A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom

A Novel

By: John Boyne

Narrated by: Tim McInnerny

Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

From the best-selling author of A Ladder to the Sky - “a darkly funny novel that races like a beating heart” (People) - comes a new novel that plays out across all of human history: a story as precise as it is unlimited.

This story starts with a family. For now, it is a father and a mother with two sons, one with his father’s violence in his blood, one with his mother’s artistry. One leaves. One stays. They will be joined by others whose deeds will determine their fate. It is a beginning.

Their stories will intertwine and evolve over the course of 2,000 years. They will meet again and again at different times and in different places. From Palestine at the dawn of the first millennium and journeying across 50 countries to a life among the stars in the third, the world will change around them, but their destinies remain the same. It must play out as foretold.

From the award-winning author of The Heart’s Invisible Furies comes A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom, an epic tale of humanity. The story of all of us, stretching across two millennia. Imaginative, unique, heartbreaking, this is John Boyne at his most creative and compelling.

©2020 John Boyne (P)2020 Random House Audio

Extremely clever

The description may scare you away from this wonderful novel but it’s extremely clever. Love John Boyne

AD 2016

I was disappointed with the progression of the story when it traced 2016 AD. Up to this point, the story and characters were intriguing— full of exciting encounters and historical figures. In 2016 AD, I completely lost interest in the story. While some aspects of the story were amusing, it would have been more interesting had it followed a different narrative.

Engaging story that ended with a thud

The story unfolds using an interesting and mostly engaging historical device, but concludes with a rather tendentious caricature of modern American politics and then flickers out with a view of a very bland extraterrestrial utopia that feels more than a little dystopian.

Not my favorite but good story

It was interesting but confusing. I didn’t read what the book was about so didn’t get what was happening for several chapters

Good story but disappointed with ending

Enjoyed the story but disappointed with the 2016 chapter turning book into a political discussion. The rest of the book was good and that chapter just didn’t fit.

Loved the jumps!

While a little disorienting at first, the novel just gradually pulled me in until I could not stop listening. A truly wonderful John Boyne experience!

So Clever and Fascinating

John Boyne is so incredibly clever. I wish I had written this book! Such an interesting way to view history. Took me a few chapters to figure out what he was doing... Open minded and spiritual minded people will appreciate this very much!

Unnecessary time stamps.

Boyne far from his best. The characters and the story are interesting, but I failed to find a reason to spam the story through so many centuries and countries until the epilogue. The insertion of descriptors (that I call “time stamps”), like food, clothing, and type of weapons, to characterize time and place of each chapter are annoying. Moreover they have a repetitive pattern of insertion in each chapter, which makes it quite predictable and boring. Maybe he intended for people who know very little history and needed these clues to remain attentive to the context of each place and century? Couldn’t cultural practices, characteristic behaviors and beliefs of each place and time suffice for context? There are also inaccuracies here and there, which are very disrupting. The close relationship of the characters to very recognizable figures is also annoying. Did the main character really need to be closely associated to Michelangelo and Shakespeare? Anyway.. Overall, it’s creative, but boring and somewhat pedantic. The narrator is good, but doesn’t offer anything special with his reading.

Another clever John Boyne novel

Such a uniquely told story. And as always, the performance is spot on. John Boyne never disappoints in his storytelling and witty humor. This novel spans all of time and the globe. What can’t this author do.