Boy in the World - Softcover

Williams, Niall

Softcover

ISBN 10: 000724438X ISBN 13: 9780007244386

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2007

Synopsis

A beautiful and moving novel about a young boy’s journey from childhood to adulthood from bestselling author, Niall Williams.

Niall Williams draws us into life in a small village in Ireland where a boy is growing up and making his first tentative steps to becoming a man. Questioning everything in an attempt to make sense of the world he is discovering through books, he is on the cusp of an understanding of what it is to be a man. But, when the Master, his caring old guardian, gives him a letter from his long-dead mother, his world comes crashing down.

Learning for the first time that his father is not dead, as he had been led to believe, the boy must relearn everything he thought he knew. He sets out to find his father, piecing together the information he can glean from his mother's letter: he is a journalist for the BBC, he has lived in London, and he is a Muslim.

The boy sets out to find his father. Arriving in London, disorientated and alone, he finds himself at the centre of a terrorist attack as the BBC is bombed and hundreds are killed and injured. Taken under the caring wing of Sister Bridget, a nun also caught up in the chaos, he refuses to allow this catastrophe to move him from his goal; he must find his father.

This is the heart-warming tale of a young boy trying to find his way in a changing world, a world where no-one is safe and where terrorists seek to destroy all that civilisation holds dear.

About this title

Review

Praise for ‘Boy in the World’:

'A tender coming-of-age novel' Daily Mail

'With poetic prose that could have been written by angels, combined with a pace that keeps the reader turning the pages...A Dickens for the 21st century. A spiritually enriching story of such beauty and magic that is deserves a place not just in the 9/11 canon, but also on the Leaving Cert syllabus as well' Irish Times

'At times thoughtful and moving, ultimately it is the empathy the reader feels for the young boy that allows this fine novel to resonate so well' Sunday Business Post

'Williams's style is reflective and moving' Metro

'Using some really stunning descriptive prose, Williams pulls you gently along on a wave of sounds and pictures. He writes differently, a succeeds in creating vivid images that stay in your mind long after the book is closed' Sunday Tribune

'A beautifully crafted story of discovery' Belfast Telegraph

'Emotional insightfulness saturates this novel' Sunday Times

From the Back Cover

A story of discovery, joy and identity; a heart-warming portrait
of a remarkable young man.

Jay, a young boy living in a small village in rural Ireland, just on the
cusp of becoming a man, is given a letter from his long-dead mother which
tears his world apart. Learning for the first time that his father may be
still alive, the boy must relearn everything he thought he knew. He sets
out to find his father, piecing together the information he can glean from
his mother's letter: he was a journalist working for the BBC.

Arriving in London, disorientated and alone, he finds himself at the centre
of a terrorist attack as hundreds are killed and injured. Taken under the
caring wing of a nun also caught up in the chaos, he refuses to allow this
catastophe to move him from his goal; he must find his father.

Boy In The World is the heart-warming tale of a young boy trying to find
his way in a changing world, a world where no-one is safe and where
terrorists seek to destroy all that civilisation holds dear.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 000724438X
• ISBN 13: 9780007244386
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352