I have been starting and stopping and restarting and re-reading this one for months now and unfortunately I'm just so fully confused and not enjoying it at all - that I don't think I can finish. 

Maybe one day I'll pick it up again and feel differently but I just don't think I can give it any more of my time - this one is definitely not for me. 

I hate to DNF - I'm only done it maybe 2-3 times ever in my life, but I just cannot for the life of me get through more than 15% and still not even be sure what is happening. 

Thank you for offering it to me. Maybe one day we will meet ups again and I'll give it another shot :)

I wanted to love this one since The Heart's Invisible Furies is one of my absolute favorite books, but it just felt too all over the place and I was never able to connect to the story or characters. I struggled to get into it and then when I finally did the ending changed tone and completely unraveled. This might be for some but it wasn't for me.

A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom...just, wow! This is an inventive take on the story of a man that spans the ages (beginning in 1 AD and ending in 2080). In each chapter (usually about 7-9 pages in length), the year, setting, and the specific details change but the story continues as the man grows up, marries, and then his life proceeds in unexpected directions. We follow tales of betrayal, revenge, and reflections on humanity over the ages...again and again. Many of the sections are peppered with references to events and people from throughout history (maybe all, but I didn't catch all of them, I'm sure). 

This is a very difficult to describe book and I was not expecting to like it as much as I did. My hesitance was due to the constant changes, but after a few generations of changes (i.e., several chapters), I settled in for the ride and it really worked. I am just wowed by John Boyne. This is my third read by this author and each book has been different from the last. (This is also true of another one of my favourite Irish authors, Jess Kidd. Is it something in their water?) I look forward to the next one.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Random House for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

3.5 stars! 

Thank you to Random House for the gifted ebook. I also bought a physical copy.

A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom is only my second. My first was A Ladder to the Sky, which I loved. A Traveler was so very different from that one, and I think that speaks to Boyne’s immense talent.

In a nutshell, this book travels from ancient time through the future with common characters and story elements. It also travels through different places/countries over that period. It is epic in scope, and I cannot imagine the level of research and detail it took to put this book together.

While I typically prefer my books much more character-driven than this one was, the story served a much different purpose, one you have to “explore” for yourself when you read this book. A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom is a feat, a marvel, and most definitely an experience of a read!

ohn Boyne is one of those authors that I absolutely adore. I love his writing and consider him a brilliant wordsmith – if he released a grocery list, I’d probably buy it. So, of course, I was super excited to dig into A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom. I’m not going to lie, the start this book will seem daunting; it’s long, covers eons of time and crosses the globe. There is a lot of history embedded in the pages as well. In my opinion, it’s worth the time committment, so I say dive in, just know what you’re getting into from the start. 

The story is told by a nameless narrator who shares personal history, and by default, the world’s history, over a span of 2,000 years, beginning in Palestine in 1 A.D. and ending in an epilogue taking place in 2080. I’m going to be honest, the first fourth of this book I was extremely confused. I pushed myself to go on. Each chapter takes place in a different location during a different time period, but the same cast of characters appear with small tweaks and changes. Once I got into the narrative flow, which was formulaic, my reading experience became easier and I was more interested in what would happen next.

The narrator could have been in any country, in any time period and the story would have been the same. This was a fascinating feat as it touched on the common threads of birth, death, love, loss, duty, betrayal, friendship, pain and the creation and destruction of civilization. But on the other hand, I felt that there could have been more world history weaved in. Besides name and city changes, there wasn’t much else that indicated where and when the narrator was in history. When our narrator was working hand-in-hand with Michelangelo, and later on with William Shakespeare, I wanted to dig deeper and learn more. It would’ve made for a longer book but I felt like it was a missed opportunity.

The ending felt a bit rushed for me, but, wow, did I feel like the novel came full circle. I don’t want to give anything away, but by the end, I felt as though I finally got what Boyne was trying to get across to the reader. A unique story and unlike anything I’ve ever read before.

I loved John Boyne’s novels A Ladder to the Sky, and The Heart’s Invisible Furies.  When contacted by the publisher to read his latest, I looked forward to the opportunity.  

A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom is unlike those I’ve previously read.  An historical fiction where a man travels through different time periods and many countries.  The novel is original and very ambitious.  Sad to say it wasn’t one I found enjoyable.  However, many friends on Goodreads felt differently and rated Boyne’s book highly.  Do take a look at other reviews before deciding to read his latest or not.

Many thanks to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy of A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom by John Boyne in exchange for an honest review.

3 out of 5 stars

I absolutely loved The Heart's Invisible Furies, so all of John Boyne's books are measured to that standard.  This book was original and fun.  His writing is fantastic and always worth it.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom is a sweeping look at love, family, history, and destiny.

Have you ever read a book that you felt you couldn’t describe properly? That’s definitely the way I feel about John Boyne’s newest book. What I can say, however, is once again, his storytelling blew me away.

We start at the dawn of time, 1 AD. A baby is born to a warrior and his wife, amidst his father’s acts of violence. The baby has an older brother, who mostly resents him.

The story shifts as time passes, changing locations, names, certain facts, but the general thrust of the story remains the same, as if to say that what is destined will happen no matter who or where you are. We travel through history, getting glimpses of historical figures and events through time, all the way to the future.

At times this felt more like interconnected short stories than a cohesive novel. This was an interesting concept and I loved what Boyne has to say, that no event or emotion is unique to just one person. In the end, though, I don’t know that this worked for me as much as I hoped it would. But his storytelling transcended it all, so much like I felt about Fredrik Backman's Anxious People, the writing elevated the book, in my opinion.

If you’ve never read Boyne before, please read The Heart’s Invisible Furies, The Absolutist, and A Ladder to the Sky.

NetGalley and Hogarth Books provided me with a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!!
Posted by Larry at 6:24 PM Email This

A sprawling journey through time, centuries actually, and across the globe, a story of a family and so much more, wonderfully written as I anticipated with a John Boyne novel. A unique structure as dates and places change, the names of the characters vary, but have the same beginning letter, and the story line expands reflecting the history and culture of the place and time. A “time travel” story of sorts as the family appears again and again and again in each chapter. An unnamed, artistic boy grows into a man, not the warrior his father wants him to be. Through the centuries he crafts wooden cemetery monuments, jewelry, sandals, beautiful dresses. He is a stoneworker, a painter, a playwright, in the different places and times, always the artist, but a different art form created in each time period. This is a universal story of family, loss, love, grief, marriage, betrayal, revenge, murder. The pages are filled with the subservient position of women in history, natural disasters, wars, slavery, murders, brutal violence at times, a depiction of true history in so many ways, and the reality of human flaws along side decency and love . 

Its a fascinating trip around the world through history with appearances from Atila the Hun, Lady Macbeth, Ferdinand and Isabella, Cristobel  Colon (Christopher Columbus), Michelangelo, Shakespeare. Boyne takes us to the 2016 election, an event weighing heavily on my mind as I write this, then to the final stunning chapter to the future. It’s impressive to say the least. Some may call what ensues here reincarnation, or time travel. I don’t know what to call it other than brilliant story telling. It’s evident that the research effort was immense. I have to admit that by the last quarter of the book, I started to think it was somewhat overly ambitious, and it seemed to move quickly to modern day and to the future, but it’s well deserving of 4.5 stars because I couldn’t put it down. I recommend it if you’re looking for a different kind of story . 


I received a copy of this book from Hogarth Press through NetGalley.

This was such an interesting concept. The same character jumps through time. His name changes, but his story is consistent.

I’ll be honest there were a few times that I felt confused about the plot. It took some time for me to truly appreciate the story for what it was. 

3.5/5

Oh dear, part of me wants to rate this higher because of my respect for this author and his work, but I have to be honest and give it the rating I feel it deserves.
I commend him for the idea of taking one character (never named), and following a linear plot line in sequential time periods and in fifty different countries. It's a unique idea and very intriguing, but my problem was with the writing. At times it seemed very amateurish and lazy. Other than the unique concept I didn't ever feel like I got the point, the big picture. 
The current day chapter at the end was what really lowered the rating for me. Since I've lived through the election of "he who can not be named", the clumsy writing really stood out.
I'd give it a miss...wish I had.

A hard story to stick to. The premise of time travel or not ,characters intersecting over time. People come and go with little emotion to spare. The audience may find hope for humanity in these words but I could not detect a sense of place and therefore was often left adrift.

The Heart’s Invisible Furies written by the incredible author, John Boyne, was number one on my Best Books of 2017, making me an instant fan (my review). As soon as I heard Boyne had a new book coming out this year, my NetGalley request went in. I wanted to read A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom the minute I was approved, but forced myself to wait. So, was the wait worth it? Well, yes and no.

A Traveler tells the story of one man’s life through the lives of many men. It begins in the year A.D. 1 with a newborn boy in Palestine, and moves through the more than 2000 years in jumps of 30 to 50 years. The location changes with each new iteration, which moves his story forward in small ways. Throughout, the basics of this man’s life stay the same: he’s artistic, he has an older brother who vanished, a cousin betrays him, and he outlives three wives. The brother’s name always begins with a J, his cousins with an H, etc. This daring creativity in storytelling made Boyne’s latest book a unique and powerfully written history lesson.

I found myself constantly fascinated with where his story would go to next, but at the same time, with the many swift jumps, I was never able to feel attached to the story’s narrator. For me, the story lacked heart and heart is often so very big in Boyne’s writing. I missed it terribly. The book’s last chapter and its epilogue also threw me. I wish they’d both been different. Still, I’m glad I stuck with A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom for Boyne’s uniquely told tale, but I fear it will be a book that many will give up on. 

Note: I received a copy of this book from Hogarth (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest thoughts.

A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom is an epic work of historical fiction that spans over two thousand years of time and visits countries all over the world. Each chapter is about ten pages long, and we are guided through both time and space by our unnamed narrator as he tells us his story. Our narrator is a creative, sensitive boy who grows up with a harsh and sometimes violent father who is constantly disappointed in him for not being more “masculine,” instead choosing more creative pursuits like drawing, making clothing, or crafting sculptures. While he is an excellent craftsman as an adult (in a series of different professions which change from chapter to chapter), he is a flawed person with blood on his hands, consumed by a quest for vengeance in the latter half of the novel. Here’s where it gets confusing: This novel plays out over 2,000+ years of time, in 50 different countries. In every ten-page chapter, the narrator and his family (father M, mother F, brother J, sister A, and cousin H, among others) stay the same generally in personality, but their names and professions change along with the setting and time period. The book begins in Palestine in A.D. 1 with the narrator’s father slaughtering dozens of baby boys who might be Jesus Christ, and ends in the United States of America in 2016 on the eve of the presidential election.

I’ll admit, this book took me about 100 pages to really get into. Having each chapter essentially start over except for the overarching “through lines” was hard to get used to. I have a rule where I try my absolute best to make it to 50 percent before deciding I’m not going to finish a book, and I’m glad I powered through because once I got the hang of the format, I was sucked in. This is certainly one of the more ambitious and creative books I’ve ever read. In terms of style, I’d say Boyne pulls it off (it would take an excellent writer to make this format work, and Boyne certainly is one). Where I’m unsure if this book succeeds, though, is in its overall mission. What was Boyne trying to say with this book? I’m not sure if I like the answer.

I’m dissatisfied with this novel, and disappointed in what I think it’s meant to stand for. It suffers from such a simplistic view of history and the problems of representation. Boyne is making a lot of assumptions about how certain things are viewed across different cultures and time periods that may or may not be true. All in all, I did give this novel a 6/10 because I think Boyne is a strong and ambitious writer. I did enjoy reading this book, and found myself deeply engrossed in many parts of it.

Every book he writes is better than the previous. This was a magical story that was so well researched and written. Just beautiful. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!

I enjoyed Boyne's two most recent adult novels, so I was looking forward to A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom - it sounded ambitious with its massive scope and I was here for it. Unfortunately, it was an experimental type of storytelling that didn't jibe with my sensibilities. 
Our unnamed narrator and his basic family unit move through history, making a clear theme of universality in human experience - each chapter is a totally different year and place (and realistically different people, but it's the same family unit) and there are a number of historic events that the readers attention can be drawn to to research further.
The forward motion of the family's story is so slow that the story is more gimmick than plot, in my opinion. It is an interesting writing experiment, but not one I enjoyed my time reading.

Thank you to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an arc for review.

A Divisive Read

“One day, you will live among the stars.”

A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom is about the history and destruction of civilization.

Spanning over 2000 years, a nameless narrator shares their personal history, and the world’s history, in varying times and countries. While time passes and locations change, the narrator’s story continues without much change until the very end. From the beginning in Palestine, A.D. 1 to the epilogue in A.D. 2080, the narrator’s long, drawn-out history culminates at the end of the world.

The narrator, an artisan, deals with love, loss, and the treachery of man. Themes focus on birth, death, rebirth, the cycle of life, social constructs, and the creation and destruction of civilization.

This book is quite divisive, and it was divisive to read. I am torn over my feelings. I love Boyne’s writing and style but I struggled to connect with the rhythm of the narrative. I wasn’t completely drawn in until about the 50% mark, but it took some determination, at times, to continue reading.

Once I was in full thrall, I thought I had a good idea of where this was headed, but I was beyond wrong.

The narrative is formulaic--while every chapter takes place in a different time and location, the same cast of characters appear. The culture of the country and time period is sometimes woven in, but the narrator really could have been in any place and time and the story would be the same. At times I wanted more, and other times I wanted less!

The final chapters felt rushed and a little messy. Boyne’s history is anachronistic and was sometimes frustrating and confusing to read. Other times, it was pure genius.

Then there is the ending which changed my entire thoughts on this book. To say I was taken aback is an understatement. I was baffled, but at the same time laughing hysterically. I realized I had been hoodwinked, as what I thought I was reading I was not. I got Boyne’s message loud and clear. Hopefully, 2021 will bring some much-needed change!

“It was over. The end of civilization as we knew it.”

I received an ARC of this book from Random House Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

As a massive John Boyne fan, I was delighted to receive a copy of this book from NetGalley. The premise of this book is so unique, and well executed for the most part. The narrator of the book hops from country to country and year to year, making his way through kingdoms and villages, different races and communities. This in itself took a bit of getting used to but was really fascinating as an idea. The same characters appear alongside the narrator, and the storyline remains almost the same, staying consistent through the changes. 

The descriptions of cultures and places was so interesting, and I imagine it took so much research. I did feel that it would have been more interesting to me to stick with fewer time hops and stay in one time period/place for a longer time. I have to say that the ending of the book felt off to me as well, the final few chapters had a very different tone to most of the others. 

Overall a really exciting and interesting concept.

I did not finish this one. Read 108 pps, (about 25%) and just could not get into it, which came as a shock, as I looooooved the author’s prior two novels. Not every book works for every reader and this one just did not click with me. That said, the structure of advancing the story through slightly altered characters in different cultures over millennia is surprising and very creative. I would prefer not to post a star rating because of the DNF, but that is not ok with NG, thus the three stars. Take it with a shaker of salt.

This is absolutely a brilliant book. I can see why so many readers love his writing.
That said-- it feels like a book I need to read with an actual physical copy in my hand. For now, I've hit pause on my e-ARC and requested a physical copy from the library. 

So far, I've loved...
-the way the story develops a plot line across different times and places and yet it's the same story, same people, just with different names and locations and years
-the writing itself! 

I look forward to finishing the rest of this book with a good old paper copy in my hands.