How To Build A Boat by Elaine Feeney (2023), published by Harvill Secker
What it's about: Neurodivergent thirteen-year-old Jamie O'Neill wants to build a perpetual motion machine so that he can reconnect with his mother who died giving birth to him. His mission ends up transforming the lives of his teachers and, in the process, that of a community too. Feeney's own son provided the genesis for the novel.
Why should you read it? This uplifting tale examines the power of community and connections through the prism of imagination. Fractured souls are healed through impressionistic prose which probes the fault lines of Irish rural life.
What the critics say: "Elaine Feeney's second novel is a big-hearted tale of love, friendship and neurodiversity, with a memorable cast of characters who feel believable and very real." - John Walshe, Sunday Business Post.
What’s next for Feeney? She has a poetry collection called All the Good Things You Deserve, a collection about women's lives, bodies, battles and triumphs due for publication in April.
For readers of…The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon), Strange Sally Diamond (Liz Nugent), Diary of a Young Naturalist (Dara McAnulty).
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