5★
“Easily she was thirty. She was fair, complexion delicate. A slight crook to the nose. Eyes of wren’s-egg blue and one inclined to say hello to the other but not unattractively.”

This is a rough and rowdy story full of humour, colourful language, and unforgettable characters. It’s wild! WARNING, there is some of that language quoted in the review.

When the book opens, Captain Anthony Harrington has just met (for the first time) and wed his new wife, fresh off the train, and is taking her to a photographic studio for a formal wedding portrait.

The photographer and his assistant, Tom Rourke, have been talking about the current “salacious” photographic style of featuring women “posed back-to-front, gazing coyly over their shoulders, showing in evening gowns the bared knit blades, the length of neck, the fall of loosened hair, with the profile turned just so for the line of nose, and the tapering of waist, and suggested, just out of frame, the swell of posterior and the one true street of the new world.”

Our photographer complains about the (real), well-known Alrick Dusseau who worked in Butte, Montana, in the late 1800s.

“Oh the French rut is precisely what Mssr Dusseau is alludin’ to with his filthy bloody back-to-fronts! It’s a nod and a wink! It’s buggery and cavortion! It’s the beasts of the fields!”

The writing shifts rapidly between descriptive passages about “the fall of loosened hair” to the “filthy bloody back-to-fronts”.

The Irish are known for both poetry and colourful cursing, which I think Barry mixes well. I enjoy his descriptive prose, too.

“Captain Anthony Harrington of the Anaconda company appeared at the Crane studio with his new wife in tow. Harrington was lean and tall and cable-wiry. Hard flint eyes. A seabird feeling. A heron, or a cormorant, Tom Rourke saw him as. But there was no cruelty there. He was afraid to touch the wife.”

After the formal photo of the pair, Harrington wants one of his new wife. She poses – yes, with her back to the camera looking over her shoulder.

“The tip of her nose twitched and her eyes searched for the camera but found instead Tom Rourke’s, staring – It was at this moment that his heart turned. As Harrington settled up with the proprietor, Rourke fetched the bride’s coat and presented it and he spoke lowly, averting his eyes – My regards and congratulations to you, Mrs Harrington. She turned to him as she went, and in a hissed whisper – My name, she said, is Polly Gillespie.”

Polly is obviously a woman of ‘some experience’, and she is quickly fed up with her crazy, self-flagellating husband, who seems to have had little, if any experience.

It’s no spoiler to say she and Tom hightail it out of Butte with an idea they’ll head for California. It is freezing, they have only one horse, and they can’t see in this weather.

“They turned slowly on their heels all around and scanned the country. She gave him a particular look and couldn’t help it. They could get no purchase on the geography. It was so cold their teeth whined.

Jesus Christ, Polly.
The panic ain’t gettin us no place.
I’m not panicking. I’m just sayin …
I think there’s more light. Over that way?
Like a radiance …
Radiance my ass.

Which’d mean west. How long we been gone?

Six hours or seven. But hey Tom? I got to say it now. This ain’t got the makins of a plan.”

It sure ain’t But it’s got the makins of a wildly entertaining story with great characters they encounter . There are those who have lost themselves in the wilderness on purpose – like a lapsed priest – and those who belong thereabouts but keep being moved on, like a couple of “Métis or mixbloods or at least in that line broadly speaking.”

I grew up reading about mountain men and trappers and the mix of characters who lived in those harsh conditions. I could easily imagine Tom and Polly among them - foolish but lovable.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Canongate for a copy of #The HeartInWinter for review..

We meet Polly in Montana, 1891, as she steps off a train and is married within the hour to a man she has only communicated with by letter prior to that point. As Polly tries to reconcile herself to the idea of a loveless marriage, a chance encounter with Tom Rourke at a photography studio leads to an infatuation that continues to grow as he comes to visit her while her husband is at work in the mines.

As their forbidden love grows, they decide to take some money and a horse and run away to California. We then follow the pair as they make their way west, encountering some intriguing characters, and living in their own crass, funny bubble.

The writing in this short book is just beautiful. The characters are flawed but wonderful, and the humour throughout lifts the story off the page. I read it in one sitting, and would happily read anything else by this author. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys historical fiction!

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

While many readers have lauded the author’s writing style, I found it somewhat challenging to engage with initially. However, once I acclimated to the rhythm and dialects, the book transformed into an enjoyable read. It is concise yet impactful, with the character of Molly standing out remarkably—hats off to the author for crafting a well-rounded female character.

That said, I did find myself needing to concentrate more than usual while reading. Because it lacked the effortless flow that often draws me deeply into a story, I can only award it three out of five stars.

I am sorry but I just couldn't get on with it. The style of writing confused me and I had to put I down after the first three chapters.

Set in the 1890s in Montana we have as wild a west as they come. Tom Rourke, a young Irish immigrant, writes letters and poems for his colleagues but drinks heavily, is hooked on drugs and a bit of a chancer. A love affair starts with Polly Gillespie, a new bride shipped in from the east and soon the pair are headed west on a stolen horse and with stolen money.

Kevin Barry, as always, writes beautifully allowing the reader to feel genuinely in the heart of the story but this is not always an easy read. It is beautiful, passionate, romantic but also desolate and brutal. Well worth a read.

Thanks to NetGalley.co.uk and the publishers for this ARC.

I love Kevin Barry's short stories but this just didn't do it for me I'm afraid. He is an incredible writer, an unbelievably talented stylist. But I have yet to read a novel of his that really TWISTS the knife in my guts the way that his short fiction does. He is definitely 100% one of the most talented writers working today - IDK, maybe I should try reading this again someday, it was just not connecting to me at this point in my life. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Kevin Barry is such a beautiful writer that I'd probably pay to read his shopping list. So in my view the story essentially doesn't matter as you're there for the telling. That said, the story is done well. The era comes to life and I enjoyed the vivid cast of supporting characters and the shifty but lovable protagonists. I was intrigued by the hint of the supernatural also. What I was not quite sure about was the ending - it didn't end as I predicted and I found it a little disappointing. Nevertheless Barry is a supremely talented writer.

Kevin Barry is such a brilliant writer and this book is no exception. Beautiful, moving and so well-drawn, I felt I knew the characters and was deeply invested in their lives. Wonderful.

Barry's writing is often lyrical and freewheeling, and something about the more controlled and focused style here really appealed to me- we follow characters where the lingering hand of one, or the deep breath of another, speaks volumes, and I found it deeply affecting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Set in 189, The Heart in Winter immerses readers in the gritty, vibrant world of a small mining town dominated by Irish immigrants. The story centers around Tom Rourke and Polly Gillespie, whose fateful first meeting sparks an undeniable connection, despite Polly's recent marriage to the devout and unsettling Long Anthony Harrington, a copper mine owner with a disturbing penchant for self-flagellation in the name of Jesus.

Polly, trapped in an arranged marriage that was doomed from the start, finds herself irresistibly drawn to Tom. Their connection is as vital and inevitable as breathing, leading them to make a desperate decision: they steal a horse, along with $600 in cash, and flee westward, leaving Butte and Harrington in their dust. But freedom comes at a high cost. A manhunt ensues, with a posse of deranged Cornish gunmen hot on their trail, each step they take bringing them closer to a deadly confrontation.

The novel's prose is nothing short of exquisite, painting vivid images of Montana's harsh winters and bringing to life characters who leap off the page with energy and depth. This poignant, humorous, and ultimately gripping tale of the Old West captures the raw beauty of the landscape and the intense emotions of its characters, making it a thoroughly entertaining read.

An intense, pacy, immersive tale set in the late 1800s and beautifully written.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

Reading this book almost feels like watching a movie. Set in an Irish immigrant community in the 1890s in Montana, Tommy Rourke an Irish immigrant and Polly Gillespie a mail order bride from Chicago run off together, chased by Polly's intended Harrington. Complex, gripping, harsh and wonderfully dark that hits you in the face. As the author says it is a "western with Cork accents", it describes it perfectly. This is one of those books you constantly think about for months after you have finished it. Highly Recommend.

This is a story of Victorian times America where Tom Rourke falls in love with the recently arrived bride of an acquaintance. The two runaway into the backwards chased by bounty hunters appointed by the irate husband
The story is atmospheric and the historical detail seems real however I failed to really connect with any of the characters and found the ending unsatisfactory . The bits that I did enjoy most in the story wore the feeling of being frozen freezing cold and trying to survive in half built cabins in the woods. Together with the feeling of being chased.


The author has a very unique writing style written in a mixture of dialect which represents the character speech patterns, you really feel that you can hear them speak and think. It tends to short sentences mixed with longer paragraphs and the way of writing makes you feel that this is best classified as a literary novel.
Ultimately for me there was neither sufficient story nor detailed enough character description and development For me to enjoy this novel particularly..



I read early copy of the novel on NetGalley UK. The book is published on the 6th of June 2024 by Cannongate.
This review will appear on NetGalley UK, Goodreads, and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.WordPress.com. It will also pay on Amazon UK.

The Heart in Winter is a strange beast. An Irish western? The prose is sometimes confusing, sometimes slow and sometimes delivered at breakneck speed. I found it intensely annoying but ultimately wonderful.

A love story of sorts.

Tom is a poet and a drunk, one step ahead of his creditors and pondering the futility of his existence. Then, while assisting the local photographer, Tom sees Polly, a new bride, shipped in from the East coast, and his life will never be the same again.

The two flee the town together seeking a new life together but are pursued by bounty hunters, employed by Polly’s new husband.

The writing is beautiful and poetic and the imagery is evocative and often quite humorous. The relationship between Tom and Polly is well described. There seems little hope for the future but the two seize every opportunity to explore and cement their love.

Can fate forge a future for the lovers? Definitely worth reading to find out!

'The Heart in Winter' is another masterful novel from Kevin Barry which fuses savage violence with dark comedy. This novel is a western, set in 1890s Butte, Montana. Tom Rourke, a hapless and penniless Irish-American dope addict and photographer's assistant, falls for Polly Gillespie, the mail-order bride of the upstanding (and self-flagellating) mine captain, Long Anthony Harrington. Just days into Polly's marriage, Tom and Polly head west together on a stolen Palomino pony, aiming for San Francisco. But Harrington is determined to get Polly back and to make Tom pay for what he has stolen, and sends a trio of Cornish gunmen on their trail.

Barry crafts a pacy and compelling narrative with prose that feels effortless. Alongside moments of graphic violence and gallows humour, Barry also conveys that sense of desperate longing for a better life which is at the heart of so much writing about America at this time and during other times. This is an entertaining and rewarding read. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me an ARC to review.

The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry is a beautiful piece of literature. This is the first novel I have read from this author and there will be certainly more as the prose just flows. Illustrative, lyrical, fluid, deeply emotional, stunning

Thank you to Netgalley,Canongate and Kevin Barry for this brilliant ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Rude, crude, and really quite good.

Absolutely bonkers, but I loved every word of this one. Just fantastic!

Oh my god! This book is a gift. The language is completely intoxicating. The evocation of a particular time and particular place masterly. And Jesus Christ, those lovers - they have my heart entirely. It's been days since I finished this gorgeous, singular whirlwind of a novel and I'm still haunted by thoughts of poor Polly. One of the best books we will see this year, I'm certain of it!

You never know if you're going to cry bucket or laugh but you surely know you will love every word you're going to reads.
A great reading experience, a master storyteller, a story about star-crossed lovers and a community full of weird/quirky characters.
The setting is the non human character: you love the descriptions and feel how forbidding it can be.
Great novel, loved it.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine