Mend the Living | 
so-soI finished it, but skimmed quite a bit. I don‘t know what it was, perhaps the run-on sentences or maybe it was too detailed about things I wasn‘t interested in. I really liked the premise, a 24 hour window onto an organ transplant, but it just didn‘t captivate me. Disappointing because I was looking forward to it.
Into the donation bag it goes! (Pun intended!) 😝
Why buy 1 when you can buy 2? Going out on a limb - not read Kerangal before, but I suspect I may like her writing.
pickThis book gutted me. Twenty-four hours in the life —and death, and life again — of a heart that begins with the fatal accident of Simon and ends with its rebirth inside the chest of Claire. Plus the stories of those who interact with it along the way. Although some of the passages wander a bit too much into the weeds of the extraneous characters, the writing is breathtakingly gorgeous. A definite pick.
#LilithJuly #Heartbeat
This novel is so unique.... Some of the longest sentences of any book I've ever read, but WOW are those sentences gorgeous.
The MC is an actual physical heart of a young surfer, his organ treated as the 'protagonist' of the story. As we see his life and the life of those around him destroyed, we see his heart bring life to another. This beautifully translated story is about the nature of grief and the human capacity to love.
so-soThe translation was beautiful. Got lost on the story line in a few parts. Also felt like the beginning took a long time to set up and then resolved too quickly at the end.
This has been on my TBR for the longest time??? Has anyone read it??? #SeptemberDanes In the span of 24hrs, a life will be lost and a new life will begin...#crucifyMyHeart
Day 10 of the RiotGrams Challenge:
Book Deserving More Readers
Maylis de Kerangal‘s novel, translated into English by Sam Taylor, received critical acclaim in France and is the riveting story of a heart transplant. It illuminates the inner lives of the patients, parents, doctors, and nurses that are affected over the 24 hours it takes the heart to travel from donor to recipient. Highly recommend.
@bookriot #riotgrams #bookdeservingmorereaders
pickThe Heart by Maylis de Kerangal, translated by Sam Taylor, is the story of a heart transplant, but really it is more about the people surrounding the situation and their individual stories. As seen on The Readers Podcast summer reading longlist, who knows, maybe they'll select it. I decided to just read those I hadn't read.
Grandiloquent! what a word.
Today's read...only a few pages in and I'm mesmerized. I have never read anything quite like this.
Questions for tonight‘s book club
“No sooner was she twenty-three years old than she was twenty-eight; no sooner twenty-eight than thirty-one: time is speeding past her while she examines her existence with a cold, deadly gaze that takes aim at the different areas of her life, one by one...”
{sigh}
Super excited to read this for February‘s ExLibrisTacoma book club with @Sweettartlaura & @AWahle !!!
pickI found this completely riveting. Taking place in a 24 hour period, the story follows the process of a heart transplant. And while the medical procedures were fascinating to learn about, it was the inner lives of the patients, parents, doctors, and nurses that really had me engrossed. So many facets of the journey are explored. It reads almost like a thriller, with the pace picking up as the clock is ticking to get the heart to the recipient.
I have been laid up for a week with a terrible virus and have felt too crappy to read. But I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and felt better enough today to read some. This book is fascinating in that it follows a heart through the transplant process through the eyes of the families and doctors involved. The writing is excellent, vivid, and very unique. There are entire pages comprised of one long sentence. So far, so good.
pickThis was between a pick and a meh for me. The subject matter is compelling, and the narrative has transcendent moments, but it is also a little too 'experimental' in structure, with way too many rambling digressions into irrelevant thoughts, moments, etc. I found myself skimming a little too often. For a short book, this novel felt overly long. Still, the focus on the 24 hours prior to a heart transplant makes this a worthwhile read.
Isn't this a gorgeous cover?
#TBRtemptation post 2! This has been a huge hit in France. On a Sunday morning three teenage boys going surfing. Driving home, they get into an accident where one of them goes through the windshield. Taken to a hospital, he's pronounced brain-dead though his heart keeps beating. This book looks at the 24 hours surrounding his heart being transplanted into a woman on the brink of death, and how all involved deal with it. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎
Up next. British title: Mend The Living. Been looking forward to this one! Told within 24 hour period.
Just heard a wonderful review of this French film, on my favorite movie podcast..... I had no idea they had made a film adaptation of this book! ..... I loved this beautiful, quiet, moving novel..... I just hope that one of my local movie theaters shows this 🤞🎬
I had to think about this prompt for a while. 😂 It's hard to figure out which books have #muscles in the title or on the cover. 👐🏼👅#aprilbookshowers
pick#day24 #17booklove #heartinthetitle Some of the longest sentences of any book I've ever read, but WOW are those sentences gorgeous! It's so unique, as it follows the actual physical heart of a young surfer, and his organ becomes the driving force of the novel. As his young life and the life of those around him is destroyed, we see his heart bring life to another. Beautifully translated, it touches on the nature of grief and our capacity to love.
pickJust started reading #MendTheLiving and already entranced by it. It's the story of a heart - a heart that's located in the brain-dead body of a young man.
pickLoved this book! The prose was so beautifully written and so "in the moment." Great read!
Fits with one of my goals to read more books in translation. But this book also appeals for its bigger issues: organ donation, life and death, grief, parenthood. Beginning of first long sentence in photo.
pickFinished his one this morning while everyone was still sleeping. It was slow going at first, but very touching at the end. I wish I could read it in the original French.
A friend of mine, a coworker, was killed in the line of duty. Thankfully, his parents decided to donate his organs. His parents have been blessed to meet the people whose lives have been saved and significantly improved by the organs they received from my friend. This one line from The Heart really sums up, to me anyway, why family should be at peace with organ donation.
It's hard to see but that little brown thing on the left is a dog squeezed between me and the couch. She's in heaven, hiding beneath a blanket and me. Time to finish this book and call it my 106th for 2016!
Reading in my quiet room tonight while my husband plays video games in the living room. I love having a separate room to go to and be still and quiet. #readingroom #shutupimreading #nothingbutabook #quote #bookclubbook
My book club, Conway Avid Readers, picked The Heart by Maylis de Kerangal as our December book. Diving into it finally. #bookclub #centralarkansasbookclub #conwayavidreaders #avidreader #maylisdekerangal #theheart
"Marianne and Sean lower their eyes, planted like stakes in [Remige's] office doorway, wordless... they themselves are overwhelmed by what they've just done... "donor", "don-ate", "aban-don", the words clang together in the hollow of their eardrums, bore in one after the other."
pickThis book is such an achievement. To write so clearly about such an emotive subject (organ transplants) without any unnecessary drama or sentimentality is a joy to behold. Not a wasted word, not an unnecessary perspective. Beautiful.
My #firstlitsypost was 5 months ago! I'd just finished Mend the Living & was excited to share. It follows the immediate aftermath of the death of a young surfer "...nothing has ever seemed more violent, more complex than coming to sit beside this woman so they can delve together into this fragile zone of language where death announces itself, so they can go forward into it, together." #booktober And thanks to @Yossarian my first ever follower ?
pickPerfect time of day to finish. Loved this book with its bittersweet ending. Highly recommend!
Anyone who does call shifts knows this feeling!
As an ICU nurse I deal with a lot of death and grief so I'm very interested to see how those difficult issues are addressed in this novel.
pickThis book is a beautifully written look at what happens when the heart of a young man is donated to save the life of another. It is obvious that Kerangal did her research as every step of the process is marvelously detailed and weaved in a complex story surrounding the donated heart ❤️❤️❤️
"... because Juliette - Juliette was Simon's heart." ❤️❤️❤️
Testing out my new glider chair in my reading nook. Loving it so far! ❤️📚
Rough days call for carbs and a good book. Now I just have to decide if I want to work off the calories on the dreadmill or just keep reading... 🤔🤔🤔
THIS. This right here. Medical-ese is so efficient, yet so cold. This speaks to me. 💉
This is not the whole first sentence. It continues for another quarter page. That has to be a record or something. It was, at least, a very beautiful sentence. 💜
