The Boy from the Sea: the heart-wrenching story of a family and a town reshaped by the arrival of an abandoned baby

As read on BBC Radio 4 A Sunday Times Best Book of the Year An Observer Best Debut of the Year

'Compassionate, lyrical and full of devilment' - Louise Kennedy, author of Trespasses 'A joy . . . vivid, loving and genuinely funny' - The Sunday Times 'I didn't want it to ever end' - Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things

The Boy from the Sea is Garrett Carr's brilliantly moving tale of an abandoned baby who rocks a small Irish town, bringing together a community - and igniting lifelong rivalries.

Perfect for fans of Kate Atkinson and Claire Keegan.

In 1973 on the west coast of Ireland, a baby is found abandoned on the beach. Who is he? Where is he from?

Ambrose, a local fisherman, is far more interested in who he will become and – with a curious community looking on – takes the baby home and adopts him. But for Declan, the baby’s new brother, this arrival is surely bad news. Rivalries can be decades in the making . . .

Set over twenty years, The Boy from the Sea is about a restless boy trying to find his place, in a town caught in the storm of a rapidly changing world.

Readers love The Boy from the Sea:

'Left me feeling warm and satisfied when I finished it and I’ve thought about it daily since then' ***** 'Books are meant to change you, to shape you, and to heal you, and The Boy from the Sea does all those things' ***** 'You feel like you’re right there in the village' ***** 'Stunning. I found myself waking up at 5am because I was desperate to read more' ***** 'Felt like I was stepping off life's treadmill and immersing myself in another world' *****

© 2025 Picador (Audiobook): 9781035044566

Release date

Audiobook: 6 February 2025