''The Spinning Heart'' is a

social novel The social novel, also known as the social problem (or social protest) novel, is a "work of fiction in which a prevailing social problem, such as gender, race, or class prejudice, is dramatized through its effect on the characters of a novel". More ...

written by

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

novelist

Donal Ryan Donal Ryan (born 1976) is an Irish people, Irish writer. He has published six novels and one short story collection. In 2016, novelist and playwright Sebastian Barry described Ryan in The Guardian, ''The Guardian'' newspaper as "the king of the n ...

. It was first published in 2012 by Penguin Random House. Steerforth Press published the US edition in 2013. It won the 2012

Irish Book Award The Irish Book Awards are Irish literary awards given annually to books and authors in various categories. In 2018 An Post took over sponsorship of the awards from Bord Gais Energy. It is the only literary award supported by all-Irish bookstores. ...

for the Newcomer of the Year and Book of the Year. It won the 2013

Guardian First Book Award The Guardian First Book Award was a literary award presented by ''The Guardian'' newspaper. It annually recognised one book by a new writer. It was established in 1999, replacing the Guardian Fiction Award or Guardian Fiction Prize that the newspap ...

It also won the

European Union Prize for Literature The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), established in 2009, is a European Union literary award. Its aim is to recognise outstanding new literary talents from all over Europe, to promote the circulation and translation of literature among ...

(Ireland) in 2015 It was longlisted for the 2013

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

and shortlisted for the

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

in 2014. In 2016 it was voted Irish Book of the Decade in a poll run by Dublin Book Festival.

Plot

The Spinning Heart is set in the aftermath of the collapse of the

Celtic Tiger The "Celtic Tiger" ( ga, An Tíogar Ceilteach) is a term referring to the economy of the Republic of Ireland, economy of Ireland from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, a period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment. ...

. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character, affected by the recession in a different way as a local property developer, Pokey Burke, goes bust and flees the country.

References

2012 Irish novels Novels by Donal Ryan Transworld Publishers books {{2010s-novel-stub