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Young Freya stays with her preoccupied mother in Cornwall when she meets 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 sexually assault her, then bury her alive, a mix of unease and irritation darting across their faces as they eventually release her from her improvised coffin.

This could have served as the shocking focal point of a novel, but it's only one of many terrible events in The Elements, which gathers four novellas – published distinctly between 2023 and 2025 – in which characters navigate historical pain and try to discover peace in the present moment.

Debated Context and Subject Exploration

The book's publication has been clouded by the inclusion of Earth, the second novella, on the preliminary list for a prominent LGBTQ+ writing prize. In August, the majority other contenders pulled out in protest at the author's gender-critical views – and this year's prize has now been cancelled.

Discussion of gender identity issues is not present from The Elements, although the author explores plenty of big issues. LGBTQ+ discrimination, the impact of mainstream and online outlets, parental neglect and assault are all explored.

Distinct Stories of Suffering

• In Water, a grieving woman named Willow transfers to a remote Irish island after her husband is imprisoned for terrible crimes.
• In Earth, Evan is a footballer on trial as an accomplice to rape.
• In Fire, the mature Freya manages revenge with her work as a medical professional.
• In Air, a dad flies to a memorial service with his adolescent son, and ponders how much to disclose about his family's history.

Suffering is piled on pain as hurt survivors seem doomed to encounter each other repeatedly for forever

Related Narratives

Links abound. We initially encounter Evan as a boy trying to escape the island of Water. His trial's jury contains the Freya who returns in Fire. Aaron, the father from Air, partners with Freya and has a child with Willow's daughter. Secondary characters from one account reappear in cottages, bars or legal settings in another.

These storylines may sound complex, but the author understands how to propel a narrative – his earlier popular Holocaust drama has sold numerous units, and he has been translated into numerous languages. His direct prose bristles with gripping hooks: "ultimately, a doctor in the burns unit should be wiser than to experiment with fire"; "the first thing I do when I come to the island is alter my name".

Personality Portrayal and Narrative Strength

Characters are drawn in concise, effective lines: the empathetic Nigerian priest, the disturbed pub landlord, the daughter at war with her mother. Some scenes resonate with sad power or observational humour: a boy is struck by his father after urinating at a football match; a prejudiced island mother and her Dublin-raised neighbour swap barbs over cups of watery tea.

The author's ability of carrying you completely into each narrative gives the reappearance of a character or plot strand from an prior story a authentic thrill, for the opening times at least. Yet the collective effect of it all is desensitizing, and at times almost comic: pain is piled on trauma, accident on chance in a dark farce in which damaged survivors seem doomed to encounter each other continuously for eternity.

Conceptual Depth and Final Evaluation

If this sounds different from life and resembling purgatory, that is element of the author's point. These damaged people are oppressed by the crimes they have suffered, caught in cycles of thought and behavior that agitate and descend and may in turn hurt others. The author has talked about the influence of his individual experiences of harm and he portrays with sympathy the way his ensemble navigate this perilous landscape, striving for solutions – isolation, frigid water immersion, reconciliation or refreshing honesty – that might let light in.

The book's "basic" framing isn't extremely instructive, while the brisk pace means the examination of gender dynamics or digital platforms is mainly surface-level. But while The Elements is a flawed work, it's also a thoroughly accessible, trauma-oriented chronicle: a welcome rebuttal to the typical obsession on authorities and perpetrators. The author shows how trauma can affect lives and generations, and how time and tenderness can soften its aftereffects.