---
product_id: 15445379
title: "The Spinning Heart: A Novel"
brand: "donal ryan"
price: "4090 kr"
currency: ISK
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.is/products/15445379-the-spinning-heart-a-novel
store_origin: IS
region: Iceland
---

# The Spinning Heart: A Novel

**Brand:** donal ryan
**Price:** 4090 kr
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Spinning Heart: A Novel by donal ryan
- **How much does it cost?** 4090 kr with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.is](https://www.desertcart.is/products/15445379-the-spinning-heart-a-novel)

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- donal ryan enthusiasts

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## Description

The Spinning Heart: A Novel

## Images

![The Spinning Heart: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51puNsjpoEL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐ 2.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Not surprised this was rejected by 47 publishers.
  

*by B***D on Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2014*

I purchased this book based on the first paragraph of the first chapter that was used as part of the Kindle book description. It caught my attention. It was probably the best paragraph of the book. The story is set in a small community where a building firm has closed down following the collapse of the Irish economy. Each chapter is about a different character and their response to the situation they find themselves in. I thought this would be similar to books of this style that I've previously read - we see the characters through the eyes of the narrator and as the story progresses we build up an image of each one and the story comes together. This was not like that. For a start there were far too many characters. Each chapter is one person's monologue and there is no real connection between the individual narrator and the other characters so this book is just a series of short stories, nothing more. I think the main character is meant to be Bobby but after a few chapters he only get the odd sentence devoted to him so by the end of the book you don't really care what has happened to him because he has become a distant almost forgotten character. There are the usual stereotypes in this book, the single-parent, the long suffering wife, the psychopath, the gay one etc.  There were so many chapters / characters that it just became hard work to read after a while. The narrator might fleetingly refer to some other characters but I couldn't be bothered trying to remember who was who because aside from their allotted chapter these individuals didn't  have any impact on the overall story. The last few chapters were of characters who hadn't even been mentioned prior to that, it was as if the  author needed to stretch out the story a bit which is understandable as it was only 150 pages long.Apart from a couple of people there was no real differences between the characters. As I started a new chapter, it was as if the previous character was speaking under a different name. With a few exceptions, most of them came across as small-minded, poorly educated and for some reason didn't seem to care much about there parents. Also the way they spoke was coarse and vulgar and if I didn't know Tipperary and some of the people there, this book would have left me with a very bad impression. It was doom and gloom from start to finish which was also unbelievable. Yes the economic collapse was horrendous but every character in this book reacted in the same way - hopelessness. In reality, people have reacted in all sorts of ways, some have remained positive, some have become depressed, some have been strong, some have discovered talents they didn't have, partners who haven't worked before have stepped into the breach. There was so much scope for variety around this theme and the author used none of it. I liked that this book was based around a very real and difficult era but I was disappointed that there was no story here just the monologues of 21 (I think) almost unrelated characters.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Read this book. This guy's a terrific writer.
  

*by T***T on Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2018*

I discovered this guy, Donal Ryan, from a post on Facebook. He's apparently created quite a stir in Ireland over the past few years, but I don't know if he's much known here in the USA. In any case, he is a terrific writer. THE SPINNING HEART was his first novel, back in 2012, but it took a couple more years to make it over to this side of the pond when Steerforth Press published it here. I think he now has five books out, and they've all gotten rave reviews, although I don't know if he's making a living at writing yet. I hope so, because he ought to be.THE SPINNING HEART is a series of connected stories, each one with a different narrator - a couple dozen voices - all from the same small village somewhere near Limerick. All together the stories form an intricate web that tell different parts of the same story. Set in modern times, around 2009, THE SPINNING HEART is a kind of contemporary Irish WINESBURG, OHIO. Which is a modern classic, of course, and Ryan's writing is that good. The village featured here is very insular, very smug and self-contained. One of the characters, a young woman whose toddler is kidnapped, is an outsider, called a "blow-in.""That girl whose child was taken from the creche is a blow-in, Mam says. Blow-in. That phrase is used so derisively. As if to say it's a failing to not have been born and bred here, to have settled in a place outside of the place of your birth."And that kind of prejudice is common in the village, a community racked by malicious gossip, adultery, alcoholism, and rampant unemployment during the world recession. A child is snatched from a town daycare. An old man is murdered. A prominent developer skips town with all the retirement and unemployment funds for his workers. Immigrant workers are used and tossed aside. Forget Sherwood Anderson, there are echoes of PEYTON PLACE here, but brought up to date and flavored by Ireland's financial crisis of the 2000s.This is a damn good book. READ it. I've got three more Donal Ryan books waiting. Onward. Very highly recommended for consumers of serious literature.- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Tries a bit too hard?
  

*by M***C on Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2013*

I must say that I enjoyed reading this book. I chose it because it had been nominated for a Booker Prize. I was dubious about the one-chapter-one-character at first, but I soon settled in to the story. The story unfolds quite well, and as it is set in a village, there is ample room for the chosen characters to tell their story. I loved how the contrasting views of the protagonist and his neighbours combined to build the true picture of the man.Set in a very real Ireland of today, this book is quite credible and seems to capture the mood of the country well.However, I feel that the author might be trying too hard to get the vernacular. Although some Irish people use the incorrect form of the verb to be, and it is appropriate to use it where relevant, there were times when I thought the "do be" was misplaced, not sitting quite comfortably with the character in question.  That was the only aspect of the book that jarred, but for that reason I can't give it 5 stars.

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*Product available on Desertcart Iceland*
*Store origin: IS*
*Last updated: 2026-02-25*