The Weighing Of The Heart by Paul Tudor Owen
Following a sudden break-up, Englishman in New York Nick Braeburn takes a room with the elderly Peacock sisters in their lavish Upper East Side apartment, and finds himself increasingly drawn to the priceless piece of Egyptian art on their study wall - and to Lydia, the beautiful Portuguese artist who lives across the roof garden.
But as Nick draws Lydia into a crime he hopes will bring them together, they both begin to unravel, and each find that the other is not quite who they seem.
Paul Tudor Owen's intriguing debut novel brilliantly evokes the New York of Paul Auster and Joseph O'Neill.
The book is shortlisted for the People's Book Prize 2020, your readers can vote here: https://peoplesbookprize.com/summer-2019/the-weighing-of-the-heart/
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Review
’The Weighing Of The Heart’ was thoroughly enjoyable. It’s part art heist, part romance, part psychological thriller and I loved it. It kept you on tender hooks and I was desperate to figure what was the truth of this story!
I liked the idea of a love torn young guy in New York living in a Fifth Avenue apartment with some eccentric sisters. It was giving off classic crime vibes of the 1920s, especially with the inclusion of the Egyptology which was all the rage then. But in fact it was also a modern romance story or was it? Was it in fact about control and manipulation? I love having the notion of an unreliable narrator as it always makes you question how you are perceiving things. Even if it does turn out that the narrator was fine all along!
I enjoyed the characters of Nick and Lydia as both of them came across as being damaged souls and that the romance was a car crash waiting to happen. Both had mystery behind them. What has happened during Nick’s breakup with Hannah and why had Lydia split up with her husband? I do think you could probably make a novel out of the sister though - their life sounds like a riot! I wish we had found out more about them.
The story was enjoyable and completely believable. The lure of temptation is strong for many and Nick was unable to deny it. I liked the resolution for Nick - there were hints and pointers throughout the book but were subtle enough not to ruin the resolution.
This is a strong debut from Paul and I urge you to read it!
