Books & Audiobooks
TW: Discussions of sexual abuse
This is a book about sexual assault. BUT, before you decide that the topic is too disturbing, let me reassure you that there is nothing graphic or vivid about the violations contained within. They form the backdrop to the stories that intertwine with the titular elements—Water, Earth, Fire and Air—and the people at the core of each narrative. John Boyne is a masterful writer, and in The Elements, he takes you into the heart of each of the characters, the enabler, the accomplice, the perpetrator and the victim, with an intensity and intimacy that will leave you with conflicting emotions and perspectives.
From anger to compassion, we begin to understand that not all is what it seems to be. Every human being is a layered entity with personal experiences that form the web of our personas. While we can be quick to judge, John Boyne cleverly demonstrates that it is what is below the surface that is the true story.
From a small island off the coast of Ireland, we follow the lives of Vanessa Carvin and daughter Rebecca, Evan Keogh, Freya Petrus and Aaron Umber, as each of them come to terms with the impact sexual abuse has had on their lives. A mother, a soccer phenom, a medical doctor and a psychiatrist, they each have experienced the unthinkable and we watch as the consequences of those violations play out in their lives and the lives of those whose paths they cross.
This book will stay with you for a long time, not in a shell-shocked kind of way but rather, in the manner of helping the reader to look at everyone more empathetically and keep in mind that everyone, good and bad, has a story.