- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Viking; First Edition edition (2 Sep 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0670887706
- ISBN-13: 978-0670887705
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.5 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,555,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The fatal love of crooked hearts and an ambiguous bond of brotherhood; these are the central themes of Helen Dunmore's new novel, With Your Crooked Heart. Two brothers, Paul and Johnnie, are born over a decade apart in an East London tenement. Sworn to protect and nurture his brother, Paul lifts them out of an indifferent background to a life of wealth and status through dubious land development deals. As a result "Johnnie'd had what Paul never had: he'd had a father and a brother, all rolled into one, and a future that someone else had already paid for." But with his life mortgaged to his ever-loving brother, the impossibly beautiful Johnnie becomes as fatally compelled by the possibilities of failure as his sibling is by success.
Louise marries Paul, and soon discovers that his "passion of protectiveness" for his brother brings Johnnie into the heart of their marriage. "Only one time, and that was enough. Paul stood in for Johnnie in all sorts of ways, and Johnnie stood in for Paul." When their daughter Anna is born, Louise attempts to silence the clamorous burden of her secret with drink, beginning a slow progression of loss that drags into its wake her husband, her daughter and her self-esteem. "I could look back and show you each step of the way that's got us here": Louise maps her own journey to dereliction, but the compass of all their relationships points in uncharted directions when Louise is presented with one final chance to save Johnnie from himself.
Dunmore's success here, as in her other novels, is her ability to combine sublime prose with a swift and sure- footed narrative. With Your Crooked Heart fuses the alchemy of poetry and plot that have justly become the hallmark of her writing with an understated, emphatic study of alcoholism, adult self-delusion and the emotional relativity of all relationships in a world where "not being able to trust yourself is the biggest thrill of all." --Rachel Holmes
About the Author
Helen Dunmore has published five novels with Viking and Penguin: Zennor in Darkness, which won the McKitterick Prize; Burning Bright, which was serialised on Woman's Hour, A Spell of Winter which won the Orange Prize; Talking to the Dead; and Your Blue-Eyed Boy. Helen Dunmore is also a poet, children's novelist and short story writer; her collected short stories, Love of Fat Men, was also published by Viking and Penguin. She was born in Yorkshire and now lives in Bristol.
Product Description
This Dickensenian story is of two brothers who come from nowhere and want everything. When Paul marries Louise, Johnnie is part of the contract, while their daughter Anna is entangled in it from birth. When Johnnie has to get out of the country, Louise goes with him. This has been her story too, right from the beginning.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Every day for a month now the sun has shone, and every morning you've brought the same things out into the garden. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Every day for a month now the sun has shone, and every morning you've brought the same things out into the garden. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I love all Dunmore's books but this is one of her best. The story of two very different brothers whose lives intersect with that of one woman who, at different times, loves both. Cool and precise prose and a marvellous ending. Anyone contemplating plastic surgery should definitely read this first!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Though Burning Bright remains my favorite, this haunting novel is a must for any Helen Dunmore fans. It is about parenthood, alcohol, fate, the creation of our own destiny and that of others, and, as with all of Dunmore's books, about secrets. She writes with a poet's precision and exquisite sense of language, always.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book starts where you least expect it, and finishes by tipping over the edge - just when you have it all thought out. The language is polished, precise and pristine and the characters are well drawn. A story of desire and children.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Your Crooked Heart
A truly compelling novel, but from the start you know that one of the brothers will come to a sticky end. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Suzannah
A Really good Book
I've had this book for a while and now I can't understand why it's taken me so long to read it. I suppose in the initial few pages I found the characters difficult to get in... Read more
Published on 24 April 2007 by Scooby Doo
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