Heart, Be at Peace Winner of the Orwell Prize for Fiction 2025 and the Irish Book of the Year

WINNER OF THE IRISH BOOK OF THE YEAR
WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO NOVEL OF THE YEAR
SHORTLISTED FOR THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR
THE No.1 IRISH TIMES BESTSELLER

'My book of the year...full of love and hope, more needed in these days than ever' Kit de Waal

'Donal Ryan's writing has earned him a place among the greatest names in Irish literature' Maria Dickenson, Chair of the IBA judges

'I am blown away by the ambition and scope of this exquisite piece of writing.' Rachel Joyce

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Some things can send a heart spinning; others will crack it in two...

In a small town in rural Ireland, the local people have weathered the storms of economic collapse and are looking towards the future. The jobs are back, the dramas of the past seemingly lulled, and although the town bears the marks of its history, new stories are unfolding.

But a fresh menace is creeping around the lakeshore and the lanes of the town, and the peace of the community is about to be shattered in an unimaginable way. Young people are being drawn towards the promise of fast money whilst the generation above them tries to push back the tide of an enemy no one can touch...

Told in twenty-one voices, Heart, be at Peace is a heartfelt, lyrical novel that can be read independently, or as a companion to Donal Ryan's multi-award-winning novel, The Spinning Heart, voted 'The Irish Book of the Decade'.

*****

PRAISE FOR DONAL RYAN:

'One of the finest novelists writing today.' RACHEL JOYCE

'His paragraphs are unnoticeably beautiful, his heart always on show' ANNE ENRIGHT

'Endlessly surprising and incredibly moving' DAVID NICHOLLS

'A life-enhancing talent' SEBASTIAN BARRY

'I would struggle to think of any other Irish author working today who writes with as much compassion as Donal Ryan' LOUISE O'NEILL

'Beautiful, compassionate...Donal Ryan at his inimitable best.' MAGGIE O'FARRELL

'Beautifully poised, sad, poetic and human....I loved every single line.' IAN RANKIN

'The prose drips like honey off a spoon' SUNDAY TIMES

Nero Book Awards Shortlisted, 2024
An Post Book Awards, November and December 2024
Irish Times bestseller, August 2024