Will I love Heart the Lover?

I received this book as part of Parnassus’ First Editions Club and although I’ve heard much about Lily King over the years, I had not yet read one of her books. Now I want to read them all. “Heart the Lover” was that rare combination of smart and sentimental, with beautiful fully drawn characters, lyrical prose, literary references, and a narrative arc that followed a transformative college friendship into middle age. A bonus is that it has one of those endings that is at once inevitable and surprising. A very satisfying and thought-provoking novel!

Lily King is the master of emotional gut punches! As I was reading, these characters completely came alive in my head, as if they'd become my friends. By the end I was equal parts devastated and hopeful, and now I want to reread Writers and Lovers (her first book about the same protagonist).

Oh, I adore Lily King's writing -- particularly her sparkling dialogue, which makes me want to work on my own (both in writing and in life :) I had the most wonderful day in my cozy red chair reading this book . . . I was weeping by the end. It made me want to hold all my loved ones close, and to remember all the various forms of love I've been lucky enough to experience throughout my life! As soon as I finished, I also went to find my copy of King's Writers & Lovers, which is connected to… show more.