This is my second Sunjeev Sahota novel as I have previously read The Spoiled Heart. For me, Sahota is an author unique in his ability to twist the lens between the painfully intimate and the grand sweeping novel. The Spoiled Heart is unashamedly political but never polemical,. Set in Sheffield and told through the intersection of personal tragedy and a union election, the novel manages to question the tension between identity and class in its dissection of a modern and divided Britain. Sahota is a very strong writer and someone with a good ear for a turn of phrase but The Spoiled Heart is really notable in how you read it with a clear sense of the narrative's stand point and yet there's an empathy and humanity given to every character on the divide. This is a deft and artful novel when it comes to speaking around the philosophical questions that define our current 'culture wars' and manage to give nuance to every perspective.

The Spoiled Heart by Sunjeev Sahota is a compelling story that looks at a number of social and cultural issues but is basically a very absorbing narrative, full of great characters with a surprise or two for good measure!
Set in the industrial heartland of Sheffield, long-serving trade unionist Nayan is hoping to stand for election as the next leader of the union and seems to have the support of his colleagues but then a new candidate enters the process. Nayan is initially shocked but is convinced by his supporters that he should win comfortably. The campaign begins.

The main characters in this book bring dark backstories holding them back from being honest and open with each other; Helen and her son Brandon have been through quite a lot which Nayan struggles with.

This is an excellent book which I would have no hesitation recommending to other readers.

'The Spoiled Heart' is a complex, layered, devastating novel which explores unspeakable tragedy and grief alongside trade union politics and the intersection of race and class in Britain today.

What exactly is at the heart of 'The Spoiled Heart'? It is a book which treats every character, every story with such nuance and subtlety and constantly surprises us by offering a different angle that it can be hard at first to take in the scope of Sunjeev Sahota's of writing. But arguably it is Nayan Olak who is the real centre of the novel: a senior union official who has worked his way up through the ranks from the shop floor and is now running to be General Secretary. He faces an unexpected election opponent in the form of Megha Sharma, the union's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion official who comes from a far more privileged background; while Megha's politics focus more on racial justice, Nayan places more emphasis on class-based solidarity. These debates run through the whole of the novel and while initially we see things exclusively from Nayan's perspective, Megha's point-of-view is explored with far greater empathy and insight as the story progresses.

The novel is also deeply concerned with Nayan's past, particularly the deaths of his mother and young son in a fire decades before, as well as his troubled relationship with his abusive father Pyara, suffering from dementia and Parkinson's, and his attempts to begin a relationship with Helen Fletcher who has returned to their hometown of Chesterfield with her adult son Brandon after many years away in London.

All of this is seen through the prism of the Nathan Zuckerman or Nick Carraway-style narrator, Sajjan, who was Nayan's childhood friend and is now a writer. As Sajjan gets to know Nayan, he recounts the story from Nayan's point of view, but also incorporates other perspectives where Nayan is either blind to the truth or wilfully deceiving himself. Sahota's structuring of the novel is highly assured, as different truths and secrets are gradually revealed - right up to the final pages - which often change our understanding of what has gone before.

So this is a masterful novel which asks important topical state-of-the-nation questions but is also concerned with individual stories. It is my favourite of Sahota's novels I have read - many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review.

This is the first book that I have read by this author and I found it a compelling read. It took me a while to get into the story because I was confused who was narrating but I soon got to grips with it . It is a novel about race , class, grief and trauma. We follow Nayan who is a trade unionist and has many years experience. He is challenged by Megha who is a lot younger and has different outlook. Nayan has also lost his mother and son in a fire many years ago. What follows is a mystery of how the fire started and the secrets people keep , rather than taking responsibility for their actions. There is also a fair amount of politics in the novel especially around race and poverty . I found the family dynamics interesting and also how quickly your life can change. The grief is constant and I could feel the pain Nayan endured and how it affected his life. An enjoyable read with some relevant topics.

I'm not sure what I expected from this one, but it wasn't quite there.

Nayan Olak lost his young son to a fire - and, understandably, life hasn't been the same since. He has poured his energies into his union official job, trying to create a better, fairer job for the workforce. With the position of General Secretary on the horizon, many would assume that Nayan is a shoo-in for the job. Helen Fletcher has recently moved back into the area and Navan comes across her while out running, vaguely remembering her from their youth. As he gets to know her better, cares for his elderly father and does his job, he finds competition for the new post coming from an unlikely direction ...

I struggled with this novel from the beginning; it read more like a union manual and was full of politics. I set it aside and read another, coming back to it after that and found that it has lightened up considerably. Truthfully, there were parts I enjoyed and I did admire Nayan but, for the most part, this wasn't for me. 3.5*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

I thoroughly enjoyed Sunjeev Sahota's "China Room," so his forthcoming "Spoiled Heart" piqued my interest. Despite its slow start, the novel eventually had a grip on me, proving to be a rewarding read for those who persevere.

"The Spoiled Heart" presents Nayan Olak, an ambitious factory worker turned union leader candidate in Chesterfield. A proponent of class-based politics, he pushes for pragmatic betterments like safer work conditions and fair pensions, enjoying popularity and projected success. In contrast, Megha, a younger rival, contests him, fighting to address racial inequalities within a resistant union. She sees Nayan's approach as outdated, while he views her calls for change as divisive.

Much of the story also comes from our narrator Sajjan Dhanoa, once a local, now detached and somewhat critical, offers a complex layer to the narrative. In one of the meetings he is criticised as such: “Local Writer. Except there’s nothing local about you. Got out to London as quick as you could and never looked back. An now lives within spitting distance, spitting away, building a career out of making us look contemptible." I wonder if Sahota has heard similar criticisms from folk around him.

So, Dhanoa re-enters Nayan's troubled life, assembling the fragments of his decline. This added narrative layer enriches the story with complexity and extends its reach to include a variety of other characters and their outlooks.

Very early on, we get a sign of our times, when quick phrases, click bait headlines is what everybody reads, no-one is ready - or has the time - to delve into the complexities of life. We want an easy life, but politics is so personal, and difficult, and emotional and we fail to grasp the language to converse in deeper meaningful ways.
“In your book”, someone else criticises, even a “terrorist has a great white wife.
In my book you haven’t read.
I read enough to know all you do is slag us off from your writer’s throne”
Later on, similar elements comes through and Nayan and Megha go head to head in their election bid, a word of words, of meaning and semantics, that can be hurtful, dirty and with huge consequences for a whole people/community.

The characters are intentionally imperfect, which never fails to spark my curiosity. One subplot however, Brandon’s misunderstood ordeal, lacked the depth found elsewhere in the book. Nevertheless, Sahota deftly navigates shifting perspectives, breathing life into each character and their growth. The book weaves together themes of colourism, racial identity, politics, loss, and family while also narrating the Indian diaspora's experience. It's a reflection of Indian lives outside their homeland, touching on identity, cultural politics, and the power struggles entwined with personal integrity: "Hearts get spoiled"

"The Spoiled Heart" delivers a genuine, thought-provoking narrative that resonates with current issues. I wholeheartedly recommend this compelling read, a thanks to Random House UK, Vintage, and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

I will admit it took me until about a quarter of the way into this book for me to full get invested and the earlier chapters felt like work at times but the pay off was worth it. These characters were flinchingly real and nuanced , lonely, sad and at times unlikeable.
Nayan lost his family tragically twenty years previously and has spent his life since heavily involved in a union of which he has decided to run for its general secretary with the hope of taking over its running. We learn about Nayan, his past and his current situation from the perspective of others as the book unfolds.

This is a story of loss and hope, grief, trauma, secrets , class, race and its an exceedingly British novel. While I struggled with the first quarter, I would have kicked and screamed if someone tried to take this book from me in its final quarter. All the various strands of the novel come together and the danger of buried secrets and making assumptions of a person and the consequences of same are unveiled.

This is a book, if like me and it doesn't instantly grab you, that is worth sticking with. Deeply sad, eye opening, thought provoking and beautifully written, I am so glad I stuck with it and I think it is one I will revisit. I am looking forward to buying a copy and going back to sections of this one. I expect to see in on literary prize lists this year.
4 stars.
4 stars.

Not sure about this book. I did struggle with it although I thought it would be right up my street. Very sad, almost relentless. I very rarely reread a book but this maybe one I do read again. I might get more out of it

This is a difficult book to review for me. Shortly after starting it, I put it down and had no inclination to pick it up again. A couple of weeks later, I tried again, and got sufficiently far that there was something that interested me.
This is not to say that the book is bad; it is well written, reasonably clever, and good characterisation. But... did I want to spend any more of my time reading about unions, left wing politics, and petty grudges?
However, the book did pick up, still about the same stuff but with some added interest by what happened to the son, I wasn't sure where the story would go at that point, and I did like the statement of today's politics and how some people have taken their self-appointed power much further than they should. For that, a point got added.
I stuck with it, and finished, although I did find it going slower and slower towards the end. And if you don't like books where the timeline keeps jumping all over the place, this is not for you. I had to keep reminding myself of the overview. The final twist was good, though.

Such a sad book, on all levels. I read this pretty fast and was invested in the storyline but in the end I wasn’t completely convinced.
Thank you Vintage UK and Netgalley for the ARC.

I really like this author and was delighted to see his latest publication. Many thanks to @netgalley for the advance copy.

Nayan Olak is running for the post of general secretary of a large British trade union. He is ambitious and committed deeply to his work. Early on in the book, we learn that he lost his young child years twenty years earlier in a tragic house fire. Relations between Nayan and his main rival, Megha, for the post of general secretary are worsening as Nayan is accused of racism and misogyny. Meanwhile, Nayan is fascinated by a local woman, Helen and her son Brandon - is Helen deliberately keeping secrets from Nayan and if so, why?

While the book took a while to get going, I really enjoyed it. Sahota shows how seemingly small events from the past can have a lasting, damaging effect on the future. This was a 4 star read for me.

If you have enjoyed this book, I would highly recommend the authors earlier publication, China Room, which was a 5 star read for me.

A well written book with characters who felt extremely well-realised. I've never read a contemporary novel about trade union officials, but having been a union committee member before it all rang true, sometimes depressingly so.

I found the novel a bit difficult to get hold of at the beginning because there are three main characters: Sajjan the writer (who is telling the story in the first person), Nayan the trade unionist (third person) and Helen the prickly single mother (also third person). It wasn't always clear to me who we were talking about or where we were in location or time period. That got easier for me as the novel progressed, although I'm still uncertain about which parts happened in Chesterfield and which in Sheffield.

A recommended read that I'm sure will be a contender for literary awards this year.

I wasn’t sure where this book was going to take me and some of it seemed quite confused in how it jumped from timelines. I enjoyed the premise of how things are all linked together and we don’t know what we are capable of until we are in a particular situation and that things are now always as they seem.

It felt sad at times that lies meant that people had suffered when the truth would have set them free.
A good read.

This book just wasn’t for me, I very much struggled to work out what was going on, and who was talking, and when. I hated all of the characters and I did feel pretty depressed reading it.

However, the subject matter, and the background of the characters does mean that this is a serious and upsetting story, so it is quite rightly depressing. The writing is excellent, and I do feel that my issue with not understanding what was going on was due to maybe a lack of full concentration, or that it’s just a bit too high brow for me? This is a little bit out of my usual genre after all.

My thanks as ever to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK/Vintage for the invitation to read in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved Sunjeev Sahota's writing in China Room and hence have been extremely excited to read his next. Sahota's strong narration with strength in simple yet powerful is what I love about his books. His books are also a strong social commentary.

This one is no different. The book revolves around loss, love, family but with its roots in identity, race, politics and culture. It is also a commentary about Indian lives overseas and their identity abroad. The book also has a bit of mystery in terms of the loss and the return of a character. The book also uses a narration from an author to integrate with the story. Loved reading this book for its brilliant narration and premise. Recommend!

Thank you Random House UK, Vintage and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

Goodness! this novel espouses so many ideas and stories that I found it difficult to follow the different points of view to begin with, although it was refreshing to see Sheffield and the Peak District featuring in a novel. However, as I gradually got used to the writing style and placed all the characters I enjoyed it more. Although maybe "enjoy" is the wrong word as there are some tough and controversial issues raised, and, pleasingly, no trite answers and resolutions given. Deserves to be a best seller
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book

This story has an interesting angle of being told through the eyes of a writer interviewing the central figure, Nayan, about events that took place previously which gives some unexpected levels of reading. When the narrator is commenting on unreliable narrators it all gets a bit meta. It works though. It allows a way to address that perspective of the story, of how there can be multiple takes of the same events. And it also helps soften the heaviness of some topics at times, giving the reader a chance to step back and process. And there's a lot to process at times.

There are two main storylines. Nayan's family life - his mother and his child both dead in a fire many years previously, his marriage having broken down, and now caring for his father with dementia, and finding a new life in his neighbours - a new woman to fall for and her son to care for. That alone would be enough for a powerful story, but there's more. Nayan's run for office in his lifelong union is the other big story. His opponent, Megha, a relative newcomer. A campaign fought over different approaches to identity politics - debates over how different cultures can unite and where they need to maintain their own identities. Another storyline that could easily carry an entire book in itself. Like I say, this is a story that can't avoid a certain weight when reading, yet one that cleverly avoided becoming bogged down.

Part of me wishes the stories had been spun into two books. I feel it would've given both plots room for more poking at the issues, but the combination really brings Nayan to life. It makes him far more three dimensional. It also allows the stories themselves to spill over a little bit. The fringes of both intertwining gently to build a richer story. This is a story of people. People who care, who carry scars that can be reopened in an instant. How some of the toughest people we see fighting battles we don't notice. It is a well-written look at society in general and the people who make it up. It deal with some difficult things in a kind and sympathetic way, trying to show different perspectives that shape the world. A rewarding read.

So hear me out; it took me at least a quarter of the way through this book to actually get into the story and it did get me hooked. If you are struggling reading it - carry on; it's worth it.

A lot has been packed into this book; the race/class divide, unionism and politics, secrets, trauma and tragedy. The characters haven't been written to be liked. I still have many questions: Did anyone else find Sajjan's character to be stalkerish? Did anyone else liken Megha's character to two of our former Home Secretaries?

Overall, The Spoiled Heart is a captivating read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage for providing me with an ARC.

The Spoiled Heart is an interesting and intriguing contemporary literary fiction with a story of mystery at its heart, but also a tale of love, family, and the secrets that are held and festered for so long, as well as a warning of politics, misogyny and patriarchy, race and privilege.
There is a lot going on in this book. We follow Nayan Olak, running for general secretary of the union and his relationship with Helen and her son Brandon, who left town twenty years ago (and have just returned) at the same time that Nayan lost his mother and son in a fire that destroyed his life. Although the main portion of the book, these events are being told for us by our narrator Sajjan, who knew Nayan as a child, and quickly becomes obsessed with Nayan’s story and relationship with Helen. He recounts for us Nayan’s past and present, and the perspective and time period jumps around as he fills in the background of these characters for us. There is definitely a sense of an unreliable narrator here, as we hear everything through a third party – a writer none the less – who is crafting this story for us, embellishing what he wishes to embellish.
There is a lot of emphasis on the general secretary run, as Nayan battles against Megha, a newer and more privileged union member. Their ideas clash disastrously, leading to the climax of the novel, where Sahota explores ideas of privilege, race, the working class, and also accountability and ‘cancel culture’. There is a lot of interesting ideas being explored here, sometimes too many themes being commented on at once.
This was such a gripping novel, my first from Sahota, and it definitely has me eager to pick up his previous works. The mystery at the heart of the novel unfolded brilliantly, if a little predictably, but combined with the retelling of the general secretary run and the sense of tragedy, community, and secrets, I couldn’t put the novel down.

There's much to admire in this book which looks at grief, love and the intersections of class and race as well as the power of social media for good or ill. I also like that much of it is set in my home town of Sheffield, which makes a change from political novels largely based in London.

That said I didn't love this book. The narrative shifts between different narrators and different times could be confusing, I also found myself wondering if this is a novel built too much around the exploration of ideas at the expense of character and plot.

But Sahota is clearly a very good writer with a wide range, so it is definitely worth reading this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy.