Debut novel by award winning poet Sean Hewitt. 2002 in a small rural village, two 16-year-old boys meet. One a somewhat troubled young straight man, that seems older than his years…and yet not, shipped to his aunt and uncle in the country when his parents can’t care for him. The other a quiet reserved young gay man, that both seems much younger…and yet not, finding himself alone most of the time and his parents dependent on him to help care for a sick little brother. Both are lonely, and they find in each other what they need. This is one of those books that you read just as much for the great writing as the storyline. It is gentle and thoughtful.

With striking and heartbreaking prose, Hewitt dives into the isolation of an out queer teenager. He describes the beauty of the land around this tortured mind, and you just want to hug the kid and, using some good old early aughts terminology, it gets better. I want to talk about this book with people ASAP, especially with queer folks. Highly recommend this one. Stunning.

This is a beautifully written story about teenage first love and obsession. The main character, James, age 16, has come out to his family and meets Luke who’s staying with his aunt and uncle nearby. James falls in love with Luke and desperately wants him, but doesn’t know if the feeling is mutual.

I thought the teenage angst felt real and right on point. What didn’t work for me was the characterization of James 20 years later. This is a man who should have had serious psychotherapy but seemingly has major unresolved adolescent issues. That part of the story just didn’t seem believable.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There’s something about a queer coming of age story that I’ll always be a sucker for, so I knew I was going to enjoy @seanehewitt’s #OpenHeaven the moment I read the book’s description. While just as reflective and introspective as many other types of these reads, there’s a long-lingering melancholy all too familiar especially to queer people about those missed opportunities of our youth.

James is a shy and protected gay 16 year old living in rural northern London. While the community doesn’t quite seem to understand his sexuality, it’s fine if they just don’t speak about it. When James meets Luke, an older boy visiting his extended family due to issues at home, James is thrilled to find someone whom he may finally be able to connect with. But when things don’t go exactly as planned, James finds himself at a loss for understanding something he was so sure was real.

While the book focuses predominately on a younger James, it opens with him returning to his hometown later in life to check out a parcel of land Luke lived on. Framed this way, this coming of age novel takes on a new light, inviting the reader to step back to that time with James and reflect, with all these years experience, on what exactly that year meant to him. He is a likable character, frustrating in his youth, but equally understandable. For anyone who ever had a crush on someone and didn’t know if it was reciprocated, the read is sure to resonant. Luke’s presence—or lack thereof—throughout the book is easily reminiscent of the first love that so many gay people don’t get to act on, or even recognize, adding a welcome layer of mourning or grief or release, depending on how you see it.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. The concept of a boy finding his way through his teenage years in a small town while coming out to his family seemed heartwarming and is a theme I typically enjoy. While I did find the main characters internal dialogue intriguing and enjoyed the overall storyline of him figuring out what attraction meant to him I did find the story lacking in excitement or true intrigue. There were many topics just circled around without a clear reason why it was brought up.

The underlying guilt and loneliness was well characterized but I would say I found my mind drifting a lot during this book and it was tough to find the motivation to continue with it.

this one HURT!!! but in the most perfect way. this book a had similar feel of the ache and longing i found in sunburn by chloe michelle howarth (which is one of my all-time favorites) so naturally this one really struck a chord with me. open, heaven is laden with melancholy, tenderness, bliss, and pain, all at once. the emotional depth of the characters is the kind of thing i crave in so many books but rarely find. and the prose, oh my god!!! there is poetry in every line of this book, and i'm so grateful to have read it
i hope seán hewitt writes many many more novels.
thank you so much to net galley and the publisher for this arc. counting down the days until i get my hands on a physical copy

“Open, Heaven” offers a familiar story of unrequited queer love. Following the breakdown of his marriage, James decides to return to his childhood town, a far-flung village surrounded with rolling farmlands in Northern England. Once he arrives, he inspects a house for sale, walks through a small cemetery, and unexpectedly cries in a pub. Lost in his boyhood memories, he recalls his first meeting with his one-time friend, Luke—a blond-haired, free-spirited, cigarette-flicking rebel. Luke had come to the village for the summer to stay with his uncle and work on the farm after his mother had moved to France and his father had been put in jail. To James, Luke presented then and there a counter-vision of himself. James is a cautious, rule-following and poetically minded boy; Luke is gregarious, and uninhibited but also erratic, sometimes playful, sometimes sullen. James is straight but, in a queering of the familiar trope, he functions as a “manic pixie dream boy”—a slim-hipped, taught-muscled seventeen-year-old, who is chaotic and anarchic but also, when alone, can be vulnerable and confessional. He is the type-cast hot boy who alone can draw the shy introvert out from his solipsist brooding. James is immediately infatuated. A lonely, stuttering, introspective outsider, James had never really had any male friends. When the school found out that he was gay, he was immediately excluded from its social life. Luke, the enigmatic interloper, becomes a projection of all James’ fantasies—James follows him everywhere, thinks about him, imagines him compulsively, desperate if not to seduce him, then at least to be close to him.

The novel reminded me a lot of the 2015 movie “Departure”, a film centered around a similarly shy gay teenager, a solitary adolescent and fantasist, who travels with his mother to France and falls in love with a bullish but open-minded local. These are both stories of queer loneliness and the meager salvation of straight-boy affection. While these gay boys may be “soft” or “sensitive”, they are enamored with men’s brash crudeness and thuggish manners, and they are captivated equally with men’s surprising capability for emotional candor when alone. They know their own feelings will never be reciprocated but they hope that mere proximity will be their make-do substitute. There is a bittersweet pain in these confusing friendships which offer them an imperfect template for same-sex love—to be close to a man, to even be touched, to be loved in some measure of the word, but not to be desired. For James, this relationship becomes the archetypal ideal for all his subsequent romances. To be loved in return feels shameful, like a betrayal or a soiling. I think Sean Hewitt captures something very real about the gay experience: there are many men who, like James, growing up with these unrequited crushes, learn a distorted idea of queer love. Having spent their formative years desiring unobtainable boys, they think that love ought to unreciprocated, that their love is superior, purer and nobler when it goes unsatisfied, that if their love was consummated, all their fantasies would be dispelled. They confuse being gay with being lonely, and they idealize the asymmetries of their straight-boy obsessions. It's safer to live with illusions.

In its melancholy frame narrative, a gay man nostalgically returning to his home village, remembering old flames, it also reminded me of Philippe Besson’s “Lie With Me”. And in its exploration of queer desire, the insatiable longing, the puzzling uncertainty, the constant cross-examination and forensic scrutiny of every word, gesture, and interaction, the inability to name and to speak the desire, it also shares a lot in common with Andre Aciman’s “Call Me By Your Name”. Much like in his memoir, Hewitt offers an exegesis of the gay experience of the 2000s. The storyline is not particularly original but Hewitt is at his best when he describes and maps the interior life of growing up gay.

Let it be known that I am a Sean Hewitt fan from way back, okay?

I was in Portland, OR at Powell’s Bookstore for the first time and I saw All Down Darkness Wide on the shelf and grabbed it immediately. I read that (and Little Rabbit, which was also wonderful) on the 3 day train ride home and I knew Sean Hewitt would be an auto buy author for me forevermore. I have read their poetry collection and 300,000 Kisses and they are both WONDERFUL. So, these are my credentials,

Sean popped TF off with this one, okay? Read it. Read the blurb, maybe? But if you really want the full experience, I recommend going in with as little information as possible and letting Sean and their prose guide you through the story. You’ll cry, you’re yearn, you’ll think about your own life story and relationships and impact on others.

If you’re a fan of Ocean Vuong and Phillipe Besson, you’ll love Sean and this beautiful debut novel.

Seán Hewitt's Open, Heaven charts the course of one year in two young men's lives in a remote village. James, now an adult, travels back to the village he grew up in and views the house he knew well, while reminiscing about his youth in the village. James grew up feeling very alone with little friendship as he became aware that he was gay. At first it was quite the bit of gossip in school, but he retreats back to the sidelines and people don't really bother him about it. He is expected to watch over his little brother struggling with serious health issues. To help earn money he takes a milk route in town and when stopping at one of the houses, he glimpses a boy around his age and immediately is taken with him, to the point of fixating on him. Luke has been abandoned by his parents and is staying with James' neighbors, hoping his father will come back for him. Because James feels so alone, it is difficult for me to tell how much Luke really attracts him versus him fixating on a new person and puts all his hopes and dreams into him. Revealed over time is that Luke's front facing bravado hides a real vulnerability. The writing is lovely in this book, but I had a struggle teasing apart James' real loneliness versus how those were projected onto Luke.

Thank you to Knopf via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

Open, Heaven by Seán Hewitt is a beautifully written novel. Having previously read Hewitt’s heartbreaking 2022 memoir, All Down Darkness Wide, I expected a similarly dark tone. While this novel carries its own sense of sadness, it is also deeply moving. I resonated with the main character’s struggle to embrace his identity and the heartbreak of realizing that his new friend did not return his romantic feelings.

Hewitt’s writing is stunning, and I’ll definitely be recommending Open, Heaven to book clubs looking for a compelling summer read.

Nostalgic and beautiful coming of age story that captures well that season we all experience as young adults when we first come up for air.

A flowing prose and a good pace throughout the story. I liked the characters but felt like something was missing.

This novel begins with a prologue that has James looking back at his life when he was 16. Now 36, he has just gotten divorced from his husband and attributes his inability to be 'in love' to the heartbreak he experienced as a teenager. James sets up the backstory of his life in Thornmere, a small town in the UK., where he lives with his parents and younger epileptic brother. He has just come out to his parents and feels isolated and lonely in school and at home where he is often responsible for his brother's care.

Being queer is not something familiar to James. He is quite possibly the only gay student in his grade. The other students know he is gay and James feels more comfortable hanging out with the girls than the boys. It is only when he first encounters Luke, who is spending the summer with his aunt and uncle, that James experiences first real sexual awakening and yearning. Luke is a bit older than James and there is an air of mystery surrounding him. His history is checkered and James' mother warns him to keep his distance from Luke. The warning is useless, as the sexual and emotional longing outweigh any parental advice.

The narrative is poetic and emotionally resonant. Sean Hewitt captures Luke's ennui and James's love and sexual blossoming. Despite not getting the reciprocity he needs, James cannot stop himself from being drawn to Luke and attempting to be with him at any opportunity.

The novel is both tragic and beautiful as it explores teenaged yearning and love,

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for this early review copy of Open, Heaven.

Think of the aching longing in Swimming in the Dark, the beautiful writing of Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo, and perhaps most of all, the dual timeline and heartbreak of Philippe Besson’s Lie with Me. But be aware that this is not a romance or a love story.

Open, Heaven is a stunningly written coming-of-age novel, and I’m a sucker for those. The yearning, the pain—give me all of it. So when a friend recommended Open, Heaven, a book I hadn’t even heard of before, I rushed to NetGalley, saw it was on Read Now, and immediately downloaded it. I dove in right away.

This is one of those quiet books that carry immense emotions. It’s about love and connection, about chasing dreams. But it’s also about the push and pull of time—the urge to escape into the future while simultaneously wanting to freeze the present. And, in reverse, the desperate need to hold on to the past, even when a glorious future awaits.

In "Open, Heaven," we journey alongside James, a recently out teenage boy navigating the complexities of life in a remote village in northern England. He grapples with feeling like an outsider, struggling to forge connections with the boys he's known all his life and experiencing the heartache of being seen as a means to an end by the girls around him. As he faces the challenges of his identity and feelings, it seems he’s unintentionally drifting away from his family and the familiar world he once knew.

To contribute to his family's financial struggles, James takes a job delivering milk. It is during this period that he meets Luke, a rugged newcomer who is staying with his aunt and uncle while his father serves time in prison. There’s a palpable connection between them; James finds himself drawn to Luke, longing for a friendship that could blossom into something more, even as he battles the fear that true love may always be just out of reach.

Together, they seek solace and understanding in one another, both searching for belonging and acceptance in a world that can often feel isolating. "Open, Heaven" beautifully captures the essence of first love, desire, and the often challenging path of growing up in a small town. This short novel resonates deeply, offering an emotionally rich experience that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

To be completely honest, I almost DNF'ed this one. A slow-paced story about a young boy who accepts his queerness early, and his first time being in love with someone (who, he is pretty sure at least, doesn't love him back). It's a story about boyhood and unrequited love in a quiet town, about stolen moments and secret glances. It's about friendship, and queerness, and coming-of-age.
I think I had a hard time initially because I have a hard time relating to a young boy growing up in a small village in Ireland. However, I can definitely relate to being close to someone and so, whole-heartedly, secretly (or not-so) in love with them, drinking up every glance, every touch, every word they say, just to ultimately lose them. I found a kinship with the main character in that way.
I'm glad I stuck with it and finished the book. I'm glad James was able to get the closure my 17-year-old self so desperately needed, but never received.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is a deeply moving novel that explores love and identity. The story centers on James, a gay teenager who falls in love with his neighbor, Luke. The writing is absolutely beautiful, and I found myself getting lost in the English country setting and poetic descriptions. However, the ending was a little abrupt and left me wanting more. Despite that, the book is not one to be missed and I think fans of Call Me by Your Name will love this novel!

3.5 stars

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ½
Genre: Literary Fiction + LGBTQ+

This is a coming-of-age story that takes place in a remote English village. The story follows a sixteen-year-old boy, James, who is trying to come to terms with his sexuality, shyness, and life obstacles. When Luke comes into the picture, James becomes totally smitten by him, despite having a different personality than him.

The story is very well written. The lyrical and poetic prose of the author shines throughout the book. The author is an acclaimed poet, so no wonder his prose is very rich even if this is his debut novel. The coming-of-age story is very raw and real. I feel every reader will find something in James that will remind them of their own experiences when they were that young.

Sean Hewitt excelled in creating the perfect setting that will make the main character feel isolated, both from inside and outside. The remote village with the changing seasons that the author implemented in the book enriches the reading experience.

There’s something about the book's tone that resonates with me. It’s quite melancholic and bittersweet, infused with a sense of longing and heartache. This atmosphere complements the story and the character’s journey. I loved it! It’s beautiful, full of emotional depth and tenderness.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book.

Beautifully written book with beautiful characters. The “love” story between James and Luke is something I won’t soon forget. I always enjoy a forbidden love story that’s full of lust and yearning — and this one really stands out. The author who is a poet clearly has a gift, and I’ll be looking forward for his next novel to see what story he comes up with next!