A companion novel to the brilliant Writers & Lovers, this delightfully witty tale of college romance matures into midlife poignancy
T
he university experience is a risky business in fiction. Generally, the feelings are intense, but the stakes are low; it’s all very formative for the individual character, but it can feel a bit trivial to anyone else. In fact, reading an account of someone’s university days is surely only one or two stages removed from having to hear about the dream they had last night.
So my heart initially sank at Heart the Lover’s cover promise that our main character would soon be “swept into an intoxicating world of academic fervour, rapid-fire banter and raucous card games” – good grief, save me from the raucous card games! But obviously the caveat here is what it always is: a good writer will make it matter. I had faith, therefore, that everything would be all right, since Lily King is an exceptionally good writer. Indeed, she could probably write a book-length account of her most recent dream and I would still rush to read it.
King is a well-established name in the US, and it’s about time she reached a wider audience over here. In her hands, this story of first love between college kids is vivid, moving and witty. It unspools into a searching exploration of loss, mortality and the inexorability of time. “It’s just this long tender farewell to youth,” the narrator says early on, referring to a short story she has read. King’s novel got me straight in the heart. It hurt.
