The life of a man spans millennia in this ambitious novel from master storyteller John Boyne (The Heart's Invisible Furies).
The story begins with the unnamed narrator's birth in Palestine in the year AD 1. Upon returning from murdering newborn boys in service to King Herod, his father leaves a trace of blood on his infant son, creating a narrative of a life lived for centuries: "I've always wondered whether some residue of his crimes remained indelibly upon my soul, a tattoo invisible to all but the eyes of the gods." Next, it's AD 41 in Turkey, and while the names and some details have changed, the essence of the narrative remains the same. In AD 260, his family are wealthy slave owners in Somalia; in South Korea AD 311, they were the enslaved. And so it goes, to all corners of the world over the last 2,000 years, and a final appearance in the year 2080, living among the stars.
And what an extraordinary life he leads. He is an accomplished artist and craftsman, whether as the finest dressmaker to the Huns or carving Buddhas as a stoneworker in Afghanistan. He is Lady Macbeth's plaything; a sailmaker for the Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria; Michelangelo's apprentice; Ned Kelly's confidant. Yet no matter his station, his life is marked by loss and violence, consumed with revenge against a cousin responsible for the death of his wife and child.
In less assured hands, 50 transitions across time and place would be confusing to follow, or a tiresome gimmick. But with John Boyne at the helm, A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom is seamless. --Frank Brasile, librarian