Our Missing Hearts by Celeste NG

JOINT REVIEW~OUR MISSING HEARTS

The newest novel from @pronounced_ingbestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere, is one we couldn’t wait to get our hands on. Ng is an accomplished, beautiful writer and this certainly didn’t disappoint.

Our missing hearts is many things, dystopian, compelling, with a taut plot of intrigue and undertones of reality that make this uncomfortable reading. We both raced through it and had very different reactions.

Set in a totalitarian America dealing with economic turmoil, we follow a young boy’s search for his mother, a political dissident using poetry to challenge the status quo. Amidst rising hatred of anyone different, and in particular people of Asian ethnicity, society has become fearful and extreme, banning much of literature and turning neighbour against neighbour. Children are disappearing, weaponised to keep their parents in line.

Sophie found this captivating for the most part but was left with wanting more from the final chapters. As a committed fan of all things dystopian, this was an immediately must read book that differed from many with its examination of law and politics whilst still focusing on the characters. 

And as for me? This was a love letter to libraries and books, deeply unsettling and profoundly moving. There were moments of coincidence that felt a little incredulous but life can be like that and it worked. The dialogue and prose was beautiful and chapters were a great length to keep the pace. 

This will undoubtably be another success and with good reason, appealing to a broad range of readers. Will you be picking this one up, if only because of the brilliant cover? Let us know C & S

Ad: PR copies gifted with no obligation to review. Huge thanks to @littlebrownbookgroup_uk for sending these beautiful books over.