“If he knew how much I love him, he would be scared.”
Take an afternoon and immerse yourself in this story. A gift to yourself, like a long-deserved treat, but never received.
The book begins with the same flavor as Donna Tarrt’s “God of Illusions”: university life, young students passionate about literature, a special gathering where they can live out their passion. Young students with a whole life to invent, who mean business. A hint of nostalgia for older readers, a possible key to understanding what life will be like for younger readers.
Clear agreements and an honest review: we won’t explain the title.
Then everything changes: the element of love comes into play, and we’re catapulted into the mind of the protagonist, a young girl, who meets Sam, a character difficult to accept and easy to blame.
Lily King’s writing leads us into the girl’s whirlwind, without ever judging her, and without ever allowing the reader to label her. We all know the effects of love: let he who hasn’t sinned cast the first stone.
Rather, the reader becomes a shoulder to cry on. Sam’s figure is soon, fortunately, replaced by the incredible, dark-haired boy of Indian origin, Yash. The two share a full and intense love, but Yash, too, is difficult to decipher; they love each other, they live intensely together, but then he runs away only to return again. We are in the girl’s emotional rollercoaster, and it almost feels like we’re reliving our own young loves.
And once again, the flavor of the story changes: we are catapulted into the future, in a very insightful way and with an intelligent narrative twist, which we appreciated, and love turns into remorse, hate chewed over and transformed into regret; the disillusionment of adults who must deal with real life, with time that not only moves forward but bites into your days, hour after hour.
It’s a book that forces you to reflect on time, leaving a bitter taste in your mouth, but in the end, right in the last lines, a sweet and unexpected gift is offered to the reader. Here we return to the initial part of our discussion: are we sure that the cuddle we need has been fully deserved?
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Lily King, Cuore l’innamorato, Fazi, Roma, 2025
Original edition: Heart the Lover, Grove Press, New York, 2025