Open, Heaven
A Novel
by Seán Hewitt
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Pub Date Apr 15 2025 | Archive Date May 15 2025
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Description
Set in a remote village in the north of England, Open, Heaven unfolds over the course of one year in which two teenage boys meet and transform each other’s lives.
James—a sheltered, shy sixteen-year-old—is alone in his newly discovered sexuality, full of an unruly desire but entirely inexperienced. As he is beginning to understand himself and his longings, he also realizes how his feelings threaten to separate him from his family and the rural community he has grown up in. He dreams of another life, fantasizing about what lies beyond the village’s leaf-ribboned boundaries, beyond his reach: autonomy, tenderness, sex. Then, in the autumn of 2002, he meets Luke, a slightly older boy, handsome, unkempt, who comes with a reputation for danger. Abandoned by his parents—his father imprisoned, and his mother having moved to France for another man—Luke has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle on their farm just outside the village. James is immediately drawn to him "like the pull a fire makes on the air, dragging things into it and blazing them into its hot, white centre," drawn to this boy who is beautiful and impulsive, charismatic, troubled. But underneath Luke’s bravado is a deep wound—a longing for the love of his father and for the stability of family life.
Open, Heaven is a novel about desire, yearning, and the terror of first love. With the striking economy and lyricism that animate his work as a poet, Hewitt has written a mesmerizing hymn to boyhood, sensuality, and love in all its forms. A truly exceptional debut.
Available Editions
EDITION | Other Format |
ISBN | 9780593802847 |
PRICE | $28.00 (USD) |
PAGES | 224 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
"Open, Heaven" by Seán Hewitt is a poignant story about first loves. The novel follows the lives of two adolescents, James and Luke, who meet in a small Irish village in the early aughts and profoundly shape each other’s lives. Narrated retrospectively by James, the book provides insight into his inner thoughts hidden beneath his shy exterior.
Hewitt paints a vivid picture of the landscape, characters, and the intense emotions and struggles experienced on the journey to adulthood. In life, the path not traveled tends to get engrained in memories yet leaving us wondering. Luke remaining a significant figure in James' memory, leaves a sense of longing and curiosity about what might have been.
As a reader, I found "Open, Heaven" to be deeply moving. I highly recommend this beautiful, dreamy, and relatable story to fans of Philippe Besson's "Lie With Me," Ocean Vuong's "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous," Sarah Winman's "Tin Man," André Aciman's "Call Me By Your Name," and Tomasz Jedrowski's "Swimming in the Dark." If you enjoy the works of these authors, you'll surely find this novel to be a compelling read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for this amazing ARC.
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