Strange Heart Beating
 | |
| Author | Eli Goldstone |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Literary fiction |
| Published | May 4, 2017 (Granta Books) |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 208pp |
| ISBN | 1783783494 |
| OCLC | 992450880 |
Strange Heart Beating is the debut novel of Eli Goldstone, published in 2017 by Granta Books.[1] The title of the novel comes from W.B. Yeats' 1923 sonnet "Leda and the Swan".[2] The protagonist of the novel, Seb, travels to Latvia to learn more about his wife, Leda, recently deceased in a freak accident involving a swan. The inspiration for the novel came to the author while pursuing a creative writing masters' degree when she took a trip to Latvia, where along with neighbouring Lithuania she has ancestral links.[1] Goldstone has characterised writing the novel as her way of dealing with her negative obsession with death.[1]
In a review for The Financial Times, Catherine Taylor said that the novel "with its savage yet comforting undercurrent of a swan as an emblem of the soul reborn, is an ardent examination of loss".[2] John Harding called out the story in The Daily Mail for being "a variation of a well-worn plot" that "grows increasingly bonkers" but concluded that "it’s an enjoyable trip, wryly amusing and touching".[3] In The Herald, reviewer Alastair Mabbott found the novel's "bleak" tone "often makes it hard to persevere with".[4] It was featured in The Guardian's 150-strong "Not the Booker prize 2017" longlist,[5] but did not make the 5-novel shortlist.[6]
References
- ^ a b c Bausells, Marta (June 1, 2017). "Eli Goldstone: 'I can't think of many great books that aren't funny'". The Guardian.
- ^ a b Taylor, Catherine (May 12, 2017). "Strange Heart Beating by Eli Goldstone — the intimacy myth". The Financial Times.
- ^ Harding, John (May 4, 2017). "LITERARY FICTION". Mail Online.
- ^ Mabbott, Alastair (May 7, 2017). "Strange Heart Beating and other paperback reviews". The Herald.
- ^ Jordinson, Sam (July 31, 2017). "Not the Booker prize 2017: please vote on the long, long longlist". The Guardian.
- ^ Jordinson, Sam (August 8, 2017). "Not the Booker shortlist 2017 revealed: let's get reading!". The Guardian.
External links
- "Leda and the Swan", the W.B. Yeats sonnet, at PoetryFoundation.com