A brilliant story. It took me a little while to get “the hang” of it - but once I did I loved finding the themes and consistencies between the different stories.

It did feel a little long for me - I think it could have been edited a little. Still, another corker from John Boyne.

I found this difficult to get into hence the delay in reviewing. . It took me a couple of tries but it was well worth it to persevere. John Boyle is a great writer but this isn’t his most accessible book.

A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom by John Boyne is a historical novel that spans two millennia and follows the life of a man who is reincarnated in different times and places.
The story covers themes such as fate, love, war, religion, and identity, as the protagonist encounters various historical figures and events.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Once I’d recognised the trick to this book, I found it fascinating - it took a couple of chapters though, so I would encourage anyone contemplating reading this to keep going for at least three chapters. Or, you know, read this, have some idea of what’s going on, and then get the book, sit back and enjoy!

I’ve often thought that life must have some universal stories: things that happen in our lives that have happened untold times before throughout history, and will probably happen countless times in the future.

That is the premise that ‘A Traveller’ works from. And it’s done so cleverly.

We begin in the Roman world in 1AD, and swap between different continents and cultures. The story remains the same, of love, loss, betrayal, revenge and death. There’s a lot of births and deaths. It really puts in to perspective humanity’s inability to learn from its mistakes - and we just keep on making them in to the future.

This is such a thought provoking, imaginative read. John Boyne just never seems to let me down.

I am John Boyne's number 1 fan and so it is absolutely no surprise that i consider this story to be fantastic. John Boyne is a marvel

This book follows many themes from history, grief, love, creativity, revenge, beauty, longing, and hope. Absolutely 10/10 recommend.

I wanted to love this book because the premise is so engaging. Unfortunately it seemed to brush through the years without me being captivated by either the characters or the plot. John Boyne offered brilliance in his The heart’s invisible furies so all his books deserve a try but this one just wasn’t for me.

I really struggled with A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom by John Boyne. I could not engage with this book and found it boring. Felt it was hard going with a lot of repetition and just not for me.

John Boyne is so fantastically versatile in his writing. There is no topic that he cannot mould and shape and arrange to suit his style and skill set. The storyline here was so different from anything I’ve read before.

John Boyne is a fantastic storyteller he takes us through time in this book. I found it hard to follow at the start and quite brutal from the word go but the evolving of the story and the characters draw you in and keep you there. I loved every book that John Boyne has written and this is no exception.

Another fantastic novel from John Boyne, a true family saga which transports the reader to vividly imagined times and places.

Boyne's "The Heart's Invisible Furies" remains one of my favourite books today. Coming off that nuanced and grounded portrait of a life, "A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom" was a spectacular, world-hopping surprise. With immense scope stretching across place and time, it makes for a hypnotic and overwhelming read at times. I enjoyed the overlapping themes - with touches of Mitchell's "Cloud Atlas" in style - but at times the world-building dominated Boyne's intricate drawing of characters.

This is an excellent piece of writing - it forces you to reframe and understand things that you thought you knew. That is not always easy but it is done so well

John Boyne isn’t the most subtle of writers, but I have usually found his reliance on slightly too convenient coincidences in his plots relatively easy to forgive, particularly in his highly enjoyable novels The Heart’s Invisible Furies and A Ladder to the Sky. However, I found the central concept of his latest novel A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom to be frustrating and unconvincing. It tells the story of one family, but across fifty different settings spanning over two millennia around the world from Palestine in 1AD to a colony in space in 2080. The point that I think Boyne is trying to make here - that authors must be free to use their imagination and not be solely confined to their own lived experiences as a foundation for writing fiction - is an important one. However, it has been made in a way that is simultaneously laboured and lazy. Laboured because the concept could easily have been confined to a much smaller number of settings that is less confusing for the reader - for example, a story told over one century would have made the same point rather than over 2,000 years. Lazy because the chapters all blur into one generic historical setting, with some very basic research errors including Queen Victoria taking the throne several years too early, along with the well publicised Zelda error. Overall, this one is a disappointment. I hope that Boyne has got this particular bugbear out of his system and returns with something as engaging as The Heart’s Invisible Furies.

John Boyne is a very accomplished writer whose books I have admired. A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom really piqued my interest. It seemed a very unusual concept to follow the life of one person through the centuries for 2000 years. However, I reached about half way and decided I’d had enough and considered that the book just went on too long..

My thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read this book.

After reading the synopsis I was worried that I would not be fully engaged with this story, but straightaway I was gripped by the travelling of time through thousands of years of family history.

We see the progression of a man’s life from birth onwards, spanning over the course of two thousand years constantly changing locations and periods in history.

This is a totally different story to what I normally read. I would gladly read another book from John Boye.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

I am a devoted John Boyne fan. I have to agree with the others that the last few chapters redeemed the book. The first half was a struggle for me sorry.

I received an advanced reading copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and the author John Boyne.
John Boyne is a master storyteller, and I've enjoyed every one of his books I've read.
This book was no different, and the vivid plot kept me hooked throughout. The variety of the chapters and way the story progressed was unique and involving.
However, I have to admit that the ending disappointed me, and it seems as though I am not alone. The last two chapters, when the character reached the modern day, felt rushed and didn't fit with the rest of the story. I completely agree with another reviewer's opinion, 'odd and anticlimactic'.
I still can't give it less than 4 stars though, despite the ending! Beautifully written, but not my favourite of his.

A story spanning 2000 years ending in 2080.. Very interesting and informative in its historical information. Some parts involving the treatment of women I skipped over. Great story telling.

John Boyne takes us on a delightful, wildly original jaw-dropping journey through time. History endlessly repeats itself as the story’s protagonist finds himself living his life in numerous settings, lands and ages.
We are taken from Palestine in AD1 to Turkey in AD41 and onwards through dozens of locations around the world, amusingly meeting famous historical figures along the way.
Using one storyline John Boyne has created dozens of settings for it, each fully developed and equally fascinating.
A very enjoyable and imaginative read by one of my favourite authors.
Many thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.