The Gilmore Guide to Books

Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Title
    • Reviews by Genre
  • Podcast
  • Policies
    • Review Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy

Crooked Heart

August 5, 2015

Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans
Published by Harper
Publication date: July 28th 2015
four-stars

crooked heart

 

Noel is a ten-year-old who has been living with his godmother in London, until she dies. He moves in with her nephew and his wife but they are not well suited for a child of Noel’s personality and use the excuse of the impending war to send him to the suburbs to live with a foster family. Vera Sedge is the frazzled woman who sees Noel less as a child to be helped and more as a meal ticket when she takes him in. As World War II ramps up around them, author Lissa Evans follows the unusual Noel and Vee in Crooked Heart, as they try and make sense of each other and of life in wartime London.

Having been raised by a strong-minded and crotchety former suffragette, Noel is a child of distinct tastes, intelligence and opinions. Not surprisingly this does not endear him to the adults around him or, for that matter, to the children. For Vee, a hapless woman who spends more time cooking up schemes to make money than she does working, he is the epitome of everyone who has held her down and made her life difficult. That is until her latest venture, going to door-to-door to collect for war charities that don’t exist, proves to be more than her flustered brain can handle and Noel steps in (for a cut of the profits) to provide pathos as an orphan. Only then is he a person of interest, although still annoyingly precocious.

Vee and Noel and the thoughts that percolate in both their brains are the anchor of Crooked Heart but Evans doesn’t stop there in mixing in additional characters that contribute to the sweet and sour feel of this novel. Many of Vee’s actions are due to the guilt she feels about her son, Donald, because of a heart murmur she somehow feels is her fault. What Vee sees as tragic Evans quickly makes clear is a lazy oaf who uses his heart murmur both to get out of work and to earn cash by standing in for men who don’t want to be drafted. It is only when his con goes awry and puts Vee in more danger than her own scams that she sees him clearly for the first time.

Vee stood and looked at him, this large man in her kitchen who had never learned—never been taught—the meaning of obligation, and with a slow surge of despair that was almost like nausea she realized that the calamities of the day, every last one of them, had simply been lying in wait for her; not the actions of cruel fate but a series of tripwires lovingly laid by herself.

There are so many WWII novels out there that it seems almost impossible to find a new perspective but Crooked Heart does. Evans writes with honesty about off-kilter characters at a time when the world seemed to be clearly divided between villains and heroes. In the same way she highlights the small absurdities of their lives during a time when normal has no meaning. That she imbues the quirky and somewhat unlikable Vee and Noel with humor and insight as they muddle through these days, means that even if their hearts are crooked, they are real and we are left caring about them.

four-stars

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
  • Same Genre
  • 4 Star Books
Ruins of Lace
The Ruins of Lace
October Mini-Reviews
park avenue
Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen
judging a book
Judging a Book by Its Lover: A Field Guide to the Hearts and Minds of Readers Everywhere
City on Fire
farewell dorothy parker
Farewell, Dorothy Parker
Seating Arrangements
Seating Arrangements
we
We Are Not Like Them: A Novel
cold cases
The Book of Cold Cases
we never asked for wings
We Never Asked for Wings
tender
Tender: A Novel
spindle
A Spindle Splintered by Alix Harrow
one
One Two Three by Laurie Frankel
edgar
Edgar & Lucy: A Novel
island
The Island of Missing Trees

9 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Harper, historical fiction, London, WWII

Comments

  1. Sarah's Book Shelves says

    August 5, 2015 at 4:43 am

    I heard someone raving about this one on a podcast recently! I’m not sure I’ll have time to get to it, but sounds like it was a nice surprise for you.

    Reply
  2. crimeworm says

    August 5, 2015 at 7:18 am

    Great review! Had this one for a while (I’m in the UK) and your excellent review has finally spurred me on to read it, finally. I mainly – but not exclusively – review crime on my blog, and at ShinyNewBooks.com.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      August 5, 2015 at 7:13 pm

      Thanks for stopping by! I hope you like the book- come back and let me know!

      Reply
      • crimeworm says

        August 6, 2015 at 11:20 am

        I will! And I think I’ll love it. You’re a great writer btw.

        Reply
        • Catherine says

          August 6, 2015 at 2:11 pm

          Thank you- you’re too kind! My only goal is to help people find great books to read so if my writing helps even better!

          Reply
  3. Shannon @ River City Reading says

    August 5, 2015 at 2:42 pm

    I have to admit that I’ve been drawn to the cover for this but had no idea what it was about. I’m a bit of a sucker for unlikable, crotchety characters, so this could be a story that works for me.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      August 5, 2015 at 7:13 pm

      Quick read as well, Shannon! You’ll knock it out in an afternoon.

      Reply
  4. Andi says

    August 8, 2015 at 2:16 pm

    A huge cover winner for me, but like Shannon I didn’t really know what this one was about. Beautiful review. The descriptor “sweet and sour” really hit home with me. Sounds like a great book!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Goodreads
  • Instagram

Save time and subscribe via email

No time to keep checking for new reviews? Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. No spam!

Bookshop

Currently Reading

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
by Emily Nagoski
The Dutch House
The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
by Adrienne Brodeur

goodreads.com

Affiliate Disclosure

I’m an affiliate for Bookshop. If you click on a link that takes you to their site and make a purchase I’ll earn a small fee, which goes towards the costs of maintaining this site. Your support is appreciated. Thank you!

Archives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2025

Copyright © 2025 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in