One Boat

A Novel

By: Jonathan Buckley

Narrated by: Caroline Ford

Longlisted for The Booker Prize 2025

After losing her father, Teresa returns to a small town on the Greek coast—the same place she visited when grieving her mother nine years ago. Soon, she encounters some of the people she met last time around: John, a man struggling to come to terms with the violent death of his nephew, Petros, an eccentric mechanic; Niko, a handsome diving instructor; and Xanthe, a waitress in one of the cafés on the leafy town square. They talk about their longings, regrets, the passing of time, and their sense of who they are. Artfully constructed, absorbing, and insightful, One Boat is a brilliant novel grappling with questions of identity, free will, guilt, and responsibility.

©2025 Jonathan Buckley (P)2025 Fitzcarraldo Editions

The story has its moments but the reading is monotone

So hard to follow because the reading is so lifeless. Is it meant to reflect ennui? Sometimes the story is fascinating but so often it fizzles because the reading goes down the drain.