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Young Freya is visiting her preoccupied mother in Cornwall when she comes across 14-year-old twins. "Nothing better than being aware of a secret," they tell her, "comes from possessing one of your own." In the time that follow, they violate her, then inter her while living, blend of unease and irritation flitting across their faces as they eventually liberate her from her temporary coffin.

This might have stood as the shocking centrepiece of a novel, but it's merely a single of multiple terrible events in The Elements, which assembles four novellas – published separately between 2023 and 2025 – in which characters confront historical pain and try to achieve peace in the contemporary moment.

Debated Context and Thematic Exploration

The book's publication has been clouded by the presence of Earth, the second novella, on the candidate list for a notable LGBTQ+ writing prize. In August, nearly all other nominees withdrew in protest at the author's debated views – and this year's prize has now been terminated.

Debate of LGBTQ+ matters is missing from The Elements, although the author addresses plenty of major issues. Homophobia, the impact of mainstream and online outlets, family disregard and abuse are all examined.

Four Narratives of Trauma

• In Water, a grieving woman named Willow transfers to a secluded Irish island after her husband is jailed for terrible crimes.
• In Earth, Evan is a athlete on court case as an participant to rape.
• In Fire, the grown-up Freya manages vengeance with her work as a medical professional.
• In Air, a parent journeys to a memorial service with his adolescent son, and wonders how much to disclose about his family's background.

Pain is accumulated upon trauma as hurt survivors seem doomed to meet each other continuously for all time

Interconnected Narratives

Relationships multiply. We first meet Evan as a boy trying to flee the island of Water. His trial's panel contains the Freya who reappears in Fire. Aaron, the father from Air, collaborates with Freya and has a child with Willow's daughter. Supporting characters from one account resurface in houses, taverns or judicial venues in another.

These plot threads may sound complex, but the author is skilled at how to drive a narrative – his prior successful Holocaust drama has sold many copies, and he has been translated into many languages. His straightforward prose bristles with gripping hooks: "after all, a doctor in the burns unit should know better than to toy with fire"; "the primary step I do when I reach the island is alter my name".

Personality Portrayal and Narrative Strength

Characters are drawn in succinct, effective lines: the compassionate Nigerian priest, the disturbed pub landlord, the daughter at conflict with her mother. Some scenes ring with sad power or insightful humour: a boy is struck by his father after urinating at a football match; a prejudiced island mother and her Dublin-raised neighbour swap insults over cups of diluted tea.

The author's talent of bringing you wholeheartedly into each narrative gives the comeback of a character or plot strand from an prior story a authentic thrill, for the opening times at least. Yet the cumulative effect of it all is dulling, and at times practically comic: trauma is accumulated upon pain, accident on chance in a dark farce in which wounded survivors seem doomed to meet each other continuously for forever.

Conceptual Complexity and Concluding Evaluation

If this sounds different from life and more like uncertainty, that is aspect of the author's thesis. These hurt people are oppressed by the crimes they have suffered, trapped in patterns of thought and behavior that agitate and plunge and may in turn hurt others. The author has talked about the impact of his personal experiences of abuse and he portrays with compassion the way his characters navigate this dangerous landscape, extending for solutions – isolation, frigid water immersion, reconciliation or refreshing honesty – that might provide clarity.

The book's "elemental" framing isn't terribly informative, while the quick pace means the exploration of gender dynamics or digital platforms is mainly surface-level. But while The Elements is a imperfect work, it's also a completely accessible, victim-focused saga: a welcome response to the usual obsession on investigators and criminals. The author demonstrates how trauma can permeate lives and generations, and how duration and tenderness can soften its echoes.