How to Build a Boat
AS SEEN ON BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS
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How to Build a Boat
Buy Now for $26.99
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Narrated by:
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Ciaran O'Brien
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By:
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Elaine Feeney
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023.
A deeply moving novel about a boy and his dream, from the prize-winning author of As You Were
Jamie O'Neill loves the colour red. He also loves tall trees, patterns, rain that comes with wind, the curvature of many objects, books with dust jackets, cats, rivers and Edgar Allan Poe. At age 13 there are two things he especially wants in life: to build a Perpetual Motion Machine, and to connect with his mother Noelle, who died when he was born. In his mind these things are intimately linked. And at his new school, where all else is disorientating and overwhelming, he finds two people who might just be able to help him.
How to Build a Boat is the story of how one boy and his mission transforms the lives of his teachers, Tess and Tadhg, and brings together a community. Written with tenderness and verve, it's about love, family and connection, the power of imagination, and how our greatest adventures never happen alone.
Critic Reviews
"One of those rare books that leaves you feeling less lonely. An uplifting tale of community, healing and the small connections that can change a life. A gorgeous gift of a novel, hopeful and full of humanity." (Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize winning author of Shuggie Bain)
"A heart-stopping read and a stunning, resonant exploration of a community, a motherless boy and living an authentic life." (Sinéad Gleeson)
"What a gorgeous book. Unsentimental but generous, sharp as a teacher's side-eye and bursting with soul." (Lisa McInerney)
The narrator is excellent too.
Really interesting book and really well read. Highly recommend.
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Irish writer Elaine Feeney is also a poet and it shows. Her portrayal of Jamie is sensitive and skillful - he is often funny and delightfully original, so we see him as much more than just a boy with a disorder, but as a whole person.
“How to Build A Boat” is that rarest of things - a hopeful book. Parts of it made me laugh, and it moved me deeply. The epilogue was so beautifully written I had to listen to it twice, just to hear it again.
What a marvel.
Beautiful, hopeful novel
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Incredible narration & writing
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