The Boy from the Sea

'Compulsive reading. Compassionate, lyrical and full of devilment' - Louise Kennedy, author of Trespasses

'A novel of heart-bumping power and sparkling vividness . . . a breathtaking achievement' - Joseph O'Connor, author of Star of the Sea

'I was gripped' - Emma Donoghue

1973. In a close-knit fishing community on Irelands west coast, a baby is found abandoned on the beach. Named Brendan by Ambrose Bonnar, the fisherman who adopts him, the baby captivates the town and the boy he grows to be will captivate them still no one can quite fathom Brendan Bonnar.

For Christine, Ambroses wife, Brendan brings both love and worry. For their existing son, his new brothers arrival is the start of a life-long rivalry. And though Ambrose brings Brendan into his home out of love, it is a decision that will fracture his family and force this man more comfortable at sea than on land to try to understand himself and those he cares for.

Told over two decades, Garrett Carr's The Boy from the Sea is a novel about a restless boy trying to find his place in the world and a family fighting to hold itself together. It is a story of ordinary lives made extraordinary, a drama about a community who cant help but look to the boy from the sea for answers as they face the storm of a rapidly changing world.