The Elements: From the Sunday Times bestselling author

· Random House
5 reviews
Ebook
528
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

‘An epic.... Impactful and provocative’ The New York Times
‘An almost note-perfect piece of first-person storytelling’ Guardian
‘Subtle, intelligent and humane’ Sunday Telegraph
_________

From bestselling author John Boyne comes a gripping and profound exploration of responsibility, guilt, blame, trauma and our capacity for redemption.

The Elements is a stunning kaleidoscope of storytelling, in which four interconnected lives, each representing a different perspective on crime from the points of view of the enabler, the accomplice, the perpetrator, and the victim, combine to form one transformative narrative.

Boyne’s most ambitious work yet, The Elements is both an engrossing drama and a moving examination of why and how we allow crime to occur. In masterful, spellbinding prose, he navigates this complex subject with extraordinary empathy and unflinching honesty, at every step challenging us to confront our own conceptions of guilt and innocence.

‘An epic.... Impactful and provocative’ The New York Times ‘An almost note-perfect piece of first-person storytelling’ Guardian ‘Subtle, intelligent and humane’ Sunday Telegraph _________ From bestselling author John Boyne comes a gripping and profound exploration of responsibility, guilt, blame,...

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Ratings and reviews

5 reviews
Lourdes Bryson
April 18, 2026
The writing is at times a little stilted, but the stories and characters are completely engrossing. A page turner.
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Keith Browne
March 7, 2026
I couldn't put it down Four compelling human stories. I loved it
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About the author

John Boyne is the author of sixteen novels for adults, six for younger readers, a picture book and a collection of short stories. His 2006 novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and has been adapted for cinema, theatre, ballet and opera. His many international bestsellers include The Heart’s Invisible Furies and A Ladder to the Sky. He has won four Irish Book Awards, including Author of the Year in 2022, along with a host of other international literary prizes, including most recently both the 2025 Prix Femina Étranger and the Prix du Roman FNAC in France for The Elements. His novels are published in sixty languages. Twitter: @JohnBoyne Instagram: @JohnBoyneAuthor
John Boyne is the author of sixteen novels for adults, six for younger readers, a picture book and a collection of short stories. His 2006 novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and has been adapted for cinema, theatre, ballet and opera. His many inter...

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