A book written in 21 different voices, all telling the story of a small town in Ireland - almost a book of short stories, although they do come together in the end. Each voice is unique, but for this reader there were just a few too many of them to make a coherent whole or to establish the relationships between them - it was easy to lose the thread at times. The writing from Donal Ryan is lyrical and as beautiful as ever, with the pure enjoyment of words a reason to keep reading, but a little more coherence was needed for this reviewer to really love the book.

Donal Ryan’s groundbreaking new novel Heart Be at Peace is a magical collage of stories that link together to make a glittering artwork.
The voices all come from his earlier award-winning novel The Spinning Heart but even without having read that you are in for a treat.
The characters in this narrative are a mix of the old and the new; the stag party in Amsterdam is a recurring theme from a number of characters; others sense the threat in the rural Irish town where the story is set and they try to protect their own. Some bemoan how things have changed, but
everyone democratically gets a chance to express their opinions on how things have turned out as they did.
Ryan’s writing style is delightful, allowing each voice to gloriously enjoy their 15 minutes of fame!!

Oof. I am struggling here to piece together what I want to tell you about this riveting read.

Set in a small rural town in Ireland, Heart, Be At Peace, tells the story of the clash between two generations. One is young, secretive and connected through the desire to make quick cash no matter the cost or loss of morality, and the other is wiser and can see that there is no way that that journey will end well.

Donal Ryan is a poet. What else can I tell you? The thing is though, his words don’t rhyme and they’re not written in verse. His poetry lies in his acute characterisation. His writing gut punched me. Or punched me in the gut. Hey. I’m not the poet here. Donal would know exactly how to phrase that better than I do.

And the best part of this book? He tells this town’s story through 21 voices. Each chapter is dedicated to the narrative of a different character. All shaped through their individual but sometimes similar history. Each voice adds something unique to this haunting tapestry of words that is weaved together to create a compelling story of this town and its people.

The story set in a small town in rural Ireland, told through twenty one different voices. Each person with their own unique hopes, dreams and worries but each story intertwined at various points. I never read The Spinning Heart so this can be read as a standalone or as a companion.
Donal Ryan is such an incredibly talented Irish writer, every time I read one of his books I am blown away. This one, for me, had a bit more of an edge than previous books of his I’ve read but I absolutely loved it. The characters so interesting yet so different, but all with the same common goal, a love for their community and a fierce protectiveness to keep it safe for their children. Simply stunning.
Thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley for the chance to read

I downloaded to my kindle however the formatting was as being all too often poor making it unreadable.

Therefore I can’t review as I was unable to read.

Sorry - 5 stars left because this is not the authors or publishers fault the premise and the spiel of the books sounds right up my street too so really disappointed in NetGalley once again for letting down the people behind the book.

Wow! I hadn't read any of Donal Ryan's books before this but will be from now on. This book is narrated by the voices of a small, rural Irish community which is in danger of fracturing as a result of the actions of a few. The book explores their secrets, friendships and emotions and the interwoven links of their lives. The characters are drawn in rich, descriptive language which means that they stayed with me for a while after reading the book, as did the impact of drugs on a community. A brilliant read.

Heart, Be at Peace is written as if by 21 different characters from the plot which made it difficult to track especially in the kindle version. I was quickly confused with the different relationships between the characters and each time I thought I had it sorted a new version of something would come up. It would have helped hugely to have a physical book to flick backwards and forward through, but even that wouldn't have made an easy read. Reading the prequel, The Spinning Heart, might have helped sift the characters in my mind but I'm not sure — a couple of the things that are referred to like a kidnapping and a drowning might have been better explored in the earlier text too.

Because of the slipping between characters I found I didn't bond with any of them well enough to be cheering in their corner and I felt more of an outsider watching the event unfold from the sidelines. When the comeuppance eventually comes I wasn't as invested as I might have if style of writing had been different. This is a shame because I enjoyed the writing style and sense of place was good.

With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

Although this can be read as a stand-alone, I read it straight after finishing ‘The Spinning Heart’ and found being familiar with the previous novel enriched the experience. It was like meeting old friends again to see how they were faring ten years later. ‘The Spinning Heart’ was set during the burst of the Celtic Tiger bubble, with businesses collapsing, causing massive unemployment. Short chapters from 21 different voices described how this affected the people and their lives in their small rural Irish town with events and characters interconnecting throughout to tell the overall story.

Now ten years later in Heart be at Peace, those same 21 voices are heard again. Jobs and prosperity have returned to the region, but another evil has reared its ugly head to damage and destroy lives. The young and the old are all affected by the scourge of the drug epidemic. As before the distinctly individual voices intersect to paint a picture of a troubled town.

Bobby Mahon is once again at the centre, a good man who has done much to start a new business, creating jobs for others hurt by the recession and now wants to rid the town of the drug dealers in their midst. His old boss, Pokey Burke is back from his self-imposed exile after bankrupting his business and leaving his employees unpaid and without benefits ten years ago, but again he’s caught up in some shady deals. Times may change but people not so much.

As before, Ryan’s language is beautiful and lyrical with a wry touch of humour and fondness as he gives us snapshots of people’s lives and feelings. There is love and longing as well as violence and hurt which all comes together beautifully to show us the pulse of a small, coherent community once again feeling the pain of forces outside their control. It’s brilliantly done, especially that all 21 voices are heard in the same order as before.

I do recommend reading the previous novel if you haven’t already. Since both novels are around 200 pages each, it’s not a huge task and, besides, why wouldn’t you want to read more of Donal Ryan’s lovely, lyrical writing?

Heart, Be at Peace by Donal Ryan.
Publication date: August 8th.

" I said before. Madness comes circling around. Ten year cycles, as true as the sun will rise......"

Ryan's debut multi award winning novel, The Spinning Heart was published in 2012. Set in a small Irish town in the aftermath of the financial crisis, the novel is told through a chorus of distinct and unique voices, it is a brilliant read. With Heart, Be at Peace, Ryan returns to this Irish town, a decade later. This book can be read as a standalone novel or as a companion piece to The Spinning Heart. I would recommend reading The Spinning Heart first, or if like me, it is years since you read The Spinning Heart, I would reread it before picking up this novel. I didn't and I regret not doing so, a lot of the novel came back to when reading but I wish it had of been fresher in my mind.

I really loved this. Sitting down with a Donal Ryan novel is always a pleasure, he is undoubtedly one of Ireland's finest storytellers and this book was so impressive and enthralling. Ryan brings the reader back to this rural town, the economy has improved, the memory drama of the past has dulled though isn't completely faded. The book is told from the perspective of of the same twenty one character as a new threat begins to creep around this town and its peace is once again at risk.

Like all of Ryan's novels, this book is short , 200 pages where not one sentence is wasted. This town and its inhabitants burst from the page with their uniqueness and familiarity , its a deliciously Irish read and beautifully paced as their lives intertwine before sweeping to its page turning conclusion.

A genuine pleasure to read , wonderful storytelling, memorable characters and full of humanity and heart.
4.5

Read this as a stand alone, not realising it was a companion read to My Spinning Heart. A well written collection of inter connected short stories from a (dysfunctional) cast of characters from a village in Ireland.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

A beautiful book in the same vein as The Spinning Heart - the book that introduced so many of us to the stunning prose of Donal Ryan. It was a joy to read another masterpiece and so reminiscent of that earlier book which is so lovingly remembered by fans


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

I haven’t read anything by Donal Ryan, but I’ll be looking out his earlier work because Heart, Be at Peace is such an incredibly powerful story. The narrative is twenty one separate voices, or characters, multi generational and each with a perspective on what’s going on in the town. Some chapters are vignettes and the writing is lyrical and enveloping. It’s complex as so many strands are woven together, but Ryan seems to make it effortless when, ultimately , it all becomes a whole. He very cleverly explores a darker underbelly to rural Irish life. It feels real and there’s conflict and brutality along the way. The old versus the young, good versus evil, traditional life or an exciting counter culture. This is just such an amazing story. It ought to be on prize lists. One I think I’ll return to at some point just for the writing and imagery within. Truly loved this title.

I highly recommend reading Irish authors and Donal Ryan is one of the best; having read many of his novels I’m always intrigued by the way he explores community and character in a simple but powerful way.
‘Heart, be at peace’ is no different but you have to hang on tight for the rollercoaster of twenty-one separate voices spinning a deep insight into current social and political issues from a multitude of perspectives.
This book is an independent follow-up to The Spinning Wheel which I haven’t read, revisiting many of the same people ten years on.
In a non-linear fashion Donal Ryan gives us small pieces fitted together into a ragged jigsaw where some of the characters left me wanting more - and who knows, perhaps Ryan follows up in another ten years.
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4/5 stars
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Honest review given in exchange of a free copy from NetGalley. Thank you!

A beautifully written story which is narrated in a continuous narrative by twenty-one different voices. Beautifully crafted, lyrical and compelling.

This is such a beautifully written, lyrical book despite its often grim content and sense of dread and I enjoyed basking in the words. However, I found the 21 voices with all their connections really hard to follow and felt it made me care less about the characters.
I haven't read any of Donal Ryan's books before, so didn't realise this was a companion piece to "spinning heart" and feel it may have helped to read this first and thus have met some of the characters
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.

Such a gorgeous book. Characters, each with their own stories, that all weave in and out of each others lives. I was drawn in from the opening chapters and devoured over two days.

DONAL RYAN – HEART BE AT PEACE *****

The only easy thing in reviewing Heart be at Peace is awarding it five stars.

This is the first Donal Ryan novel I have read. In a sense it’s not a novel, more a series of first-person narratives of short story length that eventually make a whole. It’s about members of an extended Irish family at different stages of their lives, many of whom it turns out are involved with or on the periphery of a ruthless drugs business.

It’s a masterful telling. Male or female, the characters are distinctive and the further you read the more you realise how intricately they are linked with the problems they face.

Beautifully written prose with plenty of raw violence and ladles of bad language this may not be for the faint hearted, but it definitely is worth a read.

In a small town in rural Ireland, the local people have weathered the storms of economic collapse and are looking towards the future. The jobs are back, the dramas of the past seemingly lulled, and although the town bears the marks of its history, new stories are unfolding.

Lots of different characters from the same community come to life in this book. The trouble is I just don’t get it. It’s like I have started to read the book halfway through. I’m not sure what Donal Ryan is trying to convey. I have read and enjoyed other books by this writer but this one I struggled with. I can appreciate the description, the writing but it just doesn’t hang together for me.

Heart, Be at Peace is written in 21 voices which is way too many for me. I was quickly overwhelmed with the sheer number of characters and all their friends and family to the point where I had little clue what was happening for the first half of the book. I started making notes on the characters and their relationships with one another which did help for the second half but it didn’t make for a relaxing read.

There is a prequel, The Spinning Heart, which we are told that it is not necessary to have read first. I think reading that may have helped me be familiar with the characters and get more engrossed in this novel.

Some characters crop up a lot, such as a drugs gang called Augie Penrose, Jordan Pitts, Tyrone Dowel and Lee Braden. There were other references that came up a lot such as the kidnapping of a young boy, Dylan, for a couple of days but I didn’t understand how that related to other things in the book. I was also unsure of more to the story of Peter, son of Jim and Mary who drowned.

The writing is great but I just found the numerous characters and meandering tales too tricky to hold my attention.

With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review but any book with over fifty characters is not for me without a character list at the beginning.

Heart be at peace By Donal Ryan is a sequel to the author’s debut novel ‘The Spinning heart.’ I didn’t realise this, but I have read a few of the author's other works and enjoyed them. So, I was looking forward to reading this.
As per previous novel this revolves around 21 voices or characters if you will of a small Irish town. Each of them telling a little story of themselves and the stories intertwine with each other. This is well written story; the author is a great storyteller and I enjoyed of the individual characters stories. But for me personally because I didn’t read the previous one, I felt like there was something missing. 4 stars from me.