A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom

With A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom, be prepared to be taken on a trip through time and place. With each chapter, we are introduced to a reincarnated version of the same man, watching his life progress a little more each time. It shows us the continuity of life, in small ways like certain images to the larger similarities of life events. Alternating between the positives and negatives, the winners and losers, we see both sides of each equation. “I have traveled further than you know, as have you, my son. My journeys might be at an end now, but so many lie in wait for you. Do your memories never surprise you? Do you not dream of the past and the future and recognize both with equal clarity?”
It’s interesting how this soul becomes fully fleshed as the book progresses and I came to feel like I knew him. His talents might change from life to life, but his artistic soul remains the same.
As the book goes on, I found myself having to resort to googling many of the names, to get the backstories of the historical figures. I can’t begin to imagine the amount of research needed to write this book. Luckily, as we move through time the people are more well known and less research was needed.
Needless to say, this is a very philosophical book. “We are a small people in an ever changing universe. The world around us might be in a state of constant flux, but the universe within?” I wasn’t at all sure how Boyne would bring this to an end. But he does so in a totally satisfactory, inventive manner.
If you appreciate books that take chances, you will enjoy this. It will strike a chord with anyone who loved Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life.
My thanks to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.

This book is a masterpiece. It was an honor to read it. It is masterfully crafted in such a unique way. I've never read anything like it. Somehow, John Boyne continues to get better and better.