THE ELEMENTS

‘The Elements’ by John Boyne is a quartet of interconnected stories pivoting the elements of life, with each novel providing a self contained drama that blows punches to your senses, and when you have time to take a breath - moments of reflection. Whilst avid Boyle fans, like some of us in the Den, will have already devoured ‘Water’ and ‘Earth’ this new hardback edition contains all four stories including ‘Fire’ and ‘Air’, so is a must have and possibly the best way to appreciate this explosive collection. The perfect way to start 2026.

Each story is written in the first person and without giving too much away, this is a snapshot:

In ‘Water’, the protagonist, Vanessa, has left Dublin, arriving on a remote island and choosing to live as a hermit. As well as changing her identity Vanessa’s first act is to cut away her hair. This is an alarming start to 'Water' but we are in Vanessa’s head and absorbed by her vulnerability, her heightened emotions of guilt, anger and sadness, hanging on to a secret that is churning up in the storm of life on a island where she is hoping to drown the darkness of her past. Helping a young boy to escape his own traumas enables Vanessa to find solace and maybe a new beginning.

Moving on, ‘Earth’ opens with a tabloid sensation; two well known footballers are standing trial for sexual assault. Readers will recognise one of the accused boys, Evan, as the young boy who was given a lifeline by Vanessa (in ‘Water’) starting afresh away from his controlling father. ‘Earth’ feels grubby, raw and base as Evan’s journeys to clear the ‘stench of earth’ from his nostrils and breathe freely again.

In ‘Fire’ we meet one of Evan’s jurors, Dr Freya Petrus, a successful burn surgeon grappling with her childhood trauma. As Freya explains ‘The elements destroy everything. Think of water. When someone drowns, and their body floats back to shore, their features are so bloated it can be difficult to identify with them. Think of earth when the body is buried, it starts to decompose immediately. Think of air. If we are deprived of a few minutes, we die. Think of fire.’ .

Whilst ‘Fire’ is a dark story of revenge, ‘Air’ moves the spotlight to Aaron, Freya’s intern who is now some year’s later taking a transformative journey with his teenage son.

For those who don’t like the form of the short story - this is an enriching tale that weaves the dramas of these four individuals navigating difficult topics.

‘The Elements’ is a compulsive read for book lovers as well as offering plenty of talking points for your book club.

Other books, including 'The Hearts Invisible Furies', 'A Ladder to the Sky' and 'All The Broken Places' as well as the first two stories in the 'The Elements' quartet, can be found in The Reading Den's Library.