“A shocker of a first novel . . . told with extraordinary restraint.”—The New York Times
“[Jonathan] Trigell masterfully builds sympathy for Jack.”—Entertainment Weekly
“A modern-day immorality tale about the attempted rehabilitation of a child implicated in murder . . . delivered with a horrific sense of foreboding.”—Arena
“A fine and moving debut novel . . . compulsively readable . . . a rare treat.”—The Independent
A is for Apple. A bad apple.
Jack has spent most of his life in juvenile institutions; he’s about to be released with a new name, a new job, and a new life. At twenty-four, he is utterly innocent of the world, yet guilty of a monstrous childhood crime.
To his new friends, he is a good guy with occasional fl ashes of unexplained violence. To his girlfriend, he is strangely innocent and unreachable. To his case worker, he’s a victim of the system and of media-driven hysteria.
And to himself, Jack is on permanent trial: He struggles to start from scratch, forget the past, become someone else.
A searing and heartfelt novel, Boy A won the Waverton Award for best first novel of 2004; the prestigious John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, for best book in the commonwealth by an author under 35; and The World Book Day Prize 2008 for the most discussion worthy novel by a living writer.
Boy A is now a Cuba Pictures/Channel 4 film starring Andrew Garfield and Peter Mullan. It is directed by John Crowley, produced by Lynn Horsford, and adapted for the screen by Mark O’Rowe. The US theatrical release is out now from The Weinstein Company.
Jonathan Trigell was born in Welwyn, England, in 1974. He has worked as a TV extra, an outdoor pursuits instructor, and a ski rep. He lives in Chamonix, France.
