The story is set in Ireland. A family of fisherman. Ambrose, the father, brings home a boy who was found in a container on the shore. The baby went around the village but Ambrose decided that he would live with them, another child for him and his wife and a brother for their son. This is not a fun story but it is well written and one you need to get through hopeful of a good outcome. The book revolves around the fishing village and the trauma of a fishing life as it is getting harder and harder to make a living. The main characters, Ambrose, his wife, Christine, her dad and sister as well as the two boys. Ambrose takes great interest in Brendon as he is growing up being a foundling but as far as Declan is concerned his dad has a favourite which is not him. Ambrose would not accept this if asked I am sure. This causes strife between the two boys who are completely different. Declan volatile and Brendon quiet. Through the book the boys have a lot of drama between them and steer clear of one another as much as possible. This then causes difficulties with the parents. The years go by and nothing changes between the boys until a tragedy in the village. The family push and pull together and the outcome becomes easier. I really enjoyed this book, slow story but in a good way as you get to grips with the characters. I also felt I knew the village and the people and this is a bonus in any book

Simple lives lived out by the wild Atlantic sea. The image conjured up by the fishing boats and their crews going out and putting their lives at risk, creates an atmospheric feeling. I enjoyed the complexities of the story; the adoption of a strange boy which goes on to create a lifetime of animosity between two boys, fighting for a special place in their father’s heart. I loved the story around how one son was fascinated by the island of Rockall but then who wasn’t mesmerized, at that time, by the mystery and romanticism conjured up by the Shipping Forecast.
I love how the story is part narrated by others and then the characters in the book. It is so very well written. I was drawn in, wondering how it would end - hoping for a happy ending but fearing a tragedy.
It’s a great story and well worth reading. Highly recommended

The word that could best describe this book is beautiful.
Characters? Beautiful.
Story line/ development? Beautiful.
Descriptiveness? Beautiful.
Writing style? Beautiful!
I absolutely fell in love with this book. The author really has a knack for setting the scene and allowing the reader to immerse themselves in the story.
I’ve not heard of the author before now, so I’m going to have a look and see if he has any previous works I can go and check out.
This is one of those that left me feeling warm and satisfied when I finished it, which was in fact about a week ago and I’ve thought about daily since then.
Highly recommend.

I was asked to review by NetGalley

Lovely story and a lovely gentle read.

This explores the lives of fishing community in Donegal. A baby is found abandoned and adopted by a couple named Ambrose and Christine, this was for their son Declan to have a brother. The abandoned boy is named Brendan.

Quite an unusual yet unique insight into a different way of life but at the centre family values and friendships.

A truly recommended read.

I can’t deny how beautiful the prose was, there was something so special about the writing. I really enjoyed the first 30% or so, but found it quite repetitive towards the middle and the end. I usually love character driven books, but this one felt a little underdeveloped for me personally with the characters. There was a lot going on, character wise, but not a lot plot wise, and I wish the lack of plot was made up with characterisation. Still, the prose was haunting.

This is extremely fine writing from Garrett Carr. I really felt part of the coastal community so very far away from city life. I especially loved the witty updates on community life littered through the story.
It's really wonderful storytelling about mostly selfish people I didn't especially like, with the exception of Brendan, the boy from the sea.

Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the pre publication digital copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
One thing I really liked about this novel was that the narrator is the village population, this gives a different twist on the story telling. I enjoyed the gentle nature of the tale, the manner in which characters are shown simply whilst also in depth. I loved the unfolding of the story, the slow nature of the village reflected in this. Family dynamics are explored well, portraying in a true to life way the emotions and feelings of love, loneliness, grief, loss, the drudge of life, the kindness of small communities, the highs and lows. I cared about the people and what would unfold for them, always the measure of a good book for me. I did think the ending was a bit too sudden and gentle, but overall a satisfying read.

This was a gorgeous read. Reading its descriptions of Ireland and Irish people was so evocative. It was such a touching story. I will be recommending this to everyone

We are in a small fishers’ community in rural Ireland. The nature is wild and life is hard…and good.
Told by an unnamed local, this story tells the life journeys of two boys; Brendan and Declan.
Bonnar and Lyon families.
Carr’s a master at his craft; how he composes the most intricate but crucial details of this community and these boys’ lives is fascinating.
I have come to the conclusion that such a quiet but poignant story can only be compelling if told as such.
The characterisation and plot are in the details. The sailing from one period to another is done beautifully, and the specific hardships the community in the novel face are authentic. As for the more universal aspects of life; family dynamics, sibling rivalries, seeking of parental approval, finances and decisions, I can say the same; all read absolutely realistic and tender.
The pacing and the minimal action are good fits for this story. Although I enjoyed it as a whole, perhaps it could be slightly shorter.
4.5 stars

The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr .

Two boys growing up as brothers , but one a founding from the Sea .
Declan , the true son of Ambrose and Christine , is wildly jealous of his brother , who they named Declan .
They grow up in a fishing village in Ireland. The author really manages to draw you into the story and you get taken along in the growing up ( both physically & mentally ) of the boys and the greater community.

A great story of sibling rivalry. The boy from the sea was loved by his adoptive parents, but always resented by the son of the family. There are wonderful descriptions of fishermen's experiences at sea.

A good read, with a gentle pace, that just felt a little bit lovely.
The narration worked really well, it was at times funny, and spot on with its observations of life.
Ambrose was the beating heart of the story, and definitely the star for me.
Not a book for those who want pace and action, but definitely a book to enjoy for its quieter moments.

What a quietly wonderful piece of writing The Boy From The Sea is.
For a debut novel, it is so beautifully written and put together that it is hard to believe it is the work of a first-time author.
The four main characters, Ambrose, Christine, Declan, and Brendan are so deftly described and so believable.
Their story is not one of great drama, other than Brendan's beginnings, as, literally, the boy from the sea, but the unfolding of their family tale is deeply engrossing.
The community which surrounds and watches the family, always referred to as "we" is woven through the lives of the Bonnars and we learn, through casual, throw away lines, how life ebbs and flows within this town where fishing is the heart of all that goes on.
The writing is frequently lyrical, sometimes melancholic, and yet often slyly amusing.
It is one of the best books I have read in a long time and will live long in my memory.
It will be a pleasure to recommend it to others, and I can imagine it as a great Book Club read.
Garrett Carr is an author to watch out for in future, if this impressive debut is anything to go by.
Thank you to NetGalley and Picador for an earc of this title in return for an honest review.

A gentle tale, looking into the lives of the fishing community in the Donegal area of Ireland. A baby boy, later named Brendan, is found abandoned and shortly afterwards adopted by Ambrose and Christine Bonnar, as a little brother for their son Declan. The story is narrated by an unnamed local man, familiar with the customs of the area, giving it perspective. It’s a moving, at times raw, novel cleverly put together giving an insight to a world where people have different priorities but a strong sense of family and friendship.

A most interesting read and my thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC publication in exchange for a personal review. Well worth reading, even if it’s for the scenery, but delving beneath the minds of the Donegal people, stimulates the senses from the start.

Lovely story of two boys growing up in a fishing village in Ireland. Declan the real son of Christine and Ambrose and Brendan who was adopted by them after Ambrose found him in a barrel as a tiny baby wrapped in tinfoil in the sea.
The story shows the hardship this family faced in the fishing village and the boys never got on there was so much jealousy mainly from Declan he hates to see his dad Ambrose showing any affection or attention to Brendan.Ambrose doesn’t really understand the boys relationship as he treats them both the same as his sons.
After lots of upsets the boys do come good
I really enjoyed the simplicity of this story could feel myself becoming part of this family
Thanks to net galley and picador books for enabling me to read this novel.

Gently written book which serves to underscore the harshness of life depicted in a town completely centred around the tough realities of commercial fishing. The always fractious relationship between two brothers is consistently maintained as the boys develop and change as they get older and with the reader’s sympathies moving with them. Clever narration throughout the story highlights the rhythm of life and neatly moves the story on over the years.

The discovery of a child in a barrel lined with tinfoil in 1973, enthrals the small coastal town where the Bonnars live. Christine and Ambrose’s two-year-old is put out by the sudden appearance of this baby his parents seem so interested in, refusing to accept him as his brother when they adopt him. As the boys grow up, Brendan yearns for Declan’s acceptance, taking to wandering off and administering ‘blessings’ to the town’s less fortunate when it’s not forthcoming, while Declan seethes at tiniest example of favour from their father towards Brendan, insisting on joining Ambrose at sea despite having no wish to be a fisherman. Over the years, the family’s financial fortunes decline until a decision must be made.
Garrett Carr knows how to spin a captivating story, peppering his narrative with wryly humorous observations, while exploring themes of family ties, community and financial hardship against the background of an industrialising fishing industry. His characters are memorably drawn - Christine is the lynchpin of the Bonnar family while Ambrose is its vibrant heart, full of stories and plans, not quite understanding this scratchy relationship between the two boys both of whom he thinks of as his son. A thoroughly enjoyable, immersive novel which left me wanting more from Carr.