The Heart Broke in [Hardcover]

This is a big novel both physically (over 500 pages) and in terms of content. Meek isn't afraid to tackle difficult subjects - science v religion, the cost that comes with success, betrayal and forgiveness, sibling rivalry, parenthood, love, ethics... - but maintains a light touch with such heavyweight topics so that the book is always readable and fascinating.

Bec and Ritchie are the central characters - brother and sister who couldn't be more different. Former rock star and TV producer Ritchie's star might just be on the wane and he is desperate to keep hold of all the trappings of fame he has acquired - the luxury home he shares with his wife and children, his money and status. Yet with a media storm poised to break about his fifteen-year-old lover, he's on the brink of losing everything.

Bec, meanwhile, is a scientist whose research has led to a breakthrough in the quest for a malaria vaccine. She's the light side to Ritchie's darkness, yet she might just have made herself a dangerous enemy who is out for revenge.

Both characters are well-drawn and convincing, as are the minor characters that populate the story. Meek seems incredibly knowledgable about the science world, as well as TV production/media, and I was completely drawn in to the action.
I wasn't expecting this to be such a witty novel but there are moments of real comedy genius, and some brilliant asides that show what a sharp, smart writer Meek is. I loved legendary scientist Harry meeting the dogwear-designer for instance - just a wonderful set-up. Also Ritchie's hope that his young son is a school bully so that other children will fear him in the playground - such a warped hope for one's child speaks volumes about Ritchie's state of mind.

If I have a criticism it's that the book felt a bit flabby in the middle, and perhaps the plot could have been tighter here. But overall, this is a great read, very well-written, posing lots of interesting questions, and it's a book I'd recommend.

Meek came to my attention with his strange but wonderful Booker longlisted novel, The People's Act Of Love which was set in 1919 Siberia and featured a strange religious cult and a sociopathic escaped prisoner - I loved it. The Heart Broke In is totally different in setting, but does have more of Meek's enigmatic writing...

The Heart Broke In tackles the subject of sibling rivalry, primarily seen through the eyes of Ritchie Shepherd, a rock star turned TV producer, and his sister Bec a malaria researcher. Sibling rivalry might sound a small theme, but this is a big novel, and Meek takes an expansive as well as microscopic examination of the lives of Ritchie and Bec by looking through the lens of love and betrayal...

Ritchie used to be guitarist in a rock'n'roll band, Lazygods, together with his wife Karin. Now, they live in a big house with their two lovely children, and Ritchie the successful producer of an X-Factor for teens style show. Apart from production troubles, there's a hotly denied rumour going around that Ritchie has been seeing a fifteen year old. Very sad, very rock'n'roll, very of the zeitgeist. You just know that it will come back to bite him eventually.

Whilst Ritchie's life is constrained by family and job, his younger sister Bec has no such ties now. She was going out with Val, the Editor of a red-top newspaper, but when he got too serious she called it off. A medical researcher, she's a free spirit, going where her work takes her. Then she makes a discovery - finding a microscopic parasite that gives partial immunity to malaria. She infects herself - only trouble is that uncontrolled, the parasite causes spells of temporary blindness. Bec compounds her medical success by falling in love with Alex - a medical researcher making breakthroughs in stem cell treatments for cancer. Alex just happens to have been the drummer in Ritchie's first band - he still drums his fingers all the time, 'as an elaborate form of fidgeting, it helped him think.'

Science's golden couple make big news, eclipsing Ritchie, who's also taken aback by finding out that it was Karin the fans worshipped in the Lazygods. Alex has family problems of his own, he works for his Uncle Harry who is dying of cancer, and Harry is leaving everything to Alex, rather than his own son Matt who is too God-fearing for him, and this is complicated by the arrival of his layabout brother Dougie down from Glasgow on the scene. Meanwhile, Alex is desperate for a baby with Bec, and it's just not happening. It builds up so there are just too many secrets, lies and barriers to communication in Ritchie and Bec's families. The dam is going to break and they are forced to choose between love and betrayal.

I particularly enjoyed reading about Bec - she was mesmerising as a character, serene, slightly aloof in a good way, independent, and then there was the whole self-experimentation thing - foolhardy or brave? A bit of both, I'd wager. The science could have got quite difficult, but Meek has a light touch with it and although I'm not a biologist, it all felt very authentic and well-researched. The personality of Ritchie too, despite all his faults, is sympathetically drawn. He is on the verge of a mid-life crisis at the beginning of the book, and you do want to find out what's going to happen. Schadefreude, yes, but also hope that he can pull himself together.

There is a huge amount more to the brother and sister relationship - what happened to their father in particular, and Alex's family too, that I've not mentioned above. The dynamics are complicated - and reminded me somewhat of The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale, which also has a science and TV background and explores complex emotions. Both books are solid and totally gripping, full of moral dilemmas. I really enjoyed this novel. It's a big read in all senses. (9/10)

In his new book, The Heart Broke In, James Meek has created a compelling story that should have Hollywood knocking on his door. He has a great many interesting things to say about immortality, posterity, science, showbiz, the nature of fame, the power of the media, blackmail, betrayal and whether the end justifies the means.

There are many strands to the story but in essence, the driving thrust of the narrative is a moral dilemma: would you hurt someone close to you in order to save your own skin? Mr Meek's writing style has a hard edge to it that distances the reader from genuine involvement and his dialogue lacks the essential colloquialism to render it realistic. Moments of humour are few and far between. Male characters are, on the whole, well-rounded and believable but the women, particularly Bec the main female protagonist, completely fail to convince.

The fatal flaw in an otherwise interesting and disturbing read is that the heart breaks in all too infrequently. In a book about what it means to be human, there really needs to be some humanity. There is true grit here but little warmth.