Noah Barleywater Runs Away

With goodly dollops of magic and wonderful surrealism, it has a fable-like quality. If they like magical stories, and if they like to deal with serious issues in a metaphorical way, they will love this sweet, funny and kindly book. I certainly did * The Bookbag *This delightful, bittersweet ‘fairytale’ is a flight of fantasy with playful use of language and a joy from start to finish. Noah’s heartbreaking emotional journey is lightened by a rich vein of absurd humour and eccentric characters * Daily Mail *Destined to become something of a children’s classic * Mail On Sunday *It’s inventive, wily, twisty … Noah Barleywater Runs Away is a carefully crafted whimsical gem, a story to share with others and to discuss at book clubs, a true publishing event * Irish Independent *Boyne has interesting things to say about identity, self knowledge and how we cope with life’s travails and the book really does benefit from a second reading. Oliver Jeffers has produced beautiful cover artwork and his line drawings are suitably enigmatic helping to make this both an attractive and desirable package * The School Librarian *

John Boyne is the author of fifteen novels for adults, six novellas, six for younger readers, a picture book, and a collection of short stories. His 2006 novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and has been adapted for cinema, theatre, ballet, and opera. His many international bestsellers include The Heart’s Invisible Furies and A Ladder to the Sky.

He has won four Irish Book Awards, including Author of the Year in 2022, along with a host of other international literary prizes, including most recently both the 2025 Prix Femina Étranger and the 2025 Prix du Roman FNAC for The Elements. His novels are published in sixty languages.

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