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leafingthroughlife's review against another edition
4.0
As Jill Dawson's The Tell-Tale Heart begins, we meet Patrick Robson, a professor and philanderer who has just had the good fortune to have a successful heart transplant. As he recovers, he becomes transfixed not only by his donor, Andrew Beamish's life, but with the more distant history of Drew's ancestors, farm laborers and shoemakers who were implicated in the Littleport Riots of 1816. As Patrick rediscovers the life he had been in danger of losing, the stories of Drew Beamish and Willie Beamiss entwine with his own, in a way that is distinctly difficult to explain but which make for a compelling novel.
Dawson's flawed characters are ordinary, at best, but on the whole generally unlikeable, yet she portrays them in a gentle, sympathetic way that allows readers to look past their unpleasant surfaces and understand their hearts. In fact, her male narrators are so utterly convincing that, at times, it's easy to forget that the author is a woman. Patrick is a prickly sort, a womanizer who had a child with another woman while still married to his wife. He's curious, but not terribly sentimental about the origins of his newly acquired heart. He's grateful with a sense of not deserving a new lease on life. He doesn't believe all the hype about a new heart changing his preferences or his personality. The surgery and its aftermath are well handled, in that, while that Patrick doesn't change utterly, it's obvious he's going through something profound that's working a slow, realistic change in him. He's discovering things about his new life that he never bothered to consider in his old and finally seeing his past from a perspective other than his own.
Drew, the heart's donor, is a sexually frustrated miscreant of sorts who just lost his father to a farming accident and is attempting to romance his much older teacher. He's haunted by the story of his distant ancestor who was caught up in the Littleport Riots of 1816, whose story Dawson also weaves into her novel. He's definitely not a very lovable character in his own right, but as his world crumbles a little more each day under the hopelessness of a future eking out a living in the Fens just like his father and his father's father and so on, even he becomes a character that we can understand and even relate to as he fails to outpace the frustration that pursues him that even he can hardly put into words.
The Tell-Tale Heart is no warm, fuzzy sentimental story about a heart that makes its way from tragedy to renewal, rather it is a much more penetrating look at interconnectedness between a boy and his forbear, between a man and the boy whose heart gives him a chance to carve out a more meaningful life. It's a story about patterns repeating, about love that dooms and love that saves. The Tell-Tale Heart takes aim at the heart's ability, both literal and figurative, to sustain us, and it definitely hits the mark.
Dawson's flawed characters are ordinary, at best, but on the whole generally unlikeable, yet she portrays them in a gentle, sympathetic way that allows readers to look past their unpleasant surfaces and understand their hearts. In fact, her male narrators are so utterly convincing that, at times, it's easy to forget that the author is a woman. Patrick is a prickly sort, a womanizer who had a child with another woman while still married to his wife. He's curious, but not terribly sentimental about the origins of his newly acquired heart. He's grateful with a sense of not deserving a new lease on life. He doesn't believe all the hype about a new heart changing his preferences or his personality. The surgery and its aftermath are well handled, in that, while that Patrick doesn't change utterly, it's obvious he's going through something profound that's working a slow, realistic change in him. He's discovering things about his new life that he never bothered to consider in his old and finally seeing his past from a perspective other than his own.
Drew, the heart's donor, is a sexually frustrated miscreant of sorts who just lost his father to a farming accident and is attempting to romance his much older teacher. He's haunted by the story of his distant ancestor who was caught up in the Littleport Riots of 1816, whose story Dawson also weaves into her novel. He's definitely not a very lovable character in his own right, but as his world crumbles a little more each day under the hopelessness of a future eking out a living in the Fens just like his father and his father's father and so on, even he becomes a character that we can understand and even relate to as he fails to outpace the frustration that pursues him that even he can hardly put into words.
The Tell-Tale Heart is no warm, fuzzy sentimental story about a heart that makes its way from tragedy to renewal, rather it is a much more penetrating look at interconnectedness between a boy and his forbear, between a man and the boy whose heart gives him a chance to carve out a more meaningful life. It's a story about patterns repeating, about love that dooms and love that saves. The Tell-Tale Heart takes aim at the heart's ability, both literal and figurative, to sustain us, and it definitely hits the mark.
hisdarkmaterials's review against another edition
4.0
I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I felt I would when I was about half way through. Lots of different little themes running alongside each other in this novel. I LOVED the historical chapter but was then quite put out that it was just a one off...seemed a bit pointless as much of the facts of that story were told in Drews flashback. Good writing, good characters, a little thin on plot but overall a strong novel.
loriheim's review against another edition
1.0
I really did not like this book at all. I guess I just didn't get it. The characters were just annoying and not likeable at all.
stacyroth's review against another edition
3.0
I received an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.
Patrick is a 50-year-old, womanizing professor. He has been given 6 months to live, but after a 16-year-old boy dies in a motorcycle accident, he is given a heart transplant and a second chance at life. As he recovers, Patrick is no longer interested in his old life and seeks to find information about the boy whose heart he received.
The book kept trying to insinuate that Patrick's changing interests could be caused by muscle memory of the heart he received. However, it seemed more like getting a second chance at life was a wake-up call for him not to continue the way he had been living.
The book goes back and forth between Patrick's story and those of Drew Beamish, whose heart he received, and Willie Beamiss, Drew's ancestor from the early 1800s.
The book was interesting at parts and seemed to drag on at other parts. Overall, I liked the book but would not recommend it as a must-read.
Patrick is a 50-year-old, womanizing professor. He has been given 6 months to live, but after a 16-year-old boy dies in a motorcycle accident, he is given a heart transplant and a second chance at life. As he recovers, Patrick is no longer interested in his old life and seeks to find information about the boy whose heart he received.
The book kept trying to insinuate that Patrick's changing interests could be caused by muscle memory of the heart he received. However, it seemed more like getting a second chance at life was a wake-up call for him not to continue the way he had been living.
The book goes back and forth between Patrick's story and those of Drew Beamish, whose heart he received, and Willie Beamiss, Drew's ancestor from the early 1800s.
The book was interesting at parts and seemed to drag on at other parts. Overall, I liked the book but would not recommend it as a must-read.
booktwitcher23's review against another edition
4.0
For a short book, this novel raised many issues around transplantation and the effects on the recipient and the donor's family. However, the parts I liked best were the history of the fenland riots.
missjackieoh's review against another edition
3.0
The Tell-Tale Heart by Jill Dawson was a strange book for me. Never in my life has a book neither been good or bad, and not mediocre. I know that doesn't make sense, but I have a feeling that this review is not going to make sense; much like my feelings for this book. I felt so contradicting throughout the whole book.
The main character, Patrick, is a fifty year old man who had sudden heart disease and was given 6 months to live. An unfortunate motorcycle accident involving a 16 year old boy, Andrew Beamish, allows Patrick to have the life saving heart transplant he needs. The whole story is basically Patrick finding out who his donor is and then going on a journey both emotionally and physically. I felt this story was pretty much riddled with philosophy, something I am not fond of.
The book follows Patrick, who is really unlikeable even in his most likeable moments, as he goes through the aftermath of his transplant. We also get to see the unfortunate last year of Andrews life, which had some shocking twists in it.
I had a hard time deciding what rating to give this book. It was both enjoyable and unmemorable at the same time. Its definitely an interesting concept; Do we take on aspects of our donors personalities?
The main character, Patrick, is a fifty year old man who had sudden heart disease and was given 6 months to live. An unfortunate motorcycle accident involving a 16 year old boy, Andrew Beamish, allows Patrick to have the life saving heart transplant he needs. The whole story is basically Patrick finding out who his donor is and then going on a journey both emotionally and physically. I felt this story was pretty much riddled with philosophy, something I am not fond of.
The book follows Patrick, who is really unlikeable even in his most likeable moments, as he goes through the aftermath of his transplant. We also get to see the unfortunate last year of Andrews life, which had some shocking twists in it.
I had a hard time deciding what rating to give this book. It was both enjoyable and unmemorable at the same time. Its definitely an interesting concept; Do we take on aspects of our donors personalities?
abookishaffair's review
3.0
In "The Tell-Tale Heart," Patrick gets a new lease on life after he has a heart transplant. Patrick is a professor who has spent his life passionately studying and perhaps neglecting his personal life. His family life isn't great and being able to essentially get another chance has really made him think about previous choices and whether or not they were the right ones. This book also explores whether or not the heart has some sort of internal memory. Not only is Patrick the focus of this story but Drew, the teenaged donor, and one of his ancestors become a part of the story as well.
This story felt very experimental in a lot of ways. The connections between the three main characters are tenuous and we do not really get to see the overall connection between all three of the characters until the very end of the book. I wish that we would have been able to see a little bit more of a connection sooner as I think it would have helped me to connect with both the stories and the characters a little quicker. While Patrick's story is interspersed throughout the book, Willie and Drew's stories are packed into one section for each character pretty much. All three of these characters are very different but they are connected to some degree in the way that they see the world, which is sort of cool.
I did really enjoy the writing in this book. There are some really interesting and good bits of writing in this book that kept me reading. Overall, I liked the writing and would try another book by this author but I would have liked more of a connection to the story.
This story felt very experimental in a lot of ways. The connections between the three main characters are tenuous and we do not really get to see the overall connection between all three of the characters until the very end of the book. I wish that we would have been able to see a little bit more of a connection sooner as I think it would have helped me to connect with both the stories and the characters a little quicker. While Patrick's story is interspersed throughout the book, Willie and Drew's stories are packed into one section for each character pretty much. All three of these characters are very different but they are connected to some degree in the way that they see the world, which is sort of cool.
I did really enjoy the writing in this book. There are some really interesting and good bits of writing in this book that kept me reading. Overall, I liked the writing and would try another book by this author but I would have liked more of a connection to the story.
sheryl_reads's review
The story jumped too much, but also didn’t seem to go anywhere. I got about half way in and realised I was still none the wiser as to what story I was reading
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