The Boy in the Field

A Novel

By: Margot Livesey

Narrated by: Imogen Church

Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

The New York Times best-selling author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy delivers another “luminous, unforgettable, and perfectly rendered” (Dennis Lehane) novel - a poignant and probing psychological drama that follows the lives of three siblings in the wake of a violent crime.

One September afternoon in 1999, teenagers Matthew, Zoe, and Duncan Lang are walking home from school when they discover a boy lying in a field, bloody and unconscious. Thanks to their intervention, the boy’s life is saved. In the aftermath, all three siblings are irrevocably changed.

Matthew, the oldest, becomes obsessed with tracking down the assailant, secretly searching the local town with the victim’s brother. Zoe wanders the streets of Oxford, looking at men, and one of them, a visiting American graduate student, looks back. Duncan, the youngest, who has seldom thought about being adopted, suddenly decides he wants to find his birth mother. Overshadowing all three is the awareness that something is amiss in their parents’ marriage. Over the course of the autumn, as each of the siblings confronts the complications and contradictions of their approaching adulthood, they find themselves at once drawn together and driven apart.

Written with the deceptive simplicity and power of a fable, The Boy in the Field showcases Margot Livesey’s unmatched ability to “tell her tale masterfully, with intelligence, tenderness, and a shrewd understanding of all our mercurial human impulses” (Lily King, author of Euphoria).

©2020 Margot Livesey (P)2020 HarperAudio

E asy to listen to before bed.

I would have enjoyed the story more with a different narrator. perhaps a male.

Quiet, pastoral mystery

A perfectly decent and mildly entertaining story, told from a kid's point of view. The strongest part of the story was the picture of small-town English life.

A Small Gem

This is a story of a discovery that prompts two brothers and their sister to take risks, reach out and challenge themselves from the secure place of love that is their family. Beautifully written and read, it’s a reassuring tonic for difficult times.

a break

really enjoyed this novel. The structure (each chapter told by one of the three Lang kids) provided variety and bite‐size chapters. The fact the kids were all under the same roof propelled a really enjoyable narrative forward, as if told by one person. Finally, it was just great to spend time in 1999, a much appreciated break from 2020.

Beautiful story about perspective and growing

This is the first Livesey book I have read/listened to and it did not disappoint! The reading was wonderful, the characters drew me in and the story a beautiful plot of turmoil, dealing with emotions, and learning to live with one's history. A lovely book with a descriptive journey of discovering one's own path.

Simple AND Complex!

4.5 stars. Don't let the simplicity of the writing or the story deceive you. Buried beneath the seemingly typical teenage dramas lie deep and serious themes about growing up and understanding the meaning of life, the dangers and beauty of love, and the importance of family.

Three siblings (Matthew, 18; Zoe, 16; and Duncan, 14) are walking home from school one day when their father doesn't show up. Along the way, they spot a boy laying in a field. On closer inspection, the young man (Karel, early 20s) has been attacked and left alone by the culprit. The children act quickly, call an ambulance and get him to the hospital.

This event affects each sibling and both of their parents in significant but different ways and this is where the deeper meaning of Margot Livesey's novel begins to take shape.

The narration is slow and steady but effective and easy to listen to.

It's a simple but memorable novel and one that is likely to stay with you for a while.

Ticked every box

Could’ve stop listening to this beautifully narrated jewel. Can’t wait to recommend it to everyone I know.

Sad

I bought the book, having heard it was a feel good story, it was not. The ending broke my heart.

An unusual story

I really liked this unusually told story focused primarily on the 3 children who find an injured man in a field. It’s not at all what I expected, and I highly recommend it!

Thought provoking

This would be a good choice for a book club. The story is mult-layered; external events lead to internal questions and emotional shifts. I did find the narration to be a bit overly-dramatic at times. This is not a story to read for the resolution of who-done-it
(that disclosure is actually rather flat ). It’s about the continuing changes and challenges of maturity.