Torn Water

by John Lynch

Set in his native Northern Ireland, John Lynch's debut novel is a lyrically told and exquisitely tender story of innocence and loss.‘He remembers when he was very young standing by water…How he had got there or where the pond was he couldn’t remember, but he can vaguely recall a larger hand on his and being led through the high rooms of a large building, to a large garden, where bees wove dozy patterns in the air. At the bottom of this garden lay the large pond, and he remembers a face bending to meet his and whispering that he would be back in a little while. So he stood where he had been left, his small feet pointing at the stonework of the pond’s rim. He remembers a wind brewing in the tops of the trees and tearing at the water of the pond for a moment, before subsiding, his face blurring into focus like a TV channel being tuned.’When James Lavery's father is blown to bits by a bomb he intended to maim and kill others with, the boy keeps him alive in his imagination as a superhero, escaping the daily grind of school, his mother's drinking and his own acute loneliness by inventing extraordinary adventures for them both. But, gradually, through the agonies of adolescence James begins to understand the real cost of his father's weak and deluded heroism.It is only when he falls in love himself, during a summer away from his tortured home life, that James finally begins to understand the true complexities of love, life and death…

Genres: Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2005

About the author

John Lynch (born 26 December 1961) is an Irish actor and novelist. He won the AFI (AACTA) Award for Best Actor for the 1995 film Angel Baby. His other film appearances include Cal (1984), The Secret Garden (1993), In the Name of the Father (1993) and Sliding Doors (1998). He has also written two novels, Torn Water (2005) and Falling Out of Heaven (2010).

John Lynch was born in Corrinshego, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. He attended St Colman's College, Newry. He began acting in Irish language-medium plays at school during the early years of the conflict in Northern Ireland. He is the eldest of five children of an Irish father and an Italian mother from Trivento (Campobasso).

Lynch is also a novelist. His first novel, Torn Water, was published in November 2005 by the Fourth Estate, a literary imprint of Harper and Collins, and his second, Falling Out of Heaven, was published on 13 May 2010 by the same publisher.

Reviews

[BookCrazy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book accidentally, and was quite glad I did. I found the story compelling and believable and read it in one day. I especially liked the letters the protagonist James Lavery writes to his father and the death stories he writes to work through his life issues. The hopeful ending was perfect as the story could have ended badly.

[Jessica McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was randomly searching my school library shelves for a book and found this one. It looked good so I borrowed it. I could not put it down! I was transfixed by the style, and the characters. It was unlike anything I have ever read before, but I enjoyed it, even though it is not something I would usually read.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to read this book because I'm intrigued by the actor who wrote it. I enjoyed it though there were times I wasn't sure if I was comprehending everything as The author intended.