Heart the Lover

“Lily King is one of our great literary treasures.”—Madeline Miller

From the New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers comes an intimate and sweeping new novel of love and friendship—a journey into the heart of youth and middle age, desire and loss, and the intricate bonds that shape our lives

Our bright narrator is a college senior quietly dreaming of becoming a writer when she meets Sam and Yash, best friends and the golden boys of the English Department. Top-of-the-class Honors students, they live at the stately home of a favorite professor on sabbatical and can banter about Joyce and Fitzgerald like a game of rapid-fire tennis. The two nickname her Jordan and invite her into their magnetic world where her college experience is forever altered. As graduation approaches, the lines between love and friendship blur, and Jordan finds herself caught in a life-changing triangle.

Decades later, her writing career is thriving, but motherhood is full of challenges. When she receives unexpected news that brings the past crashing into the present, Jordan returns to a world she thought she left behind. Written with the superb wit and emotional sensitivity fans and critics have come to adore, King explores a tangled lattice of friendship, love, family and uncertainty that celebrates how we love, who we love, and all the complexity a single heart can hold.

The following was inadvertently omitted from the first printing of the hardcover edition of this book:

Author’s note: The fictional story “The Last Fall” is inspired by David Updike’s beautiful short story “Bachelor of Arts.” Many thanks to Michael Goldfinger for medical advice, and to everyone in my life for their love and kindness.

By Céline, translated by Ralph Manheim, from Journey to the End of the Night, copyright © 1934, 1952 by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Translation copyright © 1983 Ralph Manheim. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp. and Alma Classics.