Heart Be At Peace

Heart Be At Peace

By Donal Ryan

Genre:-Contemporary/Literary Fiction

Pages:-224

Publisher:-Doubleday

Blurb:-A stunning lyrical novel from the Number one bestselling author Donal Ryan about love, loss, hope and connection.

 The literary prowess of Colm Tolbin &Sebastian Barry; the intimate small-town focus of Claire Keegan & Louise Kennedy; the heart and emotion of Maggie O'Farrell.

 2019. Small town rural island. 21 voices.

A standalone novel that can also be read as a companion to Donal Ryan's multi-award-winning bestseller, The Spinning Heart, voted 'The Irish Book of the Decade'.

 'I said it before. Madness comes circling around. Ten-year cycles, as true as the sun will rise...'

Some things can send a heart spinning; others will crack it in two.

 In a small town in rural Ireland, the local people have weathered the storms of economic collapse and are looking towards the future. The jobs are back, the dramas of the past seemingly lulled, and although the town bears the marks of its history, new stories are unfolding.

 But a fresh menace is creeping around the lakeshore and the lanes of the town, and the peace of the community is about to be shattered in an unimaginable way. Young people are being drawn towards the promise of fast money whilst the generation above them tries to push back the tide of an enemy no one can touch...

 THE SPINNING HEART PRIZE ACCOLADES

Winner of the Guardian First Book Award 2013

Shortlisted for the Dublin IMPAC Literary Award 2014

Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2013

Winner of Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards 2012

Thank you #AD #Gifted #FreeHonestReview @randomthingstours

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My Review:-Madness comes circling around. Ten years, has the local Irish close knit community real changed? Donal Ryan has gave 21 voices a chapter to their life. Things are passed down through generations, both the good and the bad. Family history, love, beliefs and prejudices...each of their stories are told differently, yet are they really any different to the past.  Even in a small community there is still blackmail, drug dealing and organized crime. The book starts with Bobby, after going away on a stag night to Amsterdam, he comes home to find that there's a compromising photo of him, and it's not just him that sees the photo, it's been posted on WhatsApp for all his friends to see. Bobby also has a secret from Triona, he visits her mother, his mother-in-law two or three times a week on his way home, as she is dying and in a hospice. The book ends with Triona, she knows about Bobby visiting her mother but says nothing. Triona mother died the day after an explosions at Mickey's house. I loved reading the book, even though I've never read any of Donal other books, I found the book still easy to follow.