One Boat — Jonathan Buckley

Longlisted for The Booker Prize 2025


“Buckley creates a novel of quiet brilliance and sly humour, packed with mystery and indeterminacy.” -- The Booker Prize judges

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 whose story may have something to do with John's; Niko, a local 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.