The Boy From the Sea

1973. In a close-knit community on Ireland’s west coast, a baby is found abandoned on the beach. 

–StoryGraph

MY REVIEW

I requested this one form the Publisher and I’m so glad they were able to send me a copy because I ended up *loving* this book. A sort of smaller family saga novel, we get the tale of the Bonnar family, from Ambroses and Christine bringing home the boy from the sea to how the town and the family ebb and flow like the tide they’re so accustomed to being near. Donegal Bay may not be one for fanciful flights of folklore compared to other places in Ireland (according to our narrator a citizen of the village in this book) but they are a tight knit community that have come to appreciate the fact they have their own piece of lore; Brendan Bonnar.

The story of Ambrose, Christine, their older son Declan and Brendan along with Christine’s older sister and their father; a family very much part of the story of their village. I loved the narration style of this, knowing this narrator was a villager and never knowing who, and getting the updates of the village as the seasons changed and time passed. It really gave an extra layer of almost whimsy for me that I very much appreciated. Especially amid the backdrop of the change in fishing regulations and the EU and shift in the economy that they’re living in during the period of time in this story.

The Bonnar family goes through a lot, they’re all quite nuanced and complex and I think it’s no mistake how Christine’s story is written, how she seems almost ‘less’ than the boys and Ambrose (as far as amount of insight) but while we all know, while *they* know that she is so much more.

It’s a slow moving story, it’s full of love, heartache, trying to find acceptance and your place, and even grief and learning to grow outside of what you’ve always known.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review, and that’s all I’ve given you. I loved this story but it, again, is *slow* so it may not be for you. 4.5/5 huge cups of coffee from me!