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Shark Heart: A Love Story

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Arrives Wednesday, Mar 5
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Description

A New York Times Editors’ Choice A USA TODAY Bestseller A Booklist Editor’s Choice A Goodreads Choice Award Nominee A Massachusetts Book Awards Fiction Honors Selection Shortlisted for the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize A “beautifully written” (Anthony Doerr, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of All the Light We Cannot See) debut novel of marriage, motherhood, metamorphosis, and letting go, this intergenerational love story begins with newlyweds Wren and her husband, Lewis—a man who, over the course of nine months, transforms into a great white shark. For Lewis and Wren, their first year of marriage is also their last. A few weeks after their wedding, Lewis receives a rare diagnosis. He will retain most of his consciousness, memories, and intellect, but his physical body will gradually turn into a great white shark. As Lewis develops the features and impulses of one of the most predatory creatures in the ocean, his complicated artist’s heart struggles to make peace with his unfulfilled dreams. At first, Wren internally resists her husband’s fate. Is there a way for them to be together after Lewis changes? Then, a glimpse of Lewis’s developing carnivorous nature activates long-repressed memories for Wren, whose story vacillates between her childhood living on a houseboat in Oklahoma, her time with her college ex-girlfriend, and her unusual friendship with a woman pregnant with twin birds. Woven throughout this “heart-wringing” (Adam Roberts, internationally bestselling author of Salt) novel is the story of Wren’s mother, Angela, who becomes pregnant with Wren at fifteen in an abusive relationship amidst her parents’ crumbling marriage. In the present, all of Wren’s grief eventually collides, and she is forced to make an impossible choice. A sweeping love story that is at once lyrical and funny, airy and visceral, Shark Heart is an unforgettable, gorgeous novel about life’s perennial questions, the fragility of memories, finding joy amidst grief, and creating a meaningful life. This daring debut marks the arrival of a wildly talented new writer abounding with originality, humor, and heart. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books (June 4, 2024)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1668006502


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 04


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.38 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #7,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #222 in Mothers & Children Fiction #406 in Contemporary Women Fiction #821 in Literary Fiction (Books)


#222 in Mothers & Children Fiction:


#406 in Contemporary Women Fiction:


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If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Wednesday, Mar 5

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Top Amazon Reviews


  • A Hauntingly Beautiful Tale of Love, Loss, and Transformation
A beautiful, moving, and heartbreaking portrait of marriage and parenthood, Emily Habeck's Shark Heart masterfully uses an insane premise as a powerful metaphor to explore some of the deepest fears, joys, and sacrifices necessary to fully love someone.. In Shark Heart, young couple Lewis and Wren have only recently married when Lewis receives a distressing medical diagnosis: He's tested positive for Carcharodon Carcharias, a genetic mutation that will gradually transform him into a Great White Shark in a matter of months. One of the many tricks author Emily Habeck pulls here is that Lewis's condition is played 100% straight. While rare, in the world of Shark Heart, these kind of mutations are commonplace enough to be accepted as one might a cancer diagnosis. At first, Wren and Lewis attempt to continue on life as normal, but as Lewis's transformation becomes more unavoidable, the couple began preparing for the inevitable: Lewis's release into the ocean. Intertwined with Wren and Lewis's story is the tale of Wren's mother, Angela, whose own experience with a genetic mutation shapes Wren's trauma response to her husband's fate. Shark Heart blew me away. Not only is it intensely emotional and life-affirming, but it's written with such a unique collection of formats. From one-sentence pages and to scenes written as if they came from a play (complete with stage direction), Shark Heart's 430 pages flew by — I read this novel in a couple of hours. I rarely get teary-eyed reading a book, but there are some gut-wrenching and beautiful sequences in Shark Heart that will be instantly relatable to anyone who has ever loved a spouse or child. Habeck uses the magic realism element to her supreme advantage, and it's a great stylistic choice that allows her to get up and close personal with the fears that can only come from opening your heart up to love. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2024 by Joe Terrell

  • Truly a delightful surprise
I have to admit I got this book on impulse on Kindle Black Friday deal days, having only read the first couple lines of the synopsis and the list of awards. It was like $1 so I got it. Then I read the full synopsis and was like “what the hell did I just get?” I love quirky books though, and my curiosity was piqued. Having really enjoyed Nightbitch, I gave it a go. I was delightfully impressed. Shark Heart is beautifully written, truly unique, and the world building is comprehensive and believable. Anytime I describe the plot and characters to a friend they are like “wtf, that is so weird.” But because the world building and descriptions are so thoughtful and genuine, the mythological undertones in this gorgeous story bring a creative telling of love and loss. If you want something uplifting and different, this is your book. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2024 by Meghan

  • Amazing
Quirky - you must suspend disbelief. It takes you through the struggles we face in life: the end of a relationship, death, marriage, difficulties with our parents. Took a bit to accept some of the fantastical elements but overall it was a great story and makes you remember all the good in life.
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2025 by G2

  • Great writing, weird story
This is the weirdest book I’ve ever read. I’m sure I’m missing the meaning or what the author is trying to say. I gave it a 3 because the writing was beautiful and the story kept my interest long enough to finish the book and to read it in just a few days. I don’t think I will recommend this book to anyone, but I know it’s going to stay with me for a long time. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2024 by Melissa Thomson

  • Very unique. Can honestly say I've never read a book quite like it and enjoyed it!
I can honestly say I've never read a book like this. The format which in some parts reads like a script or play and other parts a poem, but flows perfectly. Then we have the actual synposis, which is a woman's husband mutates into a great white shark. Yes, you read that correctly. This book is about a man who discovers he has a mutant gene that causes him to transform into a shark. Hear me out though! I couldn't stop reading it. It was so good. The prose is poetic and beautiful and it contains a multitude of love stories- between husband and wife and mother and daughter. This book would be great for a book club. It definitely would stir up some dialogue. I started to lose interest when we swapped to Angela's story. It makes sense of the author's purpose for this part of the book and becomes a major tear jerker. 🥺 Just in the moment, it was distracting and I really wanted to get back to Wren and Lewis's storyline. I'm glad we get Angela's story! I just thought it messed the flow of reading up for me in the moment. I'm ashamed to say when I saw this book as an option for Book of The Month, I skirted right over it. Because although, the cover is gorgeous, I had heard literally nothing about it and ignorantly didn't even acknowledge it as one of my choices and went with an author I was familiar with instead. I regret that decision. 😅 After hearing the latent buzz, I decided to purchase the book and I am glad I did. All in all, is this book weird? Yes. It's quite frankly the weirdest, most unique book I have read all year...maybe ever. But if you like magical realism or beautiful prose or lit fiction, then I say check it out, because I am glad I did. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2023 by Celene Celene

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