Did I just read the winner of this year's Booker Prize?! HEART follows Nayan Olak, a man who lost his family in a fire 20 years ago. Now, he is running for general secretary in his union. Nayan finds himself inexplicably drawn to a mysterious white woman named Helen, who has returned to town after decades of absence. As Nayan's involvement with Helen deepens and his campaign progresses, his rivalry with Megha, a younger and wealthier woman also running for the same position, spirals out of control. At the heart of the mystery is the connection between Nayan and Helen and all that threatens to spoil his chances of winning.

There is so much I love about HEART: its multilayered examination of equity and equality, the nuanced exploration of solidarity, the lyrical prose of loss and belonging, and so much more. I don't think I've ever read something that made me so uncomfortable yet profoundly illuminating about my own political views.

While HEART is set in the UK, the rivalry between Nayan's "working class vs. the elite" and Megha's "we can't be colorblind within blue-collar workers" reflects much of the class & generational division within left-leaning politics in the US. Even though HEART goes deep into differing political views about building solidarity within the working class, Sahota uses several plot twists to blend politics into the narrative seamlessly, and HEART never reads didactic.

Nayan's question of whether Megha truly wants to build a community or just likes to hear herself talk, "woke" & young white people schooling POC about racism, and cancel culture turn violent are all aspects of how older leftists resist the new waves of activism. Similarly, Megha's experience of constantly being gaslit because of her race/gender/age, and Nayan's complacency within the comfort of white colleagues' approval are why younger liberals feel their voices aren't represented. I can go on and on about the brilliant debates on identity politics, representation, DEI programs, etc.—I was completely blown away by the nuanced exploration of liberal politics and find myself questioning my complicity & complacency.

Another fascinating aspect of HEART is the "mystery" of Nayan and Helen's connections. While this is the main plot-driving force, because of the meandering writing and narrative-within-a-narrative style, the mystery is very slow-moving and isn't really the focus until the last 20%. I don't want to give anything away, but Nayan and Helen's relationship also ties nicely into the aspect of one's sense of belonging when muddled with internalized racism.

HEART is written from Nayan's acquaintance's perspective, making it another intriguing aspect of the novel. While some may think it overly contrive, through the lens of a hyper-aware unreliable narrator, the readers realize that one can't fully know another person's political motivations. Furthermore, I appreciate the distance created by this unique narrative style that enables the readers to critique each character's shortcomings. At the end of the day, no one in HEART is fully good or bad; they're all just lonely individuals trying to survive.

There's so much more I want to say about HEART, but I'll stop here and encourage lovers of lit fic and those seeking a layered story about solidarity to pick this one up. Because I love it so much, I'm not sure if it'll be nominated for Booker (jkjk), but I'd love to see HEART at least on the shortlist, if not outright win it!