One Boat

One Boat by Jonathan Buckley | Booker Prize 2025 Longlisted Novel

Introduction

One Boat by Jonathan Buckley is a quietly powerful work of literary fiction about grief, memory, identity, guilt, responsibility, and the ways people search for meaning after loss. Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2025, the novel follows Teresa as she returns to a small Greek coastal town, revisiting a place and a past that remain deeply connected to her sense of self.

About This Book

After the death of her father, Teresa returns to the Greek town she previously visited while grieving her mother nine years earlier. Immersing herself once again in the rhythms of the community, she observes its inhabitants and allows memories of her earlier visit to resurface.

Among those memories is her encounter with John, a man struggling with the violent death of his nephew. Teresa also reconnects with people connected to the town and to her earlier experience, including Petros, an eccentric mechanic whose story may intersect with John's, Niko, a diving instructor, and Xanthe, a café waitress.

Through conversations about longing, regret, relationships, and the passage of time, Teresa gradually confronts questions about the choices that shape a life. Jonathan Buckley uses these interconnected stories to examine how memory influences identity and how guilt, responsibility, chance, and free will affect the way people understand themselves and one another.

What You’ll Discover

• Teresa's return: Follow a woman revisiting a familiar Greek town while processing another profound loss.
• Grief and memory: Explore how the past can return unexpectedly and reshape the way people understand the present.
• John's story: Encounter a man struggling to come to terms with the violent death of his nephew.
• Petros, Niko, and Xanthe: Meet the distinctive characters whose stories and conversations deepen Teresa's reflections.
• Identity and self-understanding: Consider how places, relationships, memories, and personal histories contribute to a sense of who we are.
• Free will and responsibility: Reflect on the difficult questions surrounding choice, chance, guilt, and accountability.
• The passage of time: Examine how years can alter relationships, memories, and our interpretation of past experiences.
• The power of place: Experience the Greek coastal setting as an important backdrop to the characters' emotional and philosophical journeys.

Perfect For

• Readers of literary and contemporary fiction
• Fans of Booker Prize–longlisted novels
• Readers who enjoy philosophical and psychological fiction
• Those interested in grief, memory, identity, and family relationships
• Readers who appreciate character-driven and reflective storytelling
• Book clubs seeking thoughtful fiction with deeper themes

Why You’ll Love This Book

One Boat is a contemplative novel that finds emotional depth in ordinary encounters, conversations, and memories. Jonathan Buckley creates a layered portrait of people carrying different forms of loss while asking difficult questions about what shapes our identities and whether we truly control the paths our lives take.

With its atmospheric Greek setting, introspective characters, and elegant exploration of grief, guilt, free will, and responsibility, this paperback is an absorbing choice for readers who enjoy literary fiction that invites reflection long after the story ends.