Farrar, Straus & Giroux, February 9, 2016.
Four Stars
This novel was longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker
International Prize, under the title Mend
the Living. It takes place in the twenty-four hours following a fatal car accident,
from the moment three young men set out for an early morning surf session, to
their car crash and the subsequent heart transplant that takes place in
hospital.
The Heart opens on the three boys as they set out at dawn for the seaside.
The descriptive writing is lovely and calm, but with an ominous shadow hanging
over everything – we know in advance that tragedy will soon strike. On the
drive home, the surfers’ vehicle drifts off the road into a tree, and one of
the boys, Simon, is thrown from the van. He is declared brain dead shortly
after.
Although Simon is technically dead, his heart
continues to beat. His time in the hospital is told from the perspective of
everyone involved, including the doctors, nurses, and especially Simon’s
parents – it is an exploration of intense grief, as they are forced to make the
logical decision to donate their son’s organs. It is written in an innovative
style in which Simon’s heart is really the main character of the novel, as it
is taken from his body and given to a woman who is close to death. The heart
gives life to someone who would not have survived without Simon’s death.
De Kerangal’s language is like floating through a
dream, but it is so real at the same time – in each passage, all of the senses
are engaged. The story moves at a slow pace, allowing the reader to savour
every moment, even the ones that are hard to digest. There are also some great
philosophy-of-science moments, such as the doctor’s discussion of our change of
thinking about death:
“The moment of death is no longer to be considered as
the moment the heart stops, but as the moment when cerebral function ceases. In
other words: I no longer think, therefore I no longer am.” (Loc. 341)
It is a meditation on life, death, and what really
makes us who we are. When Simon’s brain activity ends, does his life end too?
Or does the heart carry on? The Heart
is a compelling read, although it contains many tangents that are perhaps
unnecessary. I think that if some of the superfluous sections were removed, it
would make a great (long) short story, or novella. Regardless, it is a very
interesting read, with many ideas that we all need to be considering as medical
science advances at a shocking pace.
I received this novel from Farrar, Straus &
Giroux and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment