Characters adapt to different cultures, times and places frequently to tell the story of a ‘universal’ man. The story spans over 2000 years from start to finish. It is well written but I felt it hard to connect with a story that was meant to be ‘universal’ when everything about the story and characters changed every 10 pages. The general life of the main character stayed familiar but adapted to suit the given context. It was interesting to begin with but I found it dragged a lot in the middle and it was at times hard to follow the life of the one man. I can’t say it was a bad book by any means, but the novelty of the changing story did wear off quickly.

Not too sure about this at first and was a book I often put down and came back too. Some parts are a little disturbing due to the subject matter. On the whole a thought provoking and very good read.

Oh Gosh I really do not know what to say about this book, I have read and thoroughly enjoyed other books by this author The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Heart's Invisible Furies and A Ladder to the Sky have all rated 4 or 5 stars. Whilst this book has the trademark beauty in in Boyne's writing I find the narrative just a littke too unbelievable to enjoy.

The story starts in the first year AD and marches through to the current day using the same characters (albeit with slight changes to their names) across 2 millenia. The reader is expected to believe in a man 2000 years old but yet only a few years older in age. I just struggled to get with the premise, I disliked the continuous repitition of narrative in different countries and time. It was alike a world tour over a very protracted time period where the travellers aged only a couple of decades in the 2 millenia it covered.

I had so looked forward to this book and was sorely disappointed

This is another absolutely absorbing novel from the wonderful John Boyne. The story takes place over the course of 2000 years and in many different locations.. I will admit that it took me a little while to get in to this book but once I settled in I was totally hooked. A very good read and I highly recommend it.

Thanks Netgalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and the author for an eARC copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

John Boyne slowly but surely is becoming my unicorn author. His unique talent and the love to words is shinning from each page of his stories. You simply cannot not to fall in love with them...

A traveller at the gates of wisdom is so different from what I usually read but it was very easy to immerse and get lost in this amazing book. It's classified as a fairy tale, historical fiction and coming of age story. The quirky and lyrical writing takes us on a journey through time, spanning from Palestine in 1 CE to outer space in 2080. telling us a story of a family with two sons. One a great fighter like his father and one artistic like his mother, one leaves and one stays.

Every chapter takes us into a different location at a different time with the renamed characters. The world and all people around them change but the destiny stays the same.

"Someday, we may build towers taller than the eye can see, fly through the sky on wings, even live among the stars. But I know this much; the things that surround us may change, but our emotions will always remain the same. A man who lost his beloved wife a thousand years ago suffered the same grief that I felt when I lost mine, no more and no less. A woman who discovers her child is being mistreated a thousand years hence will experience the same levels of murderous fury that you feel today. Love does not change, anger never varies. Hope, desperation, fear, longing, desire, lust, anxiety, confusion and joy; you and I endure these emotions just as men and women always have or ever will. We are a small people in an ever-changing universe. The world around us might be in a state of constant flux, but the universe within?’I shook my head, both admitting and accepting the weakness of man. ‘No, Serafina. None of these will ever change. No matter how long this world continues."

It’s hard to describe this book! It spans 2000 years with the same narrator but each chapter takes place 50 years apart in different destinations and slight changes occur at each chapter; character names, the narrator’s occupation for example. It’s such a clever concept and despite it sounding strange it’s infinitely readable.
Persevere through first few chapters while you get the hang of it because it’s so worth it!

This is a 2.5 but mostly 2 read for me. I don't think I've ever taken so long to get through a novel, I've reread so many sections to try and make sense as I trawled though it.

That's the big issue with this book. I like novels that flow, keep you interested and leave a gaping hole when you finish them. This tome is heavy, confusing and too long to be worth your attention. The underlying message of unity, reincarnation and memories travelling through the centuries just about gets through but it really, really wasn't worth it.

I am a huge John Boyne fan so was pleased to get the opportunity to read his latest book. As other reviewers have said, it is a very ambitious novel, with a unique and clever narrative style that I have not come across before. The thread of the story or the similarities of the narrator continue through the chapters which are set in different times / geographical locations, however the chapters do read a bit like short stories and so I didn't find that I was completely immersed or interested in character development. Historical fiction (that far back!) is also not my favourite genre. It is beautifully written but not one of my favourites. I will continue to read what John Boyne writes and hope that his next book is set in the present day.

Where to start with my review for A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom? Described as "ambitious, far reaching and mythic", it is all of these things and is very different to any of John Boyne's previous books. Spanning over 2,000 years, it is a history of the world in a given country at a given point in time. The narrative beings in 1AD and ends in 2080, it follows the story of one, of many, throughout time in an intertwining tale of love, loss, revenge and redemption.

John Boyne is one of my "go to" authors, an author whose book I will buy without even reading the blurb, as I have no doubt I will love it. This book is no exception. It is most definitely ambitious - the sheer scope of the research alone that must have gone into this book is hugely impressive. It is a very clever book, think about it too much and it seems a bit mind bending, but yet you are left with a book hangover and can't help but think about it. It gives much pause for thought, particularly how women have been treated over the past 2,000 years and how little, but yet how much, has changed.

This is unlike anything I have read before. It is thought provoking and utterly unique. It is absorbing, at times intense and totally rewarding. It will take you on a journey through time, history and mankind. It will leave you contemplating both your own journey through life and also, perhaps, pondering the most existential question of all - “what is the meaning of life?"

5/5*

While I can see why many readers liked this book, I can't get into it. I'm a fan of Boyne but this novel reminds me a bit of books by David Mitchell (definitely not my cup of tea).

This is a highly original book. It crosses time and continents in the most unusual way to tell a universal story.

In one respect it can be read like a series of short stories, which I thought it was until I realised that each part was a continuation from the last, but shifted fifty or a hundred years later and in a different country. The similarities of the struggles, relationships and attitudes from life are what connects them all.

It opens in AD 1, at the time Herod is killing all of the baby boys. The language is almost Biblical but it is in keeping with the times and becomes more modern as the story progresses. Written in the first person, the nameless boy has a brother, sister and a cousin as well as his parents. His growing up continues in different centuries until the present (2016) and beyond in the epilogue. The places include Iran, Nepal, Sweden, Italy, Palestine and Ireland, amongst many others.

This is not a fast read but interesting to see how people remain as people throughout the turbulence of history. In each time and place is a principled boy and man who suffers from not quite fitting the gender stereotypes while the women always are subjected to cruelty and misogyny whose only purpose is to serve men. There are prejudices too, against minorities and the disadvantaged. The themes are, simple enough: “We are all alike, men and women. As we were at the birth of time, and as we will be at its death.”

The only part that seemed a little disjointed was the final chapter set in 2016, which came across as a bit of a political rant against President Trump, and the bizarre epilogue that saw his death. However, this is one of the most unusual and clever works of fiction ever. Worth reading.

The plan was to give the novel 3,5* rounded up to 4. Then the last chapter and the epilogue happened. I can safely say that those two chapters made the most ridiculous and out of scope ending I have ever read. I cannot understand why it was written like this and how an editor allowed it to be published like this. I will write more about that later in my review.

First of all, the novel idea was brilliant. As many other reviewers wrote, I’ve never read a book quite like it. The author tells us the story of an unnamed man travelling through time and different lives. Hmm, how to make more sense? The novel starts in A.D. 1 in Palestine with the birth of our hero. His father is sent to Bethlehem to kill all the infants from that region. Don’t worry, this is not a religious story. The next chapter takes up from where the last chapter ended but we are transported to Turkey, A. D. 41. The characters have different names but the first letter is always the same. The next chapter takes us to Romania, A.D. 105 and so on. I was happy to read that the Romanian names were accurate enough although I had no idea how people of Dacia were called. The character(s) has a tumultuous life, full of physical and mental struggles, love, loss, grief and revenge.

It can be said it is a book about reincarnation and the way the character retains some memory from his past and future lives. It can also be considered an ode to the universality of the human soul and its struggles. There is a lot of focus on the plight of being a woman through history, with no other role than to please and obey the man. Also, the expectation of a male to only perform “manly” jobs is also explored. Our hero steps away from his father shoes becoming a creator/a craftsman/artist, an occupation who is shunned by his father.

Although I was impressed by the research and the cultural details that the author tried to introduce in each chapter, there were some obvious errors. The presence of Kimonos in China or Spanish names in Argentina before the Spanish people landed there, are two examples. Another complaint was that I was not too engrossed in the plot, a risk when you jump around in time and space. I did not feel the urge to resume reading the novel after putting it aside which is quite relevant since the first book I read by the author was unputdownable. Still, considering the originality of the subject and the way the book was crafted I was prepared to give it 4*. Then I read the ending…

The last chapter is set in US in 2016. Have you already guessed what will follow? Yes, you are right. A full blown rant about Trump and the elections. Our hero is a big supporter of Hillary while his family supports Trump. What follows is a quarrel between the factions, including the most absurd declarations Trump ever made. The scene does not add anything to the story, it was only a way to vent the frustration the author feels about Trump being elected President. I totally understand him, I cannot stand the orange guy either but write a blog or an article about it, don’t ruin the bloody book. And if the rant wasn’t enough, we reach the epilogue where Mr. Trump dies from unexpected internal combustion. Yup, you read right. The whole scene was so ridiculous that I waited for the author to tell me it was a joke. I got a review copy so I really hope the scene was erased from the final release.

I loved The Heart's Invisible Furies, it was one of the few over-hyped books that are worth the fandom so I am so sorry to not give this novel 5*. However, it is still worth reading but maybe for already established fans, not for a 1st time reader of John Boyne.

I am a big fan of John Boyne and was very excited about the promise of his latest book.

The story spans over millennia, expanding from a small family of four. From there, each chapter jumps to a different time and place through the fate of families with shared history, and of their world.
This is a tale about the universality of the human experience, with a vast cast of characters that is masterfully woven together. The narrator reincarnates in each chapter, manifesting himself as a different and yet the same person.

John Boyne’s writing is brilliant as always but unfortunately I couldn’t get the hang of this book. In my opinion, its aims are so ambitious and far reaching that there wasn’t enough time to get to know each of its inhabitants or to sympathise with the narrator. When I found myself enjoying a particular chapter and cast fo characters I felt disappointed that the book jumped to the next one so quickly.

The spirituality and symbolism contained within the narration did not come through as seamlessly as I would have hoped and although the narrative thread was constant and easy to follow it was not enough to keep my interest.

I enjoyed how Boyne introduced real characters such as Michelangelo and rejoined spending some time in their world but unfortunately as the plot got closer to real time I was acquainted with others not to enjoyable ones, such as the Donald Trump of 2016. The end felt unnecessary and I wish Boyne had stopped at the dawn of our century.

Overall, I have very mixed feelings about this book and although I appreciate the epic in it, this read was somehow laborious to read.

“We are all alike, men and women. As we were at the birth of time, and as we will be at its death.”

It is almost impossible to know how to start describing this incredible piece of work. Calling it a sweeping odyssey of historical fiction just doesn’t do it justice. So let’s just go with magnum opus. For surely no other novel by Boyne can match A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom for scope, depth and sheer heft of meaning. It is written with a breathtaking vision that is faultlessly executed.

Spanning over 2000 years, the narrative starts in biblical times and finishes in 2080. It comprises a vivid tapestry of short stories, woven together by the voice of a single narrator, who reemerges each time in a new skin. His journey takes him across centuries and continents, but his story is seamless, unbroken by time or place.

The narrative is populated with a panoply of historical figures, from King Herod to Julius Caesar, from Christopher Columbus to Ned Kelly, from Hitler to Trump. It retells significant moments in ancient and modern history; the evolution of civilization itself. And all of it as seen through the eyes of one man; a hero who experiences fleeting snatches of memory from previous incarnations, invoking the notion of a spiritual connection with the past that transcends time and logic.

It is an intensely philosophical novel, setting the continuous flux of the world against the constant that is the beating heart of mankind. Love, hope, despair, anger, longing, joy — these are things that never change, however different the age and the setting.

I finished this magnificent novel with the sense that I’d just read something that was far greater than the words on the page. An experience of awe-inspiring proportions. I can’t say that it ranks as my favorite Boyne work, but it is certainly his most accomplished.

John Boyne is one of the world's best living novelists and this later work only confirms that reputation. It is epic in scope, but just as searching and thought-provoking as his other books. I loved it.

I found this a tough book to read only because i had to keep thinking about who was who and where they were in the book......A story of love, fueds, betrayal, loyalty and a story of life from childhood to middle age, but through different countries and time.... i had to keep rereading but it was well worth it as it was a very powerful book.

Firstly I would like to point out that this is the first John Boyne book I’ve read so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. This book starts off in AD 1 and goes through time ending over 2,000 years later. At first I found the story confusing but after a few chapters I understood more what was happening and really got into this book. This is an epic book that sucked me right in and once I got used to the characters and names I was hooked..

I really liked the concept of this story. The short stories were interesting in places but it was hard to keep reading. It all started to feel disjointed. Sorry.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

When I first started reading this book, I was slightly confused but I soon got into the swing of it. Each section is set in a different year and in a different country, but the story continues to flow with intertwining themes. The characters names will change each time to fit the time and place but always begin with the same letter and it's easy to tell who is who, the main character does however, remain nameless!
This is a very unique take on story telling. It's so wonderfully written and evokes thought and lots of emotions. When the time and destination change, not only do the names become more fitting but also the professions. I thought it was very cleverly done. And some familiar historical names pop up throughout. There's even a Maud Avery reference! (love)

The main character was great, very likeable and strong given the pain and loss he continues to experience through this story. You just rooted for him the whole time. Other characters are likeable and some not so much but they all make the book. I feel this is completely different to anything I've read before and I LOVED it. It is a long novel but believe me, it's absolutely worth sticking with!

This story has the most interesting development. Starting at the beginning of a life that takes us trough centuries and everywhere in the world. A life the same but still so different every chapter. The title for this book is not a joke. It was fun to read one chapter where the man is an underdog and the next where he is on the winning side. Sometimes in almost similar worlds. I also enjoyed how all the history is woven into his future and how it affects him.

It was not an easy book to read. For one I was on Google searching for all the history stuff. Second this man's life is not easy. It is a struggle and it reads like one. That is what makes this book beautiful but slow and not always a captivating read. For me it is a book that would fit a mood and I would go for dark rainy days in winter.