Second Hand Heart (by Catherine Ryan Hyde)

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve read quite a few of Catherine Ryan Hyde’s novels over the past twelve years or so, and liked them all. So when I saw a paperback edition of ‘Second Hand Heart’ on a church bookstall a few months ago, it seemed like an excellent use of fifty cents to buy it. I’ve just finished reading it, after picking it up a few days ago.

The story is mainly about a young woman called Vida, who is nineteen when we first meet her. All her life she has been ill, with a damaged heart; at any point she knows she could die. And now it’s getting worse. She’s first on the waiting list for a transplant, but realises that the chances of a suitable match are low, and even if one is found, the operation and post-operative care are not always successful.

Vida writes in the first person, supposedly filling in the blank pages of a kind of journal which her best friend Esther has given her. Esther, we soon learn, is an elderly woman in her eighties who also thought she might die when she was young, albeit for different reasons.

A heart is found. As it happens early in the book (and is implied in the blurb on the back) it’s no spoiler to say that the operation is successful.

But for Vida to have a chance at a normal life, someone has to die. The heart originally belonged to Lorrie, a woman in her thirties who has just died in a car accident. And the other main character in the book is her grieving husband Richard. He also starts writing down his story, so the narrative alternates between Vida and Richard.

There’s not a whole lot of plot; although there’s a long car journey towards the end, and some tension as it’s not certain whether the characters concerned will manage to get together, there’s no fast action, no mystery, not even any twist, as such. Instead it’s a character-based novel, a kind of ‘coming of age’ for Vida, and a gradual coming to terms with reality for Richard.

But there’s also an intriguing sideline, involving the idea of cellular memory. Vida starts feeling unexpected emotions, and remembering things she cannot possibly have done or known about, A research scientist in the book believes that it’s not just the brain that carries memories. Richard, initially very sceptical, gradually becomes convinced that perhaps there’s a stronger connection between his wife and Vida than he first thought.

I gather that this topic is something current and slightly controversial; it certainly made an interesting idea for a novel. It’s necessary to accept the author’s premise for the purpose of the story, but she is so convincing that I found myself believing that there must be some truth in it.

The characterisation is good. I found Vida rather a confusing person, but perhaps that’s inevitable given her background. She wants to be independent; her mother is not ready to let her go. She’s quite immature and has been unable to do very much; now she is determined to experiment, not necessarily always wisely.

There are very short chapters, so I found myself picking the book up at odd moments, reading just half a dozen pages or so at a time. The main cast is fairly small so I had no trouble remembering who was whom, or what was happening. The middle of the book is perhaps a tad slow-going, and there were times when I didn’t have much inclination to keep reading, but by the end I was intrigued - and had no idea how it was going to end.

All in all, I liked ‘Second Hand Heart’, and would recommend it to anyone who likes women’s fiction and is interested in something a bit more thought-provoking than many.

Review copyright 2019 Sue's Book Reviews