The Boy and the Sea

From the author of Rain and Featherstone comes a story of a sun-drenched, sea-soaked day which changes a boy's life forever.

At the start of a summer's day, Ward is waiting on the beach. His friend, Alex, wants him to come to a party at Alison's where there'll be girls and drinks and the possibilities of fun. But Ward is shy and self conscious and struggling to move from under the weight of his powerful father. He'd rather wait on the beach for the surf to come up. As the the sun moves towards its highest point and the girls' laughter carries along the wind towards Ward, the tide changes and Ward is faced with a dramatic event that will change his life forever.

This beautiful and intense coming-of-age story captures perfectly the discomforts and challenges of being fifteen years old with the world stretching out in front of you. Sensual, heady, as though dazed by the heat of her pages, Gunn slowly unfolds a tale of danger and sexuality, of mothers and sons and the fathers who rule them, and of the sea.

Winner of Sundial Scottish Arts Council Book Award: Fiction 2007 Winner of Sundial Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year Award 2007

Kirsty Gunn is the author of three novels, Rain, The Keepsake, Feathersone, and a collection of short stories, This place you return to is home. In 2004, she was awarded the Scottish Arts Council Bursary for Literature. She is also married and the mother of two young daughters, Millie and Katherine. She lives in London and Edinburgh.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.