The Elements

By: John Boyne

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Paperback | 26 May 2026

At a Glance

Format
Paperback

Dimensions(cm)
19.7 x 12.8 x 4.0

Paperback

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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.

About the Author

John Boyne was born in Ireland in 1971. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, six for younger readers and a collection of short stories. Perhaps best known for his 2006 multi-award-winning book The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, John’s other novels, notably The Absolutist and A History of Loneliness, have been widely praised and are international bestsellers. Most recently, The Heart's Invisible Furies was a Richard & Judy Bookclub word-of-mouth bestseller, and A Ladder to the Sky was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award in association with Listowel Writers’ Week. His novels are published in over fifty languages.

Industry Reviews

‘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

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