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Award-winning writer Kevin Barry’s first novel set in America, a savagely funny and achingly romantic tale of young lovers on the lam in 1890s Montana. October 1891. A hard winter approaches across the Rocky Mountains. The city of Butte, Montana is rich on copper mines and rampant with vice and debauchery among a hard-living crowd of immigrant Irish workers. Here we find Tom Rourke, a young poet and ballad-maker of the town, but also a doper, a drinker, and a fearsome degenerate. Just as he feels his life is heading nowhere fast, Polly Gillespie arrives in town as the new bride of the extremely devout mine captain Long Anthony Harrington. A thunderbolt love affair takes spark between Tom and Polly and they strike out west on a stolen horse, moving through the badlands of Montana and Idaho, and briefly an idyll of wild romance perfects itself. But a posse of deranged Cornish gunmen are soon in hot pursuit and closing in fast. With everything to lose and the safety and anonymity of San Francisco still a distant speck on their horizon, the choices they make will haunt them for the rest of their lives. In this love story for the ages—lyrical, profane and propulsive—Kevin Barry has once again demonstrated himself to be a master stylist, an unrivalled humourist, and a true poet of the human heart.
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Review of “The Heart in Winter”
By: Kevin Barry
Available July 9/2024
Check it Out on Goodreads!!
Disclaimer: Please note that I received a Digital ARC from NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. (I have also asked for a Physical ARC, in hopes I can update this review as I struggled to give it 4 stars)
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
“The Heart in Winter” by Kevin Barry is a gripping and atmospheric tale set in the rugged Rocky Mountains in October 1891. Barry pulls you into the rough-and-tumble city of Butte, Montana, filled with vice and debauchery among Irish immigrant workers. The story follows Tom Rourke, a young poet who is also a drinker and degenerate, whose life takes a wild turn when he meets Polly Gillespie, the new bride of a devout mine captain. Their forbidden love affair sends them fleeing west on a stolen horse, pursued by a posse of deranged Cornish gunmen.
Barry’s writing is both lyrical and raw, painting vivid scenes and creating intense emotions. The romance between Tom and Polly is beautifully depicted, and the tension of their escape keeps you hooked. The choices they make and the consequences that follow are deeply impactful.
That said, it took me a while to get used to Barry’s unique writing style, which made it a bit tough to stay focused at times. Plus, the ARC copy I read had some formatting issues on my Kindle, which was a bit distracting.
Despite these hiccups, “The Heart in Winter” is a captivating love story that shows off Kevin Barry’s talent for storytelling. It’s a different kind of book, but definitely an enjoyable one. If you like historical fiction with a poetic twist, this is a great read.
Get it at…
0Review of “The Heart in Winter”
By: Kevin Barry
Available July 9/2024
Check it Out on Goodreads!!
Disclaimer: Please note that I received a Digital ARC from NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. (I have also asked for a Physical ARC, in hopes I can update this review as I struggled to give it 4 stars)
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
“The Heart in Winter” by Kevin Barry is a gripping and atmospheric tale set in the rugged Rocky Mountains in October 1891. Barry pulls you into the rough-and-tumble city of Butte, Montana, filled with vice and debauchery among Irish immigrant workers. The story follows Tom Rourke, a young poet who is also a drinker and degenerate, whose life takes a wild turn when he meets Polly Gillespie, the new bride of a devout mine captain. Their forbidden love affair sends them fleeing west on a stolen horse, pursued by a posse of deranged Cornish gunmen.
Barry’s writing is both lyrical and raw, painting vivid scenes and creating intense emotions. The romance between Tom and Polly is beautifully depicted, and the tension of their escape keeps you hooked. The choices they make and the consequences that follow are deeply impactful.
That said, it took me a while to get used to Barry’s unique writing style, which made it a bit tough to stay focused at times. Plus, the ARC copy I read had some formatting issues on my Kindle, which was a bit distracting.
Despite these hiccups, “The Heart in Winter” is a captivating love story that shows off Kevin Barry’s talent for storytelling. It’s a different kind of book, but definitely an enjoyable one. If you like historical fiction with a poetic twist, this is a great read.
Get it at…
0this was unexpectedly gorgeous once i got into the flow of the writing style.
The Heart in Winter follows Tom Rourke, a drunkard and doper, who is struggling with finding meaning in his life. suicidal and in debt, he meets a newly married Polly Gillespie and they swiftly engage in an affair. soon after their meeting, they head west in search of San Francisco to live out their days in love, until a group of gunmen track them down and take Polly with them.
this book is raw, crass, and at times heartfelt, and begs the question: what will we sacrifice in the pursuit of our deepest desires?
“But why look back is what she thinks. If she looked back she’d be eaten whole and alive by the past.”
4.5
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