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  • A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom

  • By: John Boyne
  • Narrated by: Tim McInnerny
  • Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (118 ratings)
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A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom

By: John Boyne
Narrated by: Tim McInnerny
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Some stories are universal. They play out across human history. And time is the river which will flow through them.

It starts with a family, a family which will mutate. For now, it is a father, mother and two sons. One with his father’s violence in his blood. One who lives his mother’s artistry. One leaves. One stays. They will be joined by others whose deeds will change 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 distant Palestine at the dawn of the first millennium to a life amongst the stars in the third. While the world will change around them, their destinies will remain the same. It must play out as foretold. It is written.

A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom is the extraordinary new novel from acclaimed writer John Boyne. Ambitious, far-reaching and mythic, it introduces a group of characters whose lives we will come to know and will follow through time and space until they reach their natural conclusion.

©2020 John Boyne (P)2020 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom

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A very disappointing read

Having read the author’s work before I am incredibly disappointed in this one. it seems that all of the women are raped used and abused with no satisfactory comeuppance to the perpetrators yes these are set in various centuries but really awful men reign supreme. To me it was the equivalent of a film of “boys and toys” hated the book and it will take me some time to read another one this authors work

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5 people found this helpful

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Amazing

John Boyne has surpassed himself with this book!! It’s amazing! I wasn’t sure whether I was going to continue with the book at the beginning and I must admit I was a little confused!!
But you are slowly drawn into it as I’m sure that’s intentional. Just loved it so much I’m going to listen to it again.
So enjoy everyone and thank you John

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Fantastic!

Following the story of a man from the time of Herod it tells the extraordinary tale of the same soul throughout time. All in different countries and cultures, the story evolves in each incarnation from Herod to Trump and every era and culture in between. It’s just a beautiful story. Wonderful. John Boyne delivers once again x

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    3 out of 5 stars
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I didnt really get it

The premise of this book is clever, but at the end I couldn't figure out what the point was. And the epilogue did nothing to help, it was like the author threw in a bit of current politics and a climate warning to seem current. I wanted the main character to evolve or learn through his 'ages' but there was none of that, I got pretty tired of him by the end. A chewing gum book. Passes the time, but wont fill you up.

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4 people found this helpful

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An epic tale

It took a while for me to really get into this book as it is so different to anything I’ve read before from John Boyne, or in fact any other author, but I was soon swept up in the journey through the ages. This book is quite unique and I can not recommend it highly enough. The narration was wonderful and I found I could not turn it off! Totally absorbing!

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a good story well told

I'm not sure what I expected from this book Love the story. I think I was expecting an insight into the human condition but ultimately ended up with some rather boring woke idealism, the narration was excellent,

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2 people found this helpful

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Excellent listen

Very unusual book. I have listened to it twice now and I have found it very entertaining.

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Very different ....

Not sure I could explain the story - eventually understood it and enjoyed it eventually - I think

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Tedious

Boring,drab,repetitive, the worst book ever from this author whom I normally enjoy hope the next is back to the usual standard. If I dare to purchase?

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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I couldn’t make sense

I got the concept of this soul travelling through time but I couldn’t find a logic to it. Some characters were just 20 years apart which would have meant that they were both alive at the same time so this soul would have been in two places at the same time. Aside from that I didn’t warm to this book which surprised as I normally love his books.

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