Two five-stars in one week?! What’s going on over here at The Gilmore Guide? Well, the reviews have been pretty few and far between this summer so I felt like giving everyone another outstanding reading option was the least I could do.
Heart, Be at Peace by Donal Ryan
Published by Viking Adult
Publication date: August 8, 2024
Genres: Book Clubs, Fiction, Contemporary, Literary, Social Issues
Bookshop
I’ve been enthralled by Irish authors for years now and one of my recent discoveries was Donal Ryan. Two years ago I read and adored his novel, The Queen of Dirt Island. His new book, Heart, Be at Peace, came out in May and it’s stunning. Set in the small Irish town of Nenegh, it’s about the collision between generations, as the young wanted more for themselves, as they should, but were left with few options when the 2008 recession took away most of the jobs. Fueled by disappointment and disillusionment they’re easy targets for drugs and crime while the older generations are introspective in their longing for simpler times.
I was waiting always I think for something to happen that would justify me to myself.
Bobby Mahon is a father and business owner whose own father was a drunken, abusive man. He was determined not to be that way himself, to be a better man for his family and his community. He watches as drugs infiltrate all ages and stages in their town, filling him with a rage that scares him. Lily is an older woman living alone, believed by many to practice witchcraft and, when younger, to supplement her income in other ‘immoral’ ways. She’s estranged from her family and doesn’t even meet her granddaughter Milly until she is 17. As grandmother’s often do, she becomes besotted with this young woman hovering on the edges of adulthood. But while Milly loves her grandmother, she loves Augie more. He’s a 20-something man who drives through town in a black Audi selling drugs and destroying lives with his three lap dogs, all boys who had once been good but have gone bad for lack of work and motivation.
These are just two of the generationally linked stories that comprise Heart, Be at Peace. Ryan introduces the older generation first, letting them weigh in on the current state of affairs from their vantage point before the young start chiming in with their lives and perspectives. Characters step into the story’s flow only to be left behind in the passing of time. Their story reappears later, now in the hands of another character to close the circle, but attentive reading is needed so as not to lose the original thread.
Thankfully, this is not a problem as Ryan’s writing is some of the most beautifully melancholic prose I’ve ever read. Stark honesty paired with compassion brings his characters fully to life as recrimination, joy, guilt, reconciliation, and a pervasive sense of grief for all that’s been lost play out on the pages. In this way Heart, Be at Peace perfectly captures all the emotions of simple people with hearts as deep as the seas that surround them.
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I loved this book as well. I had to track down a copy of The Spinning Heart which he wrote in 2012. It has all the characters from Heart, Be at Peace and uses the same format. I love Irish authors; I’m currently reading Nesting by Rousin O’Donnell.
Really?!! So this is a sequel? I want to read that book.
I have Nesting and am hoping to get to it before the end of the year.
So happy to find another Donal Ryan fan.
Yes! What should I read next? I heard that Heart is a sequel and that the first book is The Spinning Heart. Have you read that?
Yes, it is a sequel. It will make Heart a richer experience. Strange Flowers and The Queen of Dirt Island share some of the same characters. From a Liw and Quiet Sea is very moving. I DNF’d slanting of the sun at 90%. Too dark for me.
Thank you for these recommendations! I will definitely be reading more Ryan before the end of the year.