I did manage to finish the book although the ending made little sense to me. I think the concept might have been just too clever for me.

I enjoyed this book until the last chapter and the epilogue. I understand why the writer would think it would fit with the rest of the book but I don't think it worked, and it somewhat ruined it for me. Having said that the book itself is a unique piece of literary fiction, it is well researched and the format was original.

3.5 stars

A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom is a story of human history brimming with mythical vibrancy as we are invited to explore the world through a nonlinear lens. The challenge is to see the progress of a man’s life and his experiences from birth to an elderly grandfather over the course of two thousand and sixteen years, plus a seismic jump into the future amongst the stars in the epilogue.

Each chapter is based in a unique time and place, with a nebulous family of different names as the language varies with region. The novel starts in Palestine in 1 AD with obvious connections to the events of the time, including the slaughter of infant boys in the towns that surround Bethlehem, in fear that a King of the Jews was born. Death dispatched by his father, Marinus, a Roman soldier, he returned home that night and stared at his new-born son placing his hand on his head – the main character and narrator of the story.
“When he took it away, a trace of blood was left in its wake, a deadly deposit, and I’ve always wondered whether some residue of his crimes remained indelibly upon my soul, a tattoo invisible to all but the eyes of the gods, a reminder of the massacre of the innocents that was taking place as I filled my lungs with air for the first time.”
The second chapter moves to Turkey in 41 AD with the narrator's father, now named Marek as a Roman legionnaire, under a mission for Emperor Caligula. Many of the scenes and actions illustrate that some facets of human existence are doomed to repeat over and over. A life of violence and predatory sex seems to follow the characters as they advance through eras that include many historical figures and events – such as Julius Caesar, Shakespeare, Christopher Columbus, the Plague and Tsunamis.

The epilogue offers a future that finally breaks the cycle of sedition and egregious behaviour and is a sign of hope – ending the continuous encounters of violence, abuse, greed, fear, sexual dominance, hardship, discrimination, and distrust.

The conundrum John Boyne creates is that we know he has thought deeply about a message or messages woven throughout his novel but also making it personal for each reader to imagine and draw their own perspectives. This is a canvas to not only interpret John Boyne’s artistic genius but to paint our own imagination. The multiple interpretations of the novel hails the layers of clever considerations as a story unfolds with a fascinating leap between each chapter. I cannot imagine too many contemporary authors pulling this off.

The final two chapters are quite different again. The penultimate chapter is based in the US in 2016 when a new president is elected and it may just be the end of us all. I didn’t feel this chapter really worked but I can accept the following epilogue as a means of leaving us with some hope. I would highly recommend reading this book and would rate it 4.9 stars. I would like to thank Double Day Books, Random House UK and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in return for an honest review.

Being a fan of John Boyne’s books, I was thrilled to receive a copy of his latest “A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom” from Penguin Random House for a review.

Without giving any spoilers, here is a bare outline of the plot:

An unknown man leads the reader through 2000 years. His story unfolds, unlimited by time and space. Beginning in ancient Rome, each chapter in the narrator’s life is set in a different country. The characters and their relationships with the man – wife, brother, cousin – stay the same but evolves through centuries.
At first, I thought this was something biblical, perhaps a retelling of the story of Jesus like Sue Monk Kidd’s “The Book of Longings.” But very soon I realized this was much bigger.

It takes a while to get used to the plot and can be disorienting to follow in the beginning. But once you get comfortable with the leaps forward into time you settle down into the story, narrowing your focus to what is happening in the narrator’s life.

I am sure there was considerable effort involved in writing this novel, to set it within certain time periods, and set scenes as accurately as possible. There are small slip-ups. The names in the chapter set in India, for example. Boyne uses names like Deepak, Bhavna, and Shanthi, which are modern and contemporary, and does not sit well in the 14th century milieu when the story takes place. And Indians definitely don’t have “bright blue eyes.” Other readers have pointed out the presence of kimonos in China and people sporting Spanish names in Argentina before the arrival of the Spanish.

I was ok to coast along ignoring the weariness that was starting to creep up by the time I reached the 17th and 18th centuries. But it was the last two chapters that completely disappointed me. It felt very disengaged from the rest of the book. It was as if Boyne used those last few pages to really talk about his views on Trump, climate change, and a whole lot of other issues. He then ends the book, setting it far in the future in 2080, giving his vision of what the world looks like then.

“There are no men or women, no boys or girls, no transgender or intersex people…” and there is a “competition to escape the dying planet.”

I have mixed feelings about this book. The brilliant and innovative idea of setting the plot in different worlds ignoring the time-space continuum, and the fun cameo appearances of famous figures like King Herod, Shakespeare, Michelangelo, and others, are the aspects I really loved about it. But paired with the effort needed, sometimes, to keep track of the names and the ungainly ending did not leave me with the satisfaction that a usual John Boyne novel gives me.

Verdict: Read but with lower expectations
Rating: 3.5/5