đŸ”— Share this article John Boyne's Latest Exploration: Interconnected Stories of Trauma Twelve-year-old Freya spends time with her preoccupied mother in Cornwall when she comes across 14-year-old twins. "The only thing better than being aware of a secret," they tell her, "comes from possessing one of your own." In the time that ensue, they sexually assault her, then entomb her breathing, blend of unease and irritation flitting across their faces as they finally release her from her makeshift coffin. This may have functioned as the shocking main event of a novel, but it's just one of numerous terrible events in The Elements, which collects four novellas – released separately between 2023 and 2025 – in which characters confront previous suffering and try to achieve peace in the current moment. Debated Context and Subject Exploration The book's issuance has been overshadowed by the addition of Earth, the subsequent novella, on the longlist for a significant LGBTQ+ writing prize. In August, most other nominees withdrew in objection at the author's debated views – and this year's prize has now been terminated. Discussion of gender identity issues is missing from The Elements, although the author addresses plenty of big issues. LGBTQ+ discrimination, the impact of conventional and digital platforms, parental neglect and sexual violence are all explored. Multiple Stories of Trauma In Water, a sorrowful woman named Willow relocates to a isolated Irish island after her husband is jailed for awful crimes. In Earth, Evan is a soccer player on court case as an participant to rape. In Fire, the grown-up Freya manages revenge with her work as a surgeon. In Air, a father journeys to a funeral with his teenage son, and considers how much to reveal about his family's past. Trauma is piled on suffering as damaged survivors seem destined to encounter each other continuously for eternity Interconnected Narratives Connections abound. We originally see Evan as a boy trying to escape the island of Water. His trial's panel contains the Freya who shows up again in Fire. Aaron, the father from Air, collaborates with Freya and has a child with Willow's daughter. Supporting characters from one story reappear in houses, bars or courtrooms in another. These plot threads may sound tangled, but the author is skilled at how to drive a narrative – his previous popular Holocaust drama has sold many copies, and he has been rendered into numerous languages. His direct prose bristles with thriller-ish hooks: "after all, a doctor in the burns unit should be wiser than to experiment with fire"; "the primary step I do when I come to the island is modify my name". Personality Portrayal and Narrative Power Characters are drawn in brief, effective lines: the caring Nigerian priest, the troubled pub landlord, the daughter at war with her mother. Some scenes resonate with melancholy power or perceptive humour: a boy is hit by his father after wetting himself at a football match; a prejudiced island mother and her Dublin-raised neighbour exchange barbs over cups of diluted tea. The author's ability of bringing you fully into each narrative gives the reappearance of a character or plot strand from an earlier story a authentic excitement, for the first few times at least. Yet the cumulative effect of it all is desensitizing, and at times practically comic: pain is accumulated upon suffering, chance on accident in a dark farce in which wounded survivors seem fated to encounter each other again and again for eternity. Thematic Depth and Concluding Assessment If this sounds less like life and closer to limbo, that is aspect of the author's point. These wounded people are weighed down by the crimes they have experienced, caught in routines of thought and behavior that churn and spiral and may in turn harm others. The author has discussed about the effect of his personal experiences of abuse and he depicts with compassion the way his cast traverse this dangerous landscape, striving for treatments – isolation, cold ocean swims, resolution or invigorating honesty – that might provide clarity. The book's "elemental" structure isn't particularly educational, while the quick pace means the exploration of sexual politics or social media is mostly superficial. But while The Elements is a imperfect work, it's also a thoroughly readable, trauma-oriented chronicle: a appreciated riposte to the typical obsession on investigators and offenders. The author demonstrates how suffering can affect lives and generations, and how duration and tenderness can quieten its aftereffects.