What do you think?
Rate this book
The Elements #3
Fire
On the face of it, Freya lives a gilded existence, dancing solely to her own tune. She has all the trappings of wealth and privilege, a responsible job as a surgeon specialising in skin grafts, a beautiful flat in a sought-after development, and a flash car. But it wasn’t always like this. Hers is a life founded on darkness.
Did what happened to Freya as a child one fateful summer influence the adult she would become � or was she always destined to be that person? Was she born with cruelty in her heart or did something force it into being?
In Fire, John Boyne takes the reader on a chilling, uncomfortable but utterly compelling psychological journey to the epicentre of the human condition, asking the age-old nurture � or nature?
Did what happened to Freya as a child one fateful summer influence the adult she would become � or was she always destined to be that person? Was she born with cruelty in her heart or did something force it into being?
In Fire, John Boyne takes the reader on a chilling, uncomfortable but utterly compelling psychological journey to the epicentre of the human condition, asking the age-old nurture � or nature?
163 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 11, 2024
262 people are currently reading
5,648 people want to read
About the author
John Boyne
77Ìýbooks13.8kÌýfollowersI was born in Dublin, Ireland, and studied English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin, and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. In 2015, I was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by UEA.
I’ve published 14 novels for adults, 6 novels for younger readers, and a short story collection. The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas was a New York Times no.1 Bestseller and was adapted for a feature film, a play, a ballet and an opera, selling around 11 million copies worldwide.
Among my most popular books are The Heart’s Invisible Furies, A Ladder to the Sky and My Brother’s Name is Jessica.
I’m also a regular book reviewer for The Irish Times.
In 2012, I was awarded the Hennessy Literary ‘Hall of Fame� Award for my body of work. I’ve also won 4 Irish Book Awards, and many international literary awards, including the Que Leer Award for Novel of the Year in Spain and the Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize in Germany. In 2015, I was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of East Anglia.
My novels are published in 58 languages.
My 14th adult novel, ALL THE BROKEN PLACES, a sequel and companion novel to THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS, will be published in the UK on September 15th 2022, in the US and Canada on November 29th, and in many foreign language editions in late 2022 and 2023.
I’ve published 14 novels for adults, 6 novels for younger readers, and a short story collection. The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas was a New York Times no.1 Bestseller and was adapted for a feature film, a play, a ballet and an opera, selling around 11 million copies worldwide.
Among my most popular books are The Heart’s Invisible Furies, A Ladder to the Sky and My Brother’s Name is Jessica.
I’m also a regular book reviewer for The Irish Times.
In 2012, I was awarded the Hennessy Literary ‘Hall of Fame� Award for my body of work. I’ve also won 4 Irish Book Awards, and many international literary awards, including the Que Leer Award for Novel of the Year in Spain and the Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize in Germany. In 2015, I was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of East Anglia.
My novels are published in 58 languages.
My 14th adult novel, ALL THE BROKEN PLACES, a sequel and companion novel to THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS, will be published in the UK on September 15th 2022, in the US and Canada on November 29th, and in many foreign language editions in late 2022 and 2023.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 884 reviews
September 11, 2024
Definitely the most fucked up of the Elements quartet so far. Not sure what it says about me that this is my favourite.
Boyne used and to explore themes of culpability and complicity. In both books, we are introduced to characters that sit close to horrific crimes and, in some ways, aid them or allow them to happen. The characters are victims in some ways, guilty in others, but Boyne simply draws a complex portrait of their lives, leaving the reader to pass judgement.
In , however, Freya is very much guilty. And possibly Boyne's most messed up character to date.
This is the kind of book that makes me long for a book club. It's one that would benefit more from a discussion rather than a review; I could do with some back and forth to help me organise my thoughts.
It is obvious that Boyne is interested in exploring stories where people are both perpetrators and victims, showing that not only is it possible for someone to be both, but for their to be many shades of grey in between.
Freya is someone who has lived through trauma and is now repaying that trauma back onto the world, hurting others in a desperate bid to pay back what happened to her. Boyne is one of very few authors who can make you feel, at the same time, completely disgusted by and sympathetic towards a character.
So much of this was horrible to read, yet I couldn't stop.
Please note this contains depictions of child sexual assault.
Boyne used and to explore themes of culpability and complicity. In both books, we are introduced to characters that sit close to horrific crimes and, in some ways, aid them or allow them to happen. The characters are victims in some ways, guilty in others, but Boyne simply draws a complex portrait of their lives, leaving the reader to pass judgement.
In , however, Freya is very much guilty. And possibly Boyne's most messed up character to date.
This is the kind of book that makes me long for a book club. It's one that would benefit more from a discussion rather than a review; I could do with some back and forth to help me organise my thoughts.
It is obvious that Boyne is interested in exploring stories where people are both perpetrators and victims, showing that not only is it possible for someone to be both, but for their to be many shades of grey in between.
Freya is someone who has lived through trauma and is now repaying that trauma back onto the world, hurting others in a desperate bid to pay back what happened to her. Boyne is one of very few authors who can make you feel, at the same time, completely disgusted by and sympathetic towards a character.
So much of this was horrible to read, yet I couldn't stop.
Please note this contains depictions of child sexual assault.
January 4, 2025
My first read of 2025 and it’s by a favorite author of mine.
The third novella in Boyne’s element quartet�
I can’t say much about it without giving too much away.
So I will just say that the story is about Freya.. a renowned surgeon who treats burn victims.
Her background of being neglected and abuse by a couple of friends as a child, has left her extremely damaged and in her mind it justifies the harm she does to others as an adult.
You will feel bad for what was done to her as a child� but horrified at what she does as an adult� it can be an uncomfortable read.
Boyne packs so much into few pages.
The third novella in Boyne’s element quartet�
I can’t say much about it without giving too much away.
So I will just say that the story is about Freya.. a renowned surgeon who treats burn victims.
Her background of being neglected and abuse by a couple of friends as a child, has left her extremely damaged and in her mind it justifies the harm she does to others as an adult.
You will feel bad for what was done to her as a child� but horrified at what she does as an adult� it can be an uncomfortable read.
Boyne packs so much into few pages.
January 21, 2025
Fire the third book in the Water, Earth, Fire, Air tetralogy by John Boyne is another masterpiece. As with the other books in this series they are loosely linked. Creating a whole, without it really feeling like it. It’s very well done.
Burns surgeon Freya is a wealthy, beautiful, thirty-something woman, working in a UK Burns Unit. Many of the cases she deals with are horrific. A considerable number are due to domestic violence, usually men � torching their ex-loved ones. We’ve had two cases of this in Australia recently. What is wrong with us?
It is clear Freya marches to a different beat, she cares little about how she is perceived by others, and there is something unusual, dark, about what makes her tick. We do go back to her childhood to learn of some events that obviously helped shaped this woman.
There is a very dark thread running through this story.
Freya’s interactions with colleagues, patients and visitors paints a picture of our protagonist. There is an uncomfortable foreboding feel about each chapter � Boyne had me in the palm of his hand.
5 Stars
My review of Water: /review/show...
My review of Earth: /review/show...
Burns surgeon Freya is a wealthy, beautiful, thirty-something woman, working in a UK Burns Unit. Many of the cases she deals with are horrific. A considerable number are due to domestic violence, usually men � torching their ex-loved ones. We’ve had two cases of this in Australia recently. What is wrong with us?
It is clear Freya marches to a different beat, she cares little about how she is perceived by others, and there is something unusual, dark, about what makes her tick. We do go back to her childhood to learn of some events that obviously helped shaped this woman.
There is a very dark thread running through this story.
Freya’s interactions with colleagues, patients and visitors paints a picture of our protagonist. There is an uncomfortable foreboding feel about each chapter � Boyne had me in the palm of his hand.
5 Stars
My review of Water: /review/show...
My review of Earth: /review/show...
September 26, 2024
5�
“…from the moment we arrive on the planet the universe is against us, conspiring to drown us, set us on fire, bury us in the earth, our spirits floating off into the atmosphere.�
I’m convinced John Boyne can write anything from anyone’s point of view. Here he has thirty-six-year-old Dr Freya Petrus, an acclaimed burns specialist, narrate her tale of revenge, and what a vengeful woman she is� with good reason. The book opens with:
“When I was twelve years old, I was buried alive within the grounds of a construction site.�
This is the FIRE part of Boyne’s ELEMENTS QUARTET which begins with WATER and EARTH. So far, (in my words), not only are the elements conspiring against us, we have used them to drown our sorrows, bury our past, and burn our bridges to bad memories. AIR is still to come.
The books are loosely connected, so reading them out of order would give some spoilers to the previous books, although each story is self-contained.
Freya narrates her story in the first person, as if she’s addressing us, the reader. Her tone seems to shift between showing off her cleverness and explaining why she has been driven to do what she does � regularly � to make up for the damage done during the summer she was twelve.
She lived with her grandmother, Hannah, because her mother, Beth, couldn’t cope so moved away to share her life and bed with a series of short-term boyfriends.
“Hannah was only thirty-two when I was born and thirty-three when my mother, Beth, moved to Cornwall, leaving me in her care.
. . .
Both had become pregnant when they were teenagers and, thinking this was the natural order of things, I assumed that I would be a mother myself at sixteen, but, thankfully, I knew better than to bring a child into this world.�
She sure did know better. She was sent to Cornwall every summer to spend two months with her mother, but the only people who were interested in her were the fourteen-year-old twin boys who lived in the rather grand house nearby. Mum had her own life.
� Instead of feeling welcome in her home or being over-compensated for her lack of maternal affection across the other ten months of the year, I always went to bed on my first night aware that she was counting down the days until I could be despatched back to Norfolk.�
As for finding out about her father, grandmother Hannah had told her all that she knew.
“That he was a lad from the year above Beth in school, a wrong ’un from a family of tinkers who were no better than they ought to be, and he’d just shrugged his shoulders when Beth told him that he’d got her up the spout, saying it was nothing to do with him if she was the town bike and how did she know it was his anyway? Half the school first eleven had had her.
‘Which they hadn’t,� she insisted. ‘Not half, anyway.��
Freya was always smart and is known as a good, thorough doctor, but a bit cold and hard. She is admired but not liked. In a conversation with her medical student, whom she was surprised had chosen to work with her in spite of her difficult reputation, they are discussing why she chose burns as a specialty.
� ‘The elements destroy everything. Think of water. When someone drowns, and their body floats back to shore, their features are so bloated it can be difficult to identify them. Think of earth. When a body is buried, it starts to decompose immediately. Think of air. If we’re deprived of it for even a few minutes, we die. Then think of fire. When someone’s physical appearance is damaged by burns, we turn away, repulsed. We don’t want to know.��
She’s mysterious and dangerous with a fascinating compulsion.
Boyne writes from the perspective of both perpetrators and victims (often the same person at different times of their life). There are reasons people become perpetrators and reasons they select the victims they do. The public has a tendency to choose sides quickly when crimes are committed, and I like seeing Boyne shake that up.
I always love his writing, and I particularly I like the connections between these short books. They have all been dark, exposing people’s vulnerabilities as they do, but they are insightful and thought-provoking. Could I have done some of these things?
I remember a primary school principal telling me that parents insist “MY child would NEVER do or say such a thing�.
She would reply that “ANY child, given the right set of circumstances, will do or say almost anything.� (I may have added the “almost�.)
It’s more of a thriller than I expected, but it makes perfect sense. He is showing us those “circumstances� and what keeps happening in every generation because we haven’t managed to create better “circumstances�.
Thanks to NetGalley and Transworld/Doubleday for the copy for review from which I’ve quoted. This will be out in a few weeks and is still available on NetGalley.
“…from the moment we arrive on the planet the universe is against us, conspiring to drown us, set us on fire, bury us in the earth, our spirits floating off into the atmosphere.�
I’m convinced John Boyne can write anything from anyone’s point of view. Here he has thirty-six-year-old Dr Freya Petrus, an acclaimed burns specialist, narrate her tale of revenge, and what a vengeful woman she is� with good reason. The book opens with:
“When I was twelve years old, I was buried alive within the grounds of a construction site.�
This is the FIRE part of Boyne’s ELEMENTS QUARTET which begins with WATER and EARTH. So far, (in my words), not only are the elements conspiring against us, we have used them to drown our sorrows, bury our past, and burn our bridges to bad memories. AIR is still to come.
The books are loosely connected, so reading them out of order would give some spoilers to the previous books, although each story is self-contained.
Freya narrates her story in the first person, as if she’s addressing us, the reader. Her tone seems to shift between showing off her cleverness and explaining why she has been driven to do what she does � regularly � to make up for the damage done during the summer she was twelve.
She lived with her grandmother, Hannah, because her mother, Beth, couldn’t cope so moved away to share her life and bed with a series of short-term boyfriends.
“Hannah was only thirty-two when I was born and thirty-three when my mother, Beth, moved to Cornwall, leaving me in her care.
. . .
Both had become pregnant when they were teenagers and, thinking this was the natural order of things, I assumed that I would be a mother myself at sixteen, but, thankfully, I knew better than to bring a child into this world.�
She sure did know better. She was sent to Cornwall every summer to spend two months with her mother, but the only people who were interested in her were the fourteen-year-old twin boys who lived in the rather grand house nearby. Mum had her own life.
� Instead of feeling welcome in her home or being over-compensated for her lack of maternal affection across the other ten months of the year, I always went to bed on my first night aware that she was counting down the days until I could be despatched back to Norfolk.�
As for finding out about her father, grandmother Hannah had told her all that she knew.
“That he was a lad from the year above Beth in school, a wrong ’un from a family of tinkers who were no better than they ought to be, and he’d just shrugged his shoulders when Beth told him that he’d got her up the spout, saying it was nothing to do with him if she was the town bike and how did she know it was his anyway? Half the school first eleven had had her.
‘Which they hadn’t,� she insisted. ‘Not half, anyway.��
Freya was always smart and is known as a good, thorough doctor, but a bit cold and hard. She is admired but not liked. In a conversation with her medical student, whom she was surprised had chosen to work with her in spite of her difficult reputation, they are discussing why she chose burns as a specialty.
� ‘The elements destroy everything. Think of water. When someone drowns, and their body floats back to shore, their features are so bloated it can be difficult to identify them. Think of earth. When a body is buried, it starts to decompose immediately. Think of air. If we’re deprived of it for even a few minutes, we die. Then think of fire. When someone’s physical appearance is damaged by burns, we turn away, repulsed. We don’t want to know.��
She’s mysterious and dangerous with a fascinating compulsion.
Boyne writes from the perspective of both perpetrators and victims (often the same person at different times of their life). There are reasons people become perpetrators and reasons they select the victims they do. The public has a tendency to choose sides quickly when crimes are committed, and I like seeing Boyne shake that up.
I always love his writing, and I particularly I like the connections between these short books. They have all been dark, exposing people’s vulnerabilities as they do, but they are insightful and thought-provoking. Could I have done some of these things?
I remember a primary school principal telling me that parents insist “MY child would NEVER do or say such a thing�.
She would reply that “ANY child, given the right set of circumstances, will do or say almost anything.� (I may have added the “almost�.)
It’s more of a thriller than I expected, but it makes perfect sense. He is showing us those “circumstances� and what keeps happening in every generation because we haven’t managed to create better “circumstances�.
Thanks to NetGalley and Transworld/Doubleday for the copy for review from which I’ve quoted. This will be out in a few weeks and is still available on NetGalley.
November 19, 2024
WTF je l’ai fini d’une seule traite c’est complètement whatttt j’ai besoin d’un book club pour en parler je suis complètement disturbed omg wtf wt whattt quoii mais QUOIIIIII WHATTTT du génie omg wMais EWWW WHATTT
March 9, 2025
This is the third book in John Boyne's Elements Quartet and following on from the previous two this packs a huge powerful punch.
This is a one sit reading. It can't be anything else as you are pulled into the world of Freya. As a child , she was the victim of horrendous acts but as an adult her retribution is dark to say the least.
Freya works on the burns unit at a hospital helping to save lives and ideally give back some hope to victims . She is supported by her secretary Louise and new intern Aaron who she tolerates. But beyond the confines of the hospital and saving lives Freya leads a darker life - a sinister existence!
John Boyne pushes the boundaries of societal expectations with regards to horrific personal tragedies and punishments and challenges our thinking - sometime manipulating our thoughts in the most difficult ways - twisting our sense of victim and perpetrator.
It is difficult to write about the plot as to do so would add spoilers. There are threads that link the previous novels Earth and Water to Fire. This - like the previous books- opens up debate, darkens our thoughts and horrifies more than the other novels- you will need to find a friend who has read this book and the others to unwind your responses; express your emotions; reflect upon the world we live in.
John Boyne is a master storyteller and in all his work digs deep in to the human's darker recesses.- pushing taboos.
This is a story about the perpetrator but also about the long term damage to victims
This is a book that will linger long after reading- it will cause debate but most certainly draw more attention to something none of us want to or do consider and possibly give a light of hope to the victims of such crimes that they won't be forgotten
As for stars --- it is difficult- Five stars for a master storyteller.... but in relation to giving stars to the plot , the content and the impact then that in itself is a challenge. I'm sure many others will find this a dilemma!
Quotes:
The elements destroy everything. Think of water. When someone drowns, and their body floats back to shore, their features are so bloated it can be difficult to identify them. Think of earth. When a body is buried, it starts to decompose immediately. Think of air. If we’re deprived of it for even a few minutes, we die. Then think of fire. When someone’s physical appearance is damaged by burns, we turn away, repulsed. We don’t want to know.�
Can a person be blamed for how they were born? No, probably not. But it’s neither here nor there, is it? It’s the committing of the act that matters.
This is a one sit reading. It can't be anything else as you are pulled into the world of Freya. As a child , she was the victim of horrendous acts but as an adult her retribution is dark to say the least.
Freya works on the burns unit at a hospital helping to save lives and ideally give back some hope to victims . She is supported by her secretary Louise and new intern Aaron who she tolerates. But beyond the confines of the hospital and saving lives Freya leads a darker life - a sinister existence!
John Boyne pushes the boundaries of societal expectations with regards to horrific personal tragedies and punishments and challenges our thinking - sometime manipulating our thoughts in the most difficult ways - twisting our sense of victim and perpetrator.
It is difficult to write about the plot as to do so would add spoilers. There are threads that link the previous novels Earth and Water to Fire. This - like the previous books- opens up debate, darkens our thoughts and horrifies more than the other novels- you will need to find a friend who has read this book and the others to unwind your responses; express your emotions; reflect upon the world we live in.
John Boyne is a master storyteller and in all his work digs deep in to the human's darker recesses.- pushing taboos.
This is a story about the perpetrator but also about the long term damage to victims
This is a book that will linger long after reading- it will cause debate but most certainly draw more attention to something none of us want to or do consider and possibly give a light of hope to the victims of such crimes that they won't be forgotten
As for stars --- it is difficult- Five stars for a master storyteller.... but in relation to giving stars to the plot , the content and the impact then that in itself is a challenge. I'm sure many others will find this a dilemma!
Quotes:
The elements destroy everything. Think of water. When someone drowns, and their body floats back to shore, their features are so bloated it can be difficult to identify them. Think of earth. When a body is buried, it starts to decompose immediately. Think of air. If we’re deprived of it for even a few minutes, we die. Then think of fire. When someone’s physical appearance is damaged by burns, we turn away, repulsed. We don’t want to know.�
Can a person be blamed for how they were born? No, probably not. But it’s neither here nor there, is it? It’s the committing of the act that matters.
December 14, 2024
The third in a series of novellas titled after and featuring the four elements of matter. There’s a thread that runs through them, linking them together, but each carries a story of its own. In this instalment, we are introduced to Freya, a surgeon specialising in skin grafts. She lives a solitary life, refusing to develop close relationships either at work or beyond. But gradually, we are to learn that her behaviour, in fact her whole outlook on life, might stem back to an episode in her past. Either way, it becomes clear that Freya is a very scary character.
So is she who she is as a result of a gratuitous act perpetrated upon her? Or perhaps she who she is because she’s inherited genes from a selfish, uncaring mother and an unknown father who abandoned her before she was even born? It’s a question for the ages. What I do know is that this tale is one that I read in a single sitting: I couldn’t put it down, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. To me, it’s the finest offering in what is an excellent series of stories.
My thanks to Random House UK for supplying a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
So is she who she is as a result of a gratuitous act perpetrated upon her? Or perhaps she who she is because she’s inherited genes from a selfish, uncaring mother and an unknown father who abandoned her before she was even born? It’s a question for the ages. What I do know is that this tale is one that I read in a single sitting: I couldn’t put it down, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. To me, it’s the finest offering in what is an excellent series of stories.
My thanks to Random House UK for supplying a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 18, 2024
Just when you think it can't get any darker than Earth and Water, John Boyne gives us Fire. My jaw dropped open quite early on and didn't close until the end.
Fire is the story of Freya, a surgeon with a great reputation. She is beautiful, wealthy and seems to have everything anyone would desire. However, her past is what drives her private life, which is not at all what you'd expect. The question is, will what happened to her as a child mean she can never live a normal life.
I certainly didn't expect any of what happened in this book. Boyne takes the shocks to a new level and I was completely blindsided by the end.
Loved it. Highly recommended. You don't need to read the first two to enjoy this but why wouldn't you - they were excellent too - and there are parts of Fire that hark back to both Earth and Water. I'm really looking forward to Air.
Thankyou very much to Penguin Random House for the advance review copy. Very much appreciated.
Fire is the story of Freya, a surgeon with a great reputation. She is beautiful, wealthy and seems to have everything anyone would desire. However, her past is what drives her private life, which is not at all what you'd expect. The question is, will what happened to her as a child mean she can never live a normal life.
I certainly didn't expect any of what happened in this book. Boyne takes the shocks to a new level and I was completely blindsided by the end.
Loved it. Highly recommended. You don't need to read the first two to enjoy this but why wouldn't you - they were excellent too - and there are parts of Fire that hark back to both Earth and Water. I'm really looking forward to Air.
Thankyou very much to Penguin Random House for the advance review copy. Very much appreciated.
February 6, 2025
Finished on my birthday!!!! Yayyy me 🥳
4� But, but John Boyne 😦😦 this story is soooo unsettling 😖! Well written still! On to the next one, “Air�.
4� But, but John Boyne 😦😦 this story is soooo unsettling 😖! Well written still! On to the next one, “Air�.
December 15, 2024
I haven’t read any of the other books in Boyne’s ‘Elements� series, but I’d seen several comparisons between this and Alissa Nutting’s , so I had to check it out. The comparison is understandable, since both books centre on a female predator. But while Boyne’s writing is assured, Fire lacks the wit, irreverence and boldness Tampa has in spades. Freya is a beautiful, successful surgeon in her thirties who has a disturbing secret life. A second part of the narrative discloses a traumatic incident from her childhood, and Fire purports (if you believe the blurb) to ask: ‘Did what happened to Freya as a child one fateful summer influence the adult she would become � or was she always destined to be that person?� I’m not sure it really answers that, although maybe it’s meant to be a jumping-off point for discussions rather than an examination of trauma in and of itself.
I found this competently written and a brisk, tense read, though I don’t know that I got much out of it or thought it was doing much of anything really. It’s very short � more novella than novel � and the character development is the kind of sketch you get in a short story: it’s efficient but there’s little room for it to breathe. Maybe it’s more effective in the context of the others in this series, and I found Fire interesting enough that I’d still consider reading them.
I found this competently written and a brisk, tense read, though I don’t know that I got much out of it or thought it was doing much of anything really. It’s very short � more novella than novel � and the character development is the kind of sketch you get in a short story: it’s efficient but there’s little room for it to breathe. Maybe it’s more effective in the context of the others in this series, and I found Fire interesting enough that I’d still consider reading them.
January 2, 2025
Fundamentally unconvincing female voice that pretty much ruined this book. Utterly unconvincing depiction of a traumatised psyche. Some might argue that that was purposeful because of the MC’s twisted ego/sociopathic nature, etc - it did not read that way to me and was very jarring from the first page. Heavy-handed and contrived. An implausible storyline. Trying to do too much (e.g. attempts at making reader question their preconceptions re sexual violence and paedophilia, attempts at commentary on dynamics between sexes and/or moral quandaries re perpetrator/victimhood) with zero sophistication. Ended with unnecessary twist that was not foreshadowed properly. On-the-nose references to “elements� to fit the theme of this quartet. Shallow characterisation of basically everyone who appeared. Unrealistic depiction of the job of a doctor/surgeon. Unrealistic dialogue between men and women; unconvincing depictions of teenage males and their use of language. Was a tense book and a page-turner through its (cheap) use of some foreshadowing and flashback scenes - but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t bad. If it wanted to address the themes it did, it was not (and arguably could not be) done well in this novella format. There was no nuance - ironic given that this book (according to the blurb) had the lofty ambition of making the reader think about the (very broad) debate of “nature v. nurture�. I have not said this ever about a book because am heavy supporter of artistic licence but it read as though it was using the dark, complex themes and shocking events to do nothing more than disturb and horrify - simply put, its gratuitous repulsiveness was (dare I say) borderline offensive to those who have suffered sexual assault/trauma. Can confidently say this was poorly conceived and executed. Should have stayed much longer in Boyne’s drafts.
February 14, 2025
Water ★★★★
Earth ★★★★
Fire ★★★★�
One of the most fucked up books I read, and I loved it!!
I am going to be honest; it took me some to realize there is an ongoing theme with the series. Boyne does not shy away from heavy topics in his books and with this series he chose to write about "bad" characters. I wanted to say morally gray, but I don't believe they can be described this way.
Freya, the protagonist in this book is so well written because as fucked as she is, I still cared about her; I understood her as a victim, but it does not justify her current actions. This book gave me so much mixed emotions!!
The books are loosely connected, and we even get some answers for events in the last book which were left open as I mentioned in my review. The twists were expected but this does not make their impact any less powerful. I loved how the book started and even more how it ended, and I cannot wait to read Aaron's story in the finale.
Earth ★★★★
Fire ★★★★�
One of the most fucked up books I read, and I loved it!!
I am going to be honest; it took me some to realize there is an ongoing theme with the series. Boyne does not shy away from heavy topics in his books and with this series he chose to write about "bad" characters. I wanted to say morally gray, but I don't believe they can be described this way.
Freya, the protagonist in this book is so well written because as fucked as she is, I still cared about her; I understood her as a victim, but it does not justify her current actions. This book gave me so much mixed emotions!!
The books are loosely connected, and we even get some answers for events in the last book which were left open as I mentioned in my review. The twists were expected but this does not make their impact any less powerful. I loved how the book started and even more how it ended, and I cannot wait to read Aaron's story in the finale.
February 16, 2025
This Elemental series of novellas by John Boyne are so disheartening and disturbing, but his writing and story-telling are impeccable, as always. Impossible to put down, with memorable characters and harrowing but deeply human dilemmas that will stay with you.
The books are all lightly tied together, so I recommend reading them in order if you can. Water, Earth, Fire, Water (coming out spring 2025).
One of my very favorite authors.
The books are all lightly tied together, so I recommend reading them in order if you can. Water, Earth, Fire, Water (coming out spring 2025).
One of my very favorite authors.
January 28, 2025
The Elements series by John Boyne is a collection of four novellas � Water, Earth, Fire, and Air (Release Date: 1st May 2025) � each representing the four elements found in nature. Fire is #3.
Dr Freya Petrus is a thirty-six-year-old gifted, renowned surgeon specialising in burn victims. She saves lives on a daily basis. But Freya is plagued by the traumatic abuse she suffered the summer she was twelve years old. This is Freya’s story.
I mentioned Earth being dark, but Fire was even more depraved and distressing. Right from the first deeply disturbing line though I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what happened next and how it ended. This was my favourite instalment of the series as it was the only one I would label a psychological thriller. The twists were mind-blowing. Also, the way it connected to Water and Earth � I’m still reeling!
Just as Evan was introduced in Water, Freya had a small role in Earth. This book doesn’t specify how much time has passed between the previous book and this one, but I estimate three to five years. The only thing that did surprise me is that this character had no connection to the island like Willow and Evan did. Just like the first two books, there was the current timeline, and the past one, in this case, to that fateful summer. In this instalment all the elements were inserted into the writing in subtle, skilful ways.
Be advised that the content warnings listed in spoiler tags below contain major spoilers for this novella, and the series overall. I only include them because the crimes perpetrated in this book will be very triggering for some readers.
Trigger Warnings:
Dr Freya Petrus is a thirty-six-year-old gifted, renowned surgeon specialising in burn victims. She saves lives on a daily basis. But Freya is plagued by the traumatic abuse she suffered the summer she was twelve years old. This is Freya’s story.
I mentioned Earth being dark, but Fire was even more depraved and distressing. Right from the first deeply disturbing line though I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what happened next and how it ended. This was my favourite instalment of the series as it was the only one I would label a psychological thriller. The twists were mind-blowing. Also, the way it connected to Water and Earth � I’m still reeling!
Just as Evan was introduced in Water, Freya had a small role in Earth. This book doesn’t specify how much time has passed between the previous book and this one, but I estimate three to five years. The only thing that did surprise me is that this character had no connection to the island like Willow and Evan did. Just like the first two books, there was the current timeline, and the past one, in this case, to that fateful summer. In this instalment all the elements were inserted into the writing in subtle, skilful ways.
Be advised that the content warnings listed in spoiler tags below contain major spoilers for this novella, and the series overall. I only include them because the crimes perpetrated in this book will be very triggering for some readers.
Trigger Warnings:
October 29, 2024
Fire is the third book in John Boyne’s Elements series. A traumatic incident, perpetrated by the fourteen-year-old twin sons of her mother’s landlord when she was twelve, sees burns unit specialist Dr Freya Petrus exacting a sort of revenge by proxy on other fourteen-year-old boys she encounters until, with one boy, it seems to backfire rather badly.
After a childhood that no one would envy, Freya is now a wealthy, respected surgeon with a beautiful home and a flash car. She doesn’t put up with the boy’s shenanigans for too long: she takes care of it, coldly and efficiently, the way she has always handled things. But maybe she’s in for a surprise�
This story is loosely linked to the first two stories in the series by the mention of Evan Keogh and his fate, and the appearance of Rebecca Corvin, daughter of Vanessa and Brendan. A dark and compelling tale with a chilling twist.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Random House UK Transworld.
After a childhood that no one would envy, Freya is now a wealthy, respected surgeon with a beautiful home and a flash car. She doesn’t put up with the boy’s shenanigans for too long: she takes care of it, coldly and efficiently, the way she has always handled things. But maybe she’s in for a surprise�
This story is loosely linked to the first two stories in the series by the mention of Evan Keogh and his fate, and the appearance of Rebecca Corvin, daughter of Vanessa and Brendan. A dark and compelling tale with a chilling twist.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Random House UK Transworld.
January 8, 2025
Fire is easily the most confronting of Boyne’s Elements series but perhaps also the best. Trigger warnings for absolutely everything, if you’re not sure if this is for you, it’s probably not. Where Water and Earth have explored culpability and complicity in relation to crime and assault, Fire considers whether perpetrators or assault are born or made. It’s extremely dark, and it kept going places (further) than I expected. But it’s spectacularly well done. I’m actually obsessed with this series. I find Boyne such a hit or miss writer, but I find what he’s doing here both daring, in how confronting and direct it is, and clever in the tight interweaving of these stories, and concise way that these stories are constructed.
November 16, 2024
This is by far the most shocking book so far in the Elements quartet. The series explores the impact of sexual abuse from interesting and surprising angles and this novel goes to entirely new dark and twisted places. This is really tough and upsetting to read. But this is not gratuitous, as Boyne explores evil and whether it is born with a person or caused by trauma inflicted on them. I enjoyed the way Boyne plays with who society expects to be good and bad and how these labels are exactly what can help an abuser hide in plain sight. This quartet is intelligent and thought-provoking and I look forward to the final novel, Air.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.
November 18, 2024
3,5 stars
Another great book in the elements serie, though I thought both Water and Earth were in the end more convincing. The first half of Fire was very strong and absolutely blew me away, but I had some doubts about the second half. Looking forward to Air!
Thank you Penguin Random House UK and Netgalley UK for the ARC.
Another great book in the elements serie, though I thought both Water and Earth were in the end more convincing. The first half of Fire was very strong and absolutely blew me away, but I had some doubts about the second half. Looking forward to Air!
Thank you Penguin Random House UK and Netgalley UK for the ARC.
November 7, 2024
Trigger Warnings: Child abuse, Rape, Child sexual Assault
The story centers around the character of Freya during a court case. She is a well-respected doctor who specializes in burns and skin grafts. She has spent her entire career building up a reputation as one of the best surgeons in her field. Something traumatic and horrific happened to her in her childhood, which has affected her in some very dark and disturbing ways. This is a fairly short story, 176 pages, but some reviewers have said it is possibly the most disturbing of the trilogy thus far.
The book was handed to me by a neighbor who had read it and was 100% determined that I understand that she DID NOT WANT IT BACK! I understood her reasoning after a couple of chapters. To be kind...because I have read this author before and I have liked his writing...but I was surprised by this one. I know how much time and effort is spent in writing a book and getting it published...and this is a trilogy so there is one before (Earth) and one more to come after this one, (Water).
The book didn't have the same effect on me that it did my neighbor...believe me I have read worse...and it may not bother others at all...it will be taken it for what it is, a work of fiction....at least you will sincerely hope it is... but be aware that it is still harrowing, uncomfortable and deeply, deeply, traumatic and shocking. Please pay attention to the trigger warnings. A great many emotions have been crammed into these 176 pages.
The story centers around the character of Freya during a court case. She is a well-respected doctor who specializes in burns and skin grafts. She has spent her entire career building up a reputation as one of the best surgeons in her field. Something traumatic and horrific happened to her in her childhood, which has affected her in some very dark and disturbing ways. This is a fairly short story, 176 pages, but some reviewers have said it is possibly the most disturbing of the trilogy thus far.
The book was handed to me by a neighbor who had read it and was 100% determined that I understand that she DID NOT WANT IT BACK! I understood her reasoning after a couple of chapters. To be kind...because I have read this author before and I have liked his writing...but I was surprised by this one. I know how much time and effort is spent in writing a book and getting it published...and this is a trilogy so there is one before (Earth) and one more to come after this one, (Water).
The book didn't have the same effect on me that it did my neighbor...believe me I have read worse...and it may not bother others at all...it will be taken it for what it is, a work of fiction....at least you will sincerely hope it is... but be aware that it is still harrowing, uncomfortable and deeply, deeply, traumatic and shocking. Please pay attention to the trigger warnings. A great many emotions have been crammed into these 176 pages.
November 4, 2024
Fire is the 3rd book in John Boyne’s Elements series. I personally recommend reading them in order because some of the characters do overlap.
The story centres around Freya who we briefly met in Earth during the court case. She is a well-respected doctor who specializes in burns and skin grafts. She has spent her career building up a reputation as one of the best surgeons in this field.
Something traumatic and horrific happened to her in her youth, which has affected her in a very dark and disturbing way.
This short story of 176 pages is possibly the most disturbing of the series so far. It’s harrowing, uncomfortable and deeply traumatic.
This book is shocking. It probably should come with a trigger warning. The topics of child abuse, rape, and child sexual assault are covered throughout the book.
Another powerful, deeply disturbing story and I can’t wait for the final book Air in this series.
The story centres around Freya who we briefly met in Earth during the court case. She is a well-respected doctor who specializes in burns and skin grafts. She has spent her career building up a reputation as one of the best surgeons in this field.
Something traumatic and horrific happened to her in her youth, which has affected her in a very dark and disturbing way.
This short story of 176 pages is possibly the most disturbing of the series so far. It’s harrowing, uncomfortable and deeply traumatic.
This book is shocking. It probably should come with a trigger warning. The topics of child abuse, rape, and child sexual assault are covered throughout the book.
Another powerful, deeply disturbing story and I can’t wait for the final book Air in this series.
September 6, 2024
Do I even need to read a John Boyne novel before giving it five stats? Probably not, but I love nothing better than reading his writing so I'm more than happy to.
Fire is the third of the Element series and comes with a number of trigger warnings for sexual abuse. One thing about Boyne is that he doesn't duck the major issues and those who have read the previous novels in this 'series' will know that this is also a hard hitting novel. To tell more of the synopsis will give way to spoilers so I won't but this book cements Boyne as my favourite author.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Doubleday for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Fire is the third of the Element series and comes with a number of trigger warnings for sexual abuse. One thing about Boyne is that he doesn't duck the major issues and those who have read the previous novels in this 'series' will know that this is also a hard hitting novel. To tell more of the synopsis will give way to spoilers so I won't but this book cements Boyne as my favourite author.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Doubleday for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
November 8, 2024
The book is beautifully crafted and written, but I regret reading it, or at least, not stopping when I realised just how nasty, truly nasty it is. I don’t expect good literature to be happy endings, puppy dogs and butterflies but I can’t fathom why or how any writer can think, “oh I know, I’ll write a novel about�.� I feel dirty and sick just having read it and would probably never admit to having done so. Any less well written and it would just be another pornographic novel.
November 26, 2024
No idea how he was able to write this - so so so disturbing and difficult to read but also couldn’t stop ?? Car crash esque. Excellently written as always
November 27, 2024
It's a very unpleasant tale, and obviously in such a short book - it rattles along with little time for development. As a fan of John Boyne, I'm a little sad to say that the thing that made the book stand out was its sheer implausibility. Healthcare professionals are not sent papers to proofread - but they are to peer-review, and if that seems a bit nerdy or nit-picking, I have to say that it serves as an illustration of what's to follow. You can't just pilfer controlled drugs any more. I seem to be on a limb with this one though....
November 17, 2024
Boyne could have told this story in a much more nuanced way. This didn’t make me question if evil is born into us or thrust upon us, it just made me mad. It’s hard to put down though; I will absolutely give him that.
January 7, 2025
Most fucked up Boyno yet - a super fast read but felt like some of the details were rushed (also insanely far fetched) but rounding 3.5 stars up to 4 for the Boynester
December 8, 2024
This was DARK. I need something cleansing after this.
December 16, 2024
Waaaaat de hel! Ik was al gewaarschuwd maar dit verhaal is leip. Ik moest vaak denken aan die vooroordelen test, dat mensen bijvoorbeeld bij “dokter� automatisch aan een man denken. Al dit soort stereotyperingen worden omgedraaid in het boek. Ik vond het tegen het einde een kleeein beetje ongeloofwaardig worden allemaal. Maar het blijft een enorm meeslepend, spannend boek met veel om over na te denken erin
January 18, 2025
You can't judge a person by their cover.
Freya is a fucked-up surgeon in the burns unit of a large hospital. She likes luring innocent 13 to 14 y.o. boys into her apartment - giving them a jolly good knee trembler and sending them on their way with a warning saying she'll report them for raping her if they don't keep the old lips zipped. Her objective is to ruin their sex lives forever after she had hers messed up in her childhood by a pair of evil twins who raped her repeatedly and locked her in a box and buried her...for a while. She's playing with fire, which is ironic since her livelihood is repairing people who have been charred crispy.
In this "elements" series, Boyne is, once again, looking at difficult subjects like rape, and attempted murder and exploring the concept of guilt and innocence and the pathway that led to these events. This book was perhaps the weirdest and repulsive so far, but somehow, I couldn't stop reading. Hey! Don't be so judgy! I'm not weird because I wanted to read on...am I?
This is easily the best of Boyne's "Elements" series. It deals a lot with the effects that childhood trauma has on their adult lives. Another thought provoking, and at times, uncomfortable, but masterful book.
Freya is a fucked-up surgeon in the burns unit of a large hospital. She likes luring innocent 13 to 14 y.o. boys into her apartment - giving them a jolly good knee trembler and sending them on their way with a warning saying she'll report them for raping her if they don't keep the old lips zipped. Her objective is to ruin their sex lives forever after she had hers messed up in her childhood by a pair of evil twins who raped her repeatedly and locked her in a box and buried her...for a while. She's playing with fire, which is ironic since her livelihood is repairing people who have been charred crispy.
In this "elements" series, Boyne is, once again, looking at difficult subjects like rape, and attempted murder and exploring the concept of guilt and innocence and the pathway that led to these events. This book was perhaps the weirdest and repulsive so far, but somehow, I couldn't stop reading. Hey! Don't be so judgy! I'm not weird because I wanted to read on...am I?
This is easily the best of Boyne's "Elements" series. It deals a lot with the effects that childhood trauma has on their adult lives. Another thought provoking, and at times, uncomfortable, but masterful book.
November 18, 2024
De twee sterren zijn voor de plot (whahaaat de fuck) niet voor het schrijven (goed goed goed). Maar disturbing!!! Akelig!! Heel benieuwd naar de laatste wel!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 884 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.