A beautiful, introspective novel where the importance of family and community is ever-evident.
When Ambrose Bonnar finds a baby boy seemingly washed up onto a local beach, their local village is stunned but reverent; a fishing community, they respect the sea, what it can both bring forth and take away, so they see baby Brendan (as the Bonnar's name him) as a gift, albeit one which is looked on carefully.
Brendan's influence on the local area is evident as he grows up; he seems to have a magical influence on the parishioners, yet his own brother Declan cannot view him in any way but suspicion - who is this boy who took 'his' place in the family?
As the years pass, family ties break, the community changes beyond recognition, and everything Ambrose and the locals one thought is put into question.
Reflecting on the dramatic change being experienced by parts of rural Ireland in the 1970s, Carr's novel is a study in moving forward when we are happy staying still.

Garret Carr’s debut novel, The Boy from The Sea landed on the literary shore, much like the book’s protagonist, Brendan Bonnar: unexpected, mysterious, packed full of heart and special. The book is a marvel, an intimate tale of a family and small rural community in a fishing village in the west coast of Ireland. The Boy From The Sea released in February and has quickly received much acclaim, reaching The Irish Times No.4 Bestseller, a Sunday Times Best Book of 2025 and an Observer Best Debut of 2025.

Brendan Bonnar is at the heart of the novel, and we follow him from a baby found on the shore, to an 18 year old adult. I found the relationships within the novel to be the most interesting, with Brendan, the Boy From The Sea at the centre of it all. Garrett Carr has written a fascinating exploration of Brendan’s relationships with those around him: his brother, parents, aunt, grandfather and wider community, but also Brendan’s relationship with himself. We can see that within these relationships, that here is an oscillation between holding Brendan up as special, a miracle and someone to be revered; or they put him down, shun, fear and view him with disdain and push him away. It appears for Brendan that he struggles to find that middle ground, to just be a son or a brother. The novel charts his journey into adulthood as he navigates these opposing constructs. This uniqueness and struggle to belong is apparent to his adoptive mother Christine, since he was found as a baby on the shore:

“She leaned close and looked at his face, it was strange to do so without the usual impulse to find connection, seeking traces of herself or her husband. There was none of that and it made this baby seem a complete individual, unique and a boy who’d need help to achieve belonging.”

I have written a psychological exploration of Brendan as part of my review which can be viewed at the link below. Please note, this contains spoilers for the book.

https://thepaperbackpsychologist.com/2025/03/31/the-boy-from-the-sea-garett-carr-a-psychological-portrait-of-brendan-bonnar/

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I found myself going back and forth about this novel - in parts I really liked the small-town vibe but the undercurrent of dread felt odd in places and, while I can totally believe that family dynamic, the almost supernatural elements took me out of the plot at some points. An interesting read but not one for everyone.

This was a well written book with a strong sense of place, capturing life in a rural Irish fishing community and the impact of adoption on a family over two decades. The themes of belonging, family and community were explored well, and the writing itself was solid.

That said, it just didn’t grip me. I was interested enough to see how the story played out, but I never felt fully invested, and I found it easy to put down. While I can appreciate the quality of the writing, it simply wasn’t a book that left much of an impression on me.

Actually a 3.5.

I really enjoyed the collective voice of this one, the idea of a small town where no one talks but everyone notices what goes on. The working class town and effects of neoliberal policies on such places i thought was dealt with well and wasn't too heavy handed. And the moment when the father takes his elder son out on a boat and due to pride ends up in a storm I actually had my heart in my mouth and could not go to sleep or turn the pages fast enough. However, I don't feel like it knew quite where it wanted to go, it meandered a little and didn't hit the politics hard enough for my liking. I also felt like the characters, particularly the mother na her sister, were somewhat underdeveloped. but I will definitely read what this author published next.

The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr is garnering significant praise, and it's easy to see why. "The Boy from the Sea" is a moving and beautifully written novel that offers a profound exploration of human relationships and the power of place.
Total rating 4.5 stars

I'm recommending this beautiful book to you today: A simple yet stunning story about a baby boy abandoned on a beach on Ireland's west coast and the family who adopt him.

We see the boy grow up through the eyes of the close-knit community, whose collective voice narrates the story. It's a perspective I loved. Not only is it unique, but it also helps us to fall even more in love with the wonderful characters who grace the pages.

And it's not just Brendan, the young boy, who stands out here. It's the entire Bonnar family, and even some of their friends and neighbours. The characters are wonderfully evoked and really help to emphasise the confines and crevices of Irish rural life, the complexities of family and relationships, and the ruggedness of Ireland's landscape.

This is a story told with honesty, wit, and heart. The writing is sharp and vivid, but there's also a softness to it; one usually reserved for old tales shared around a fireplace.

I loved this novel, and I'm really excited to read more of Garrett Carr's writing.

The book cover is stunning, but I also have to recommend the audiobook, which is beautifully narrated.

A beautifully written and intimate story of family and community, set in 1970s Donegal.

When a baby boy washes ashore in a barrel, he’s taken in by local fisherman Ambrose Bonnar, his wife Christine, and their son Declan. Spanning several decades, the story follows the family's struggles with hardship and financial upheaval, whilst exploring the intense sibling-like rivalry that soon develops between the two boys.

This is a book about the ties that bind us, about belonging and connection. Garrett Carr adopts the collective narrative voice of the town, weaving a sense of interconnectedness throughout the novel. Through this unusual perspective, the shifting dynamics and changing fortunes of the Bonnar family are observed and retold over time.

Life within this small fishing community, facing an uncertain future with the move towards a more commercial, industrialised way of working, is skilfully and sensitively portrayed. The story perfectly captures the slow erosion of tradition in the face of modernity through it’s profound effect on both the Bonnar family and the wider community around them.

I can already predict that this is going to be one of my favourite books this year. It’s an utterly captivating read, with sharp yet understated humour and truly unforgettable characters. Not to be missed!

The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr is a poignant and introspective novel that explores the complexity of family, identity, and the ever-shifting tides of life in a close-knit community. Set on the rugged west coast of Ireland in 1973, the story begins with the mysterious discovery of a baby abandoned on a beach. The baby, later named Brendan by the fisherman Ambrose Bonnar who adopts him, becomes the heart of a gripping family saga that spans two decades.

The novel paints a vivid portrait of a community that is both captivated and perplexed by Brendan. His arrival disrupts the quiet rhythms of the town and the life of Ambrose’s family, starting with his wife Christine, who feels a deep sense of love for Brendan but also an underlying worry about what his presence means for their own family dynamics. For their son Declan, Brendan’s arrival marks the beginning of a rivalry that will endure throughout their lives. Despite the love Ambrose has for the boy, the decision to bring Brendan into their home ultimately causes a fracture in the family, setting the stage for the conflicts and emotional turmoil that will define the story.

The novel unfolds over the course of two decades, offering a layered exploration of how a single event—a baby found on the beach—can alter the course of many lives. Brendan’s restless spirit, as he grapples with his place in the world, is mirrored by Ambrose’s own internal struggle. Ambrose, a man more at home on the sea than on land, finds himself facing a challenge that calls him to understand his family in ways he never expected. As the years go on, the relationships between Ambrose, Christine, Declan, and Brendan evolve, and each character is forced to confront their own insecurities, desires, and disappointments.

At its core, The Boy from the Sea is a story about finding one’s identity in a world that constantly changes. Brendan’s journey is not just a physical one; it is a search for meaning, a quest to understand where he belongs in a world that feels both familiar and alien. His story is one of alienation, but also one of connection, as he inadvertently becomes a mirror for the people around him, reflecting both their hopes and their fears. In this way, the boy from the sea becomes a symbol for the larger changes taking place in the community and in the world at large.

Atmospheric, characters that sing from the page and such a well defined sense of place. I really enjoyed this book, the writing is wonderful, I was fully invested in the story and loved the sprinkles of humour that balanced the sadder elements. This is a real coming of age tale, of what it means to be family and how important community is. Highly recommend.

This is a debut that centres on an extended family in a small fishing town on the coast of Ireland. When the town is rocked by the mysterious appearance of a baby on the shoreline, the community springs in to action. Taken in by the Bonnars, we follow the boy from the sea, named Brendan, and his family over 20 years as the town continues to be fascinated by the foundling.

This is one of those books where the people are the main plot. It draws you in, particularly as it is mainly told in the first person plural from the perspective of the townspeople. This felt particularly effective for me as it gave a sense of the reader belonging to the narrative, as if the story could be being relayed orally over coffee. It established a real closeness with both the setting and the characters that, I felt, gave the book a greater depth and weight. Although set in a very specific place and community, it felt almost familiar.

Alongside the interplay of family dynamics and consideration of the true meaning of family ties, Carr expertly weaves in examination of deep topics. Grief, conflict and the impact of encroaching modernity on the traditional way of life, all are tackled subtlety and without detracting from the tale being told. These issues are dealt with on a human level, their impact shown through the very real bearing they have on the Bonnars and the townspeople.

This is a warm novel, it’s cosy in the best sense of the word. It had echoes of Small Things Like These for me, in the way that it centred on ordinary people in a small town, but with an undercurrent of deep humanity. Somehow, the novel felt transporting. The descriptions are vivid and detailed, though not overdone, and reading it felt like stepping away from reality for a brief time.

Irish fiction rarely misses for me, and this most certainly did not.

An interesting story of family dynamics set in a rural fishing community .
A child is found on the beach and Ambrose Bonnar is drawn to the child, convincing his wife to adopt the boy. The Boy from the Sea follows Brendan and the Bonnar family through the 70's and 80's. I enjoyed the chapters written frim the perspective of the community, giving a good insight into how communities like this work.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read The Boy from the Sea.

I loved this novel. The writing was superb and totally captured the people, town and countryside around Donegal.on the West coast of Ireland. A baby is found on the beach and taken in by a family within the town. This is a story of family and community, of love and loss, jealousy and belonging told over a period of 18 years. This novel drew me in and made me fall in love with the characters despite all their flaws. I never thought I would find the development to the fishing industry on the West Coast of Island so enthralling but I did. A fabulous debut and I can’t wait to read more from this author .One of my books of the year. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

It’s hard to believe ‘The boy from the sea’ is a debut! Not at all what I expected from the blurb - but far reached any expectations. It’s a truly beautifully crafted novel, bittersweet and without any pretension, spanning two decades of the Bonnan’s family saga. The writing is mellifluous, lyrical and truly mesmerising - and definitely going to a huge hit.

I particularly enjoyed the acute attention to family nuances and dynamics. I also learnt a great deal about the precarious lives of Irish trawler men, and admired the strength of community which came from their connections and lives governed by the sea. Sea lore pervades throughout, as indeed the novel is centred around the mystical arrival of ‘the boy from the sea’, a tiny baby (Brendan) found abandoned in a barrel on the sea shore, but the harsh realities of life prevails over myth.

Huge thanks to Netgalley for an ARC. I’ll be recommending this novel far and wide!

This hauntingly beautiful story of two 'brothers', living on the coast in 1970s Ireland, is the debut novel of Garrett Carr. He has a wonderfully evocative tone - you can smell the sea on these pages - and a pitch perfect sense of place. The relationship between Declan and Brendan is the heart of this novel which begins when Brendan is found in a barrell on the coast and adopted by Declan's parents and made part of the family. It is in many ways a gentle novel, full of sorrow and yet also hopeful, and one that worms it's way into your heart so effortlessly. I loved this, and am excited to read what Carr does next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Rhythmic fable of community and rivalry
—
Told in a storyteller’s rhythmic omniscient point of view, an unnamed baby arrives in a close-knit Irish fishing community in a seaborne barrel, his strange entrance immediately captivating the villagers. As the entire village rallies around the baby, Ambrose Bonnar, local fisherman and father himself, takes in the boy and names him Brendan. Ambrose’s son Declan doesn’t understand why another child has suddenly appeared in the family home. Over the next twenty years, through the seventies and eighties, as Declan’s rivalry hardens against the thoughtful Brendan, the village ebbs and flows in the wake of greater events, the currents of today’s news and modern history.

A book about community—the ties that bind—and rivalry—within families and with friends and competitors—this book is steeped in its fishing community on the Atlantic coast of the Republic. With a magical realist tint to the strongly Irish feel to the prose—the rhythm, the idioms, the details—this book evokes a village and its messy relationships, where tempers may flare, or passions run wild, but knowing full well that they still have to see each other the next day. Using a clever writerly trick of never coming too close to hearing Brendan’s internal voice, the book manages to place him at its centre without piercing his initial mystery.

A haunting book: four stars.

A beautifully crafted atmospheric novel about a baby washing up in a Donegal fishing village and the family who adopt him. The length and breadth of human emotion is contained in this novel, the writing is lyrical and full of feeling. The story is narrated by an unnamed member of the tight knit community, an onlooker to the Bonnar Family’s life over two decades. An impressive fiction debut and a story I’ll remember. Must-read.

Thanks, @netgalley, for the ARC.

This is a beautiful story set in rural Ireland that follows the many hardships of the Bonnar family through the eyes of a very tight-knit community.
It is full of charm,wit, and humour and is very well written, and there is great depth to the characters. It really portrays the hardships faced by fishermen and the fishing industry during the 1970s and 80s, but with a real family feel to it a well.
Overall, it was a very good book and worth a read.

Beautifully written book, such a lyrical way of writing. It flowed like a great conversation, easy to read, hard to put down

The trials and tribulations of the fishing community wrapped around the relationships within a family.
Quite a gentle tale of a boy adopted by a fisherman and resented by the natural son.