Longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award
This intimate family novel that follows the rise and fall of a great love is also a moving tribute to the generation that struggled to survive in Spain after the Civil War.
In Open Heart, Elvira Lindo tells the story of her parentsâthe story of an excessive love, passionate and unstable, forged through countless fights and reconciliations, which had a profound effect on their entire family.
Manuel Lindo came from nothing, but stubbornly worked his way up at the Dredging and Construction Company. Obliged to move from city to city for his job, the family couldnât put down roots, and Elvira and her siblingsâ childhood was marked by unpredictability. As they pass through temporary homes, theyâre caught between Manuelâs outsized temper and their young motherâs worsening illness, which would tragically take her life.
Beginning with nine-year-old Manuelâs experience in Madrid in 1939, Open Heart takes us on a sweeping journey through Spain full of beautifully observed insights about love in its many forms.
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