--- product_id: 43201634 title: "The Heart: A Novel" price: "3880 som" currency: KGS in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.kg/products/43201634-the-heart-a-novel store_origin: KG region: Kyrgyzstan --- # The Heart: A Novel **Price:** 3880 som **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Heart: A Novel - **How much does it cost?** 3880 som with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.kg](https://www.desertcart.kg/products/43201634-the-heart-a-novel) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The Heart: A Novel [de Kerangal, Maylis, Taylor, Sam] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Heart: A Novel Review: Sacred Organs - One heart, one magnificent heart. The heart in question belongs to Simon Limbres, a 19-year-old boy, not a perfect boy, a passionate surfer who has barely has had the chance to inhabit the person he will become. In this astoundingly good novel, Malis De Kerangal introduces us to Simon briefly, when he is thrumming with life, surfing on a cold morning with two good friends. Just pages later, he is close to death, the result of a car accident. The effect is jarring: life contrasted with death, risk contrasted with the mundane. Simon is at the core of those connected by his single beating heart, yet this book is never maudlin or manipulative. In long sentences, written with lyricism and confidence, we meet those who are just a heartbeat away – and they are portrayed in exquisitely precise detail. Marianne, his mother and Sean, his father must grapple with the worst news a parent can ever imagine hearing, with the most potent stew of emotions (anger, disbelief, numbness, all at once). When Marianne calls Sean to inform him, and hears his innocent voice, she thinks of it as “the voice of life before”. There is Thomas Remige of the Coordinating Committee for Organ and Tissue Removal, the man intimately attuned to life, who sings Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols and revels in the delicate song of his rare Algerian goldfinch. It will fall to him to walk that precarious line between honoring the family’s wishes and honoring life itself by the reuse of the organs. There is the hedonist heart surgeon Virgilio, who is as passionate fan of soccer (and France is about to play Italy) as he is the operating theater. There is Claire, the 51-year-old heart recipient, who is curiously conflicted upon knowing that now, after years of living with no conception of the future, it will open for her through another’s death. We are privy to their most intimate emotions and foibles and they come alive under this author’s exacting tutelage. Most importantly, this narrative transcends plots and even transcends characters. Maylis De Kerangal is looking at the bigger picture: the ubiquitous symbolism of the heart. There are some strikingly beautiful images, a merging of forever time (the rise and fall of the waves Simon loved) with immediate time, and the gravity of recognizing that the “separation between the living and the dead no longer exists.” Kudos to Sam Taylor, the translator. If this isn't a 5 star book, I don't know what is. Review: Gorgeous and ruminative - This is a story (that starts out) about Simon Limbres. But when Simon is involved in an accident at the opening of the novel, left in a coma/a state of brain death, and declared medically “dead”, still part of him remains the constant throughout— his heart. This book follows many characters: Simon’s parents are there, his girlfriend, too... but a majority of the pages are devoted to the revolving door of doctors and nurses that are in some way involved with Simon’s case. I found this method worked really well- as we were introduced quite fluidly to new characters, we would also get (sometimes) great, long-running passages about them. The prose here is streaming and hypnotic. It can go on for paragraphs at a time, and much can involve some heavy medical jargon, but I found it really quite mesmerizing. The writing absorbed me into this little pocket where only it and I existed. There were times, however, where I thought the author went off a bit on tangents during moments of deep prose. Some of the characters that had pages of prosaic detail, were not even directly involved in the case of Simon’s transplants, and their stories only vaguely relating to the case at hand— there were a few times where I thought it got muddled and went off the tracks (which isn’t always a negative, it just got a wee bit boring). If anything, it’s a gorgeous and ruminative novel on grief and loss, life/death and the in-between, but most importantly, the wonders of the medical world. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #1,029,349 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #416 in Medical Fiction (Books) #14,858 in Literary Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,029 Reviews | ## Images ![The Heart: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/9181IOJzkjL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sacred Organs *by J***N on April 6, 2016* One heart, one magnificent heart. The heart in question belongs to Simon Limbres, a 19-year-old boy, not a perfect boy, a passionate surfer who has barely has had the chance to inhabit the person he will become. In this astoundingly good novel, Malis De Kerangal introduces us to Simon briefly, when he is thrumming with life, surfing on a cold morning with two good friends. Just pages later, he is close to death, the result of a car accident. The effect is jarring: life contrasted with death, risk contrasted with the mundane. Simon is at the core of those connected by his single beating heart, yet this book is never maudlin or manipulative. In long sentences, written with lyricism and confidence, we meet those who are just a heartbeat away – and they are portrayed in exquisitely precise detail. Marianne, his mother and Sean, his father must grapple with the worst news a parent can ever imagine hearing, with the most potent stew of emotions (anger, disbelief, numbness, all at once). When Marianne calls Sean to inform him, and hears his innocent voice, she thinks of it as “the voice of life before”. There is Thomas Remige of the Coordinating Committee for Organ and Tissue Removal, the man intimately attuned to life, who sings Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols and revels in the delicate song of his rare Algerian goldfinch. It will fall to him to walk that precarious line between honoring the family’s wishes and honoring life itself by the reuse of the organs. There is the hedonist heart surgeon Virgilio, who is as passionate fan of soccer (and France is about to play Italy) as he is the operating theater. There is Claire, the 51-year-old heart recipient, who is curiously conflicted upon knowing that now, after years of living with no conception of the future, it will open for her through another’s death. We are privy to their most intimate emotions and foibles and they come alive under this author’s exacting tutelage. Most importantly, this narrative transcends plots and even transcends characters. Maylis De Kerangal is looking at the bigger picture: the ubiquitous symbolism of the heart. There are some strikingly beautiful images, a merging of forever time (the rise and fall of the waves Simon loved) with immediate time, and the gravity of recognizing that the “separation between the living and the dead no longer exists.” Kudos to Sam Taylor, the translator. If this isn't a 5 star book, I don't know what is. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Gorgeous and ruminative *by K***R on May 21, 2019* This is a story (that starts out) about Simon Limbres. But when Simon is involved in an accident at the opening of the novel, left in a coma/a state of brain death, and declared medically “dead”, still part of him remains the constant throughout— his heart. This book follows many characters: Simon’s parents are there, his girlfriend, too... but a majority of the pages are devoted to the revolving door of doctors and nurses that are in some way involved with Simon’s case. I found this method worked really well- as we were introduced quite fluidly to new characters, we would also get (sometimes) great, long-running passages about them. The prose here is streaming and hypnotic. It can go on for paragraphs at a time, and much can involve some heavy medical jargon, but I found it really quite mesmerizing. The writing absorbed me into this little pocket where only it and I existed. There were times, however, where I thought the author went off a bit on tangents during moments of deep prose. Some of the characters that had pages of prosaic detail, were not even directly involved in the case of Simon’s transplants, and their stories only vaguely relating to the case at hand— there were a few times where I thought it got muddled and went off the tracks (which isn’t always a negative, it just got a wee bit boring). If anything, it’s a gorgeous and ruminative novel on grief and loss, life/death and the in-between, but most importantly, the wonders of the medical world. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wow! *by A***R on August 27, 2025* You know of the end of one life and the beginning of another but until you read the story you miss the drama, intrigue, excitement, tension, and overwhelming pathos—great story—great writing—great read— --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.kg/products/43201634-the-heart-a-novel](https://www.desertcart.kg/products/43201634-the-heart-a-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart Kyrgyzstan* *Store origin: KG* *Last updated: 2026-04-23*