What could the connection between Clare, Lucy, Ben and Leo be? I loved the writing, cover and most of the characters but not the many medical descriptions which crop up far too much in the Lucy sections which lessened the enjoyment of this book considerably for me. There's a large time span here featuring things such as the Great Depression and Vietnam, so plenty to think about. It was confusing too - we are told something happens (Lucy) but not why. Shame really, not to know otherwise why mention it in the first place? Those grievances apart, it was a lovely book and I was sorry to reach the end.

This is a charming read and I struggled to put it down as I was keen to find out what happened next.

It is the story of Ben / Leo, Lucy and Clare and it was particularly this last character that held my attention and affection throughout the book. The narrative is rich and it encompasses love, loss, grief and redemption. Quite a magical read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest and impartial review.

I need a hug or a lie down and possibly some chocolate or a bottle of wine after having my heart shredded by this beautiful book. I cried until my insides became all shrivelled and there wasn’t a drop of moisture left in my body. I am wrecked. Literally. The characters are all fantastically written. I felt like they were real people. I wanted to save Ben from his horrific experiencing of surviving a mass murder. I wanted Lucy to be happy and save the world. I wanted to hang-out with Clare. Ben’s story was horrific and beautiful at once. Did he really have no memory of his life before the crime or did he just choose to block it all out? Why does he call himself Leo? Why do his memories not match what really happened to Ben? I loved Lucy. She’s the kind of doctor I want to deal with. Her connection to Ben and her determination to help him is very moving. I also loved Clare’s story. The Possible World is amazing.

Not what I was expecting at all but this book was exceptionally moving.

Each chapter jumps from character to character and often time too which is handled expertly by O'Halloran Schwarz, and never looses its way.

Themes of loss, grief, the after life and spirits made this an exceptional read.

Just another kid's birthday party is the subject of this novel's first chapter. But this is most definitely NOT just ordinary. After a truly horrifying start this novel focusses in on the three main characters who are all desperately seeking answers. Schwarz inexorably draws us into their, seemingly separate, but ultimately tightly interlinked lives. The characters are beautifully portrayed and how they each end up saving each other makes for a mesmerising and uplifting read. Great stuff!

A slow burner at the beginning but oh what a beautiful flame evolved as it went on. Three stories woven into one, they became more involved as each page was turned. Within those stories, Ben’s became more mysterious as he appeared to have more than one past and thus a fourth character appeared in the shape of Leo.
As the book unwinds we see how each character’s life touches on the others and the mysterious connection between Leo and Claire is finally revealed.
Beautifully written and totally captivating. It will tug at your heart strings.

Beautifully written with three characters points of view. This book starts slow and builds and builds, it is a truly fascinating story told extremely well. The author has captured the three narrators and their stories wonderfully and makes you as the reader really question and think.
You do need to concentrate to keep clear on who is telling their story and it is a wonderful way to explore family and friendship but also think about what comes next.
Recommended for a beautifully written story so long as you pay attention

What a wonderful read.This book is so well written and poignant,moving me to tears.
It hooks you in right from the start when a six year old boy,Ben, is the sole survivor of a mass murder at a birthday party - his mother also being one of the victims.
The story then unfolds,bringing together the lives of three/four people.
There is Ben who is traumatised and whose treatment involves hypnosis .He's then convinced he's called Leo and we're then led down the path of Leo's life - given up by his mum who handed him over into the care of some monks and the twists and turns in his live that eventually resulted in him being in the Vietnam war.
Lucy is an ER doctor who was on duty when Ben was brought in.She is dealing with her own personal problems but her humanity shines through and she' s drawn to this little boy .
Clare is an old lady ,now in a nursing home and so buttoned up she won't let anyone get close to her until one day she connects with another resident and is so concerned that Leo will be forgotten that she agrees to tell her story and for it to be recorded _ and what a story!!
These characters are so well portrayed that you just have to keep turning the page,so wrapped up do you get in their stories.
There is a passage about being old that I'm sue will strke a chord with many "It is that shrinkage of a life that truly makes a person feel old,the pruning of all the small branches of possibility until one is left with just the nubbin of what is,and no more of what might be."
Wonderful - thank you

Ben is the sole survivor of an horrific mass murder. It's a detailed, complex story related by Lucy the doctor who tends Ben. Clare who is a very old lady tells her experiences. I thought Leo's story was the most interesting. It spans the eras from living in a place with monks as a child to his involvement in Vietnam as an adult. It's a moving, poignant story. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK.

Told from 3 different people’s views this book is beautifully written and poignant in many places. I was gutted when I’d finished it. 5/5 on goodreads

A story told from 4 different points of view which fate melts together. Ben, six, is at a party when he becomes the sole survivor of a crime that claims his mother and the others. Lucy is the ER doctor who tends to Ben after the incident and is dealing with the breakup if her marriage. Even though Ben has moved onto a ward, she visits him. Then there is Clare, turning 100, who is in a nursing home, and has no family, but an unexpected encounter prompts her to tell her story. And finally Leo, a young boy who helps Clare in the late 50s, early 60s and his story of being given up by his mother to a, well I suppose its a workhouse run by monks, who once old enough joins the air force and gets sent to Vietnam. They all have to deal the events that have defined their separate lives but fate is working to bring them together.

It's a lovely story with supernatural elements and likely to bring a tear to your eye by the end. Each chapter is told by either Ben, Clare, Leo or Lucy, with Lucy's being rather heavy on the medical procedures and terms.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

Three lives, three stories, all interlinked. Loved the concept but found the book disjointed and confusing. Was hoping the ending would pull everything together but was left even more confused.

I picked this book up last night and have read in just a few sittings as have not wanted to put it down.

It tells the story of Clare as she reached her hundredth birthday and all that she has experienced in this time even though no one can find her birth certificate. It also tells the story of Lucy a Doctor who has recently separated from her husband whose life is touched by a little boy who has forgotten his current history due to the trauma he experienced.

This story is woven over two time lines and is heavily underlined by loss and how this affects the people left behind.

A story that is very cleverly written with some lovely characters that you want to get to know and see how the time lines are linked.

I’m a bit sad at the moment as having just finished this book I feel a bit lost. I loved the characters so much and it was really tough to say goodbye. The Possible World is one of those rare gems of a book where you have no particular expectations of it but it manages to completely enchant and surprise you and I absolutely adored it.

Ben, just six years old, is witness to, and the only survivor of the most horrific of crimes.
Lucy is an ER doctor working all hours God sends whilst nursing a broken heart.
Clare is a very elderly lady living in a nursing home and reliving her difficult past with a new friend.

Through the eyes off these three very different characters the author tells us the most wonderful story. I’ll tell you no more of the story itself other than it is beautifully written, heartbreaking and brim full of the most exquisite observations of the simplest of things which make it so human and packed with raw emotion. As the story developed it was a rather a surprise unravelling beneath my eyes and a little confusing at first, but I just went with it having felt, from page one, a deep trust that the author was taking me somewhere special. I’m so very glad I did.

This is one of those novels that is a bit of a treasure, I think it will stay with me for a long time. I wholeheartedly recommend it and truly hope you enjoy it as much I did.

My thanks to #NetGalley and #RandomHouseUK for a cop of #ThePossibleWorld in exchange for an honest review.

An unusual book with a supernatural element. Told from 3 perspectives, a young boy, a doctor and an elderly lady. All of the lines intertwine eventually linking past and present. I would recommend this book.

I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end. The story switches between three/four point of view characters, and each one is interesting, engaging and a pleasure to read. The writer clearly did a huge amount of research into medicine, mental health, other eras and who knows how many other things, and it shows in a rich warm blanket of a book that you just want to wrap yourself in from dawn until dusk. I couldn't put it down, and from the first chapter I was already contacting friends to recommend they pick up a copy. Read it!

This book hooked me from the start when the seemingly innocuous children's birthday party that ends so horribly, horribly wrong sparks off the story that links the characters of Ben/Leo, Clare and Lucy. The book is told from three/four different perspectives, that flowed together so smoothly and effortlessly, it really made me appreciate just how skilled this author is. The relationship between Leo and Clare was the strongest part of the story for me, and the one that made me cry like a baby. I thought that Clare's pragmatism and resilience as well as her generous nature were echoed wonderfully in the character of Lucy and really brought home the idea that love, in all it's myriad forms, really can conquer all.
I don't want to spoil the story for anyone, because it was a delight to come to it without having read any reviews, or even done more than skim the blurb. It is a story about love and loss, about finding the courage to go on despite what life throws at you, to forgive and to know when to give your heart to someone else and when to wrap it up tightly and protect it from hurt. In some ways the book brought to mind John Irving's 'A Prayer for Owen Meanie', another gorgeous read, about having the courage to love and be loved in return.
I really didn't want the book to end, and I eagerly await the next release from Liese O'Halloran.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

A beautifully written, captivating tale told through the eyes of three very different people. I was totally transfixed by this book, and couldn't bear to put it down. The characters of Clare, Lucy and Ben were extremely well drawn and credible. The wonderful prose keeps this story moving along, and the whole package is deeply captivating and thoroughly engrossing. An absorbing and hugely satisfying book that I highly recommend.

Told in the voices of the three main protagonists this is a moving narrative about lives lived. It opens with a multiple murder but is not a crime or mystery novel it is much more than that. The sole survivor of what becomes known as "the birthday party killings" is found mute and getting Ben to tell his story becomes the crux of the novel. It is an emotional roller coaster exposing both the good and the bad in life. I am not sure what I wanted but I did want something more from the ending

Every now and then, a really special book comes along. The Possible World is potentially the best book I have read all year, I absolutely devoured it. Liese O'Halloran Schwarz's imagination and writing are incredible.

The Possible World is a compelling crime thriller, but this is far different from a grimy detective novel. It's a gorgeously layered world, interwoven with stories of loss and memory. The story is narrated by three characters. and I enjoyed them all equally, there was never any time spent wishing the story would move along. I absolutely just bathed in the beauty of O'Halloran Schwarz's world.

It really was an exceptional book, and it stimulated my emotions perfectly. I really felt with the characters, from the triumphs to the terror. The ending had me in floods of both happy and sad tears.

Honestly, after finishing I could have turned right back to the first page and read it again.