2025 Booker Longlist: One Boat by Jonathan Buckley

Next up for our panel is One Boat by Jonathan Buckley. Four of our panelists finished and reviewed the book, one abandoned it. Here are our reviews.

Johnathan Buckley is a British writer and author of 13 books and several travel guides. He won a short story award for “Briar Road” and his novel Tell was both the joint winner of the Novel Prize and a shortlist nominee for the Goldsmith Prize. One Boat is his first nomination for the Booker Prize.

Book Synopsis from Booker website: On 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. She immerses herself again in the life of the town, observing the inhabitants going about their business, a quiet backdrop for her reckoning with herself. An episode from her first visit resurfaces vividly – her encounter with John, a man struggling to come to terms with the violent death of his nephew.  

Soon Teresa encounters some of the people she met last time around: Petros, an eccentric mechanic, whose life story may or may not be part of John’s; the beautiful Niko, a 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, their sense of who they are.

Jen’s Thoughts: I didn’t find this book as difficult to finish as several of our other panelists but it certainly is a slow and meandering sort of book that reads more like a serious of observations and reflections than it does a plot-heavy novel — although it certainly has a plot. One Boat is an exploration of grief and its slow pace and non-linear narrative can make it hard to follow and stay engaged or even connect with the characters. Having lost my mother earlier this year, there were moments in the novel that brought tears to my eyes and felt emotionally heavy. I connected with the sort of aimless wandering of the protagonist. My mother and I used to share a love of travel. Every year my daughter and I travel together for a summer trip and last year we travelled to Greece and I remember sharing the stories and experiences with my mother (who was too ill to travel at that time).

I thought the novel as beautifully written and reflective in an interesting way. I took off points for character development since I didn’t find them overly developed although I don’t think that was the point of this book. In fact for some reason I read the beginning of the novel under the assumption that the protagonist was a gay man.

Writing quality: 5/5
Originality: 3/5
Character development: 2/4
Plot development: 3/4
Overall enjoyment: 2/2
Total: 15/20

Nicole’s Thoughts:  I’m not sure how or why, but I really enjoyed this book. I wasn’t bored, and I thought the characters were interesting enough – I liked the sentimentality of having a place to go that feels like “your place” even though you’ve only been there twice. Experiencing the differences, and feeling like you are a part of the place even though you are a stranger. That’s probably what appealed the most.

Writing quality: 4/5
Originality: 3/5
Character development: 4/4
Plot development: 3/4
Overall enjoyment: 2/2
Total: 16/20

Anita’s Thoughts: I am a bit of a nihilist, and this book leaned in that direction in some regards, so I think I should have enjoyed it more than I did. There’s some beautiful descriptive writing and some deep philosophical discussions. But somehow the plot felt like a very scant frame to hold up the weight of the themes. It didn’t quite work for me personally, but I do see why it was nominated, and I think if I re-read it, I might appreciate it more.

Writing quality: 3/5
Originality: 4/5
Character development: 2/4
Plot development: 2/4
Overall enjoyment: 1/2
Total: 12/20

Tracy’s Thoughts: This was chosen as one of the best books this year? I finished, but I was nodding off in the middle of the day. This one was just not for me.

Writing quality:3/5
Originality: 3/5
Character development: 2/4
Plot development: 1/4
Overall enjoyment: 0/2
Total: 9/20

Lisa’s Thoughts:  I wasn’t able to finish this book. I was bored, and I could not keep track of which passages were in the past vs. present day. I won’t rate — because I didn’t finish it.

Rankings
1. Audition: 17.88
2. One Boat: 13

Have you read it?  What do you think? Want to try it for yourself? You can purchase your copy here: One Boat