How to Build a Boat

AS SEEN ON BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS

Elaine Feeney author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Vintage Publishing

Published:20th Apr '23

Should be back in stock very soon

This hardback is available in another edition too:

How to Build a Boat cover

This touching tale follows Jamie O'Neill, a boy on a quest to connect with his deceased mother while transforming his community. How to Build a Boat captures the essence of imagination and connection.

In How to Build a Boat, readers are introduced to Jamie O'Neill, a young boy living on the west coast of Ireland. At just 13 years old, Jamie is a dreamer with a passion for the color red, tall trees, and the intricacies of life that others often overlook. With a longing to connect with his mother, Noelle, who passed away at his birth, Jamie embarks on a quest that intertwines his desire to create a Perpetual Motion Machine with the need for familial connection. His journey begins at a new school, where he feels lost and overwhelmed but soon discovers two teachers, Tess and Tadhg, who might help him find his way.

The narrative unfolds as Jamie's mission not only transforms his own life but also profoundly impacts the teachers and the wider community around him. How to Build a Boat beautifully explores themes of love, family, and the power of imagination. Through Jamie's eyes, readers witness the importance of connection and how even the most personal quests can unite a community. The story is rich with tenderness and verve, inviting readers to reflect on their own relationships and adventures.

Celebrated for its heartwarming storytelling, the book has received accolades, including being longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023 and shortlisted for the Irish Novel of the Year 2023. Critics have praised it as a gorgeous gift of a novel, highlighting its emotional depth and the way it resonates with readers of all ages.

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
How to Build a Boat is a gentle tsunami of a novel, so beautifully and tenderly crafted you don't even notice you're being swept along. It gets right to the heart of what it means to be broken and searching for community. I can't wait for readers to fall in love with Jamie's refreshingly sideways take on life. -- Jan Carson
A story of absence, love, loss, courage and resilience lit up from within, Elaine Feeney's How To Build A Boat is an emotionally resonant tour-de-force very much in keeping with the unforgettable spirit of her debut As You Were. -- Alan McMonagle
Utterly absorbing... so intelligent and human... sharp and subtle with beautiful poetic language. Feeney is one of those rare authors who can perform linguistic acrobatics while her characters tenderly break your heart. -- Edel Coffey
A hopeful, uplifting story of people reclaiming power over their own lives, celebrating creativity and diversity in the face of those who would punish difference. A poignant and exhilarating story exquisitely told in Feeney's stunning prose. -- Danielle McLaughlin
I really loved How to Build a Boat. It's a beautiful, moving, uplifting book about the ways people differ and the ways they connect. It will make you feel better. -- Patrick Freyne
Sensitive and insightful about those who help us to rediscover our sense of wonder. Full of beautiful human complexity. -- Rónán Hession, author of PANENKA
The portrayal of Jamie's struggle is extraordinarily poignant, and the book sails to a tender and almost heart-breaking crescendo of hope forged through honesty and imagination * Daily Mail *
A heart-rending and delightful voyage... Elaine Feeney has a poet's way with words and uncanny understanding of human frailty -- Louise Kennedy, author of TRESPASSES * Observer, *Summer Reads of 2023* *

ISBN: 9781787303454

Dimensions: 222mm x 144mm x 29mm

Weight: 422g

304 pages