Review of “The Heart of a Lover” by Lily King – a love story worthy of appreciation | books

TThe college experience is a risky business of the imagination. Overall, emotions are high, but risks are low; All of this is a great formative of an individual’s character, but it may seem a bit trivial to anyone else. In fact, reading a report on someone’s university days is certainly only a stage or two away from having to hear about the dream they had last night.

So my heart sank at first when the cover of Heart the Lover promised that our main character would soon be “drifted into a heady world of academic zeal, quick banter and noisy card games” – good grief, save me from noisy card games! But the caveat here is obviously what it always is: a good writer will make it count. So I had faith that everything would be okay, because Lily King is an exceptionally good writer. In fact, she could probably write a book-length account of her last dream, and I would still rush through it.

King is an established name in the US, and it’s time to reach a wider audience here. In her hands, the story of the college kids’ first love is vivid, poignant, and intelligent. It unfolds into a searching exploration of loss, mortality, and the inevitability of time. “It’s just a long, sweet farewell to youth,” the narrator says early on, referring to a short story she’s read. King’s novel got me straight into my heart. It hurts.

The narrator isn’t named until the end, although if you’ve read King’s previous brilliant novel, Writers & Lovers, you’ll already know her name. Heart the Lover is a companion of sorts to this book, whether as a prequel or a sequel, while also being able to stand on its own. There’s just one slightly puzzling revelation – which I won’t spoil – which may seem like a rewriting of history to fans of the book and fans, though I think most readers will be in a forgiving mood.

We begin when the narrator meets Sam, and then his best friend Yash, in her final year of college (let the academic fervor, quick banter and wild card games begin: the book’s title is a reference to one of these card games). It seems like a classic love triangle, but that’s not the angle King is most interested in, and what we get instead is a more focused, dual love story. Despite this, the book contains a rich array of background characters, which King presents with precision and care. Halfway through, there is a time jump, and the second half of the story presents middle age confronting echoes of the intensity of youth, with relationships and characters changing over time. Significantly, King is concerned not only with what we lose, but with what we gain.

The novel is full of literary references, and yes, I may have dismissed the aforementioned “academic zeal”, but it’s actually enjoyable: this is a book that loves the reading experience, and is subtle in the way certain stories and ideas powerfully influence us at certain points in our lives. “Do you know how you can remember exactly when and where you read certain books?” The narrator says. “A great novel, a truly great novel, not only captures a certain imaginative experience, it changes and intensifies the way you live your life as you read it.” King maintains a nice balance: she’s an unapologetically English major (a genre as much as it is an autobiographical feature), but her books, tightly plotted and compulsively readable, are for everyone.

The first half could be considered a ‘young adult’ book, excellent for its youthful intensity, desire and energy. It then becomes a mature novel: more exhausting, more poignant, and yet—and this is not a decision any writer could have made—hopeful. The story arc suggests gloom, but the delivery resists it. Farewell to youth, according to King, does not mean farewell to love or hope. “Isn’t love a form of hope?” the narrator asks at one point. We may feel depressed at the end of “The Lover’s Heart,” but more importantly, we do not feel discouraged.

Ruin by Rebecca White is published by Riverrun. Heart the Lover by Lily King is published by Canongate, priced £18.99. To support The Guardian, order your copy from guardianbookshop.com. Delivery fees may apply.