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The Mysterious Life of the Heart: Writing From "The Sun" About Passion, Longing, and Love
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- GenresFiction
351 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 29, 2009
For the past few months, one book has been a touchstone for me, The Sun Magazine’s publication The Mysterious Life of the Heart: Writing from The Sun about Passion, Longing, and Love. This anthology features some of the absolute best writing some one of the absolute best magazines around; each piece is gorgeous and wrenching in the way all powerful things are.
The collection takes shape as a relationship would beginning with dating, moving into marriage/partnership, exploring those relationships, looking at the way marriages/partnerships dissolve, and then moving back into how these relationships heal, shatter, and endure. Honestly, this is the best anthology I’ve ever read. There’s a consistency in the quality and tenor of the pieces and a beauty to it’s construction. I’ve been reading this book for months, not because it’s hard to read but because I really want to savor each piece, suck it into myself, let it become part of my circulatory system, live with these words, because these words are helping me find my way back to myself. Each time I read a piece, I think, “Wow, that must have been hard. I can’t even imagine.” Then, I think, “I know just what she means.” Or “That’s what I felt like when . . . ” I learn about others’ experiences while understanding my own. This book speaks of what words are supposed to do.
Yesterday, I read Michelle Cacho-Negrete’s essay “And Passion Most of All” about her visit to a friend who was dying of cancer. The piece speaks of all the complexities involved in friendship, in grief, in dying, in loving, in dating, in marriage - yet the story is so simple - it’s one woman trying to be the best friend she can be while she is also losing the best friend she has. The writing is gorgeous, and I’ve been thinking about it for hours. Powerful stuff, here.
The collection takes shape as a relationship would beginning with dating, moving into marriage/partnership, exploring those relationships, looking at the way marriages/partnerships dissolve, and then moving back into how these relationships heal, shatter, and endure. Honestly, this is the best anthology I’ve ever read. There’s a consistency in the quality and tenor of the pieces and a beauty to it’s construction. I’ve been reading this book for months, not because it’s hard to read but because I really want to savor each piece, suck it into myself, let it become part of my circulatory system, live with these words, because these words are helping me find my way back to myself. Each time I read a piece, I think, “Wow, that must have been hard. I can’t even imagine.” Then, I think, “I know just what she means.” Or “That’s what I felt like when . . . ” I learn about others’ experiences while understanding my own. This book speaks of what words are supposed to do.
Yesterday, I read Michelle Cacho-Negrete’s essay “And Passion Most of All” about her visit to a friend who was dying of cancer. The piece speaks of all the complexities involved in friendship, in grief, in dying, in loving, in dating, in marriage - yet the story is so simple - it’s one woman trying to be the best friend she can be while she is also losing the best friend she has. The writing is gorgeous, and I’ve been thinking about it for hours. Powerful stuff, here.
December 15, 2022
Compilation from The Sun magazine which has the absolute most beautiful writing anywhere. ‘Nuff said
March 15, 2024
The writing is of a good quality throughout. The introduction says the selections when read front to back follow a journey. There is a sense of that, with more innocent and new love in the early selections, with later in love type love, following a terminal illness or death.
Overall the entries felt more geared towards the sad part of love. The love being focused on here is romantic love just about exclusively. Other types of love do seep into the stories, but it is the pairing up that is the theme.
Perhaps it was my wish for more on the new love, the joy of love and less on the disaster of love, and the pain of love lost. Yet I’m not sad to have read these stories and essays, and the poems interspersed were just right.
Of course, with all collections a few were more enjoyable than others, although with the quality of writing here none are poorly written. It is just my personal preference for maybe two or three that I did not enjoy as much, which is far fewer than found in most collections.
Overall the entries felt more geared towards the sad part of love. The love being focused on here is romantic love just about exclusively. Other types of love do seep into the stories, but it is the pairing up that is the theme.
Perhaps it was my wish for more on the new love, the joy of love and less on the disaster of love, and the pain of love lost. Yet I’m not sad to have read these stories and essays, and the poems interspersed were just right.
Of course, with all collections a few were more enjoyable than others, although with the quality of writing here none are poorly written. It is just my personal preference for maybe two or three that I did not enjoy as much, which is far fewer than found in most collections.
December 30, 2018
The Sun magazine is known for its support of independent writers and also for its brave exploration of the human condition. In The Mysterious Life of the Heart, they have published a collection of some of their best writing on the subject of love: essays, poems and short stories that all previously appeared in The Sun. The pieces are wonderfully unique and often sad or humorous, as the writers explore love in all its forms: lust, companionship, commitment (or not), marriage, divorce, and even death of the loved one. But all seem to deal with love and its mysteries, pleasures and heartaches with some combination of tenderness, honesty, compassion, and celebration.
September 19, 2019
THE MYSTERIOUS LIFE OF THE HEART : 50 wonderful short stories, a beautiful and profound collection.
March 28, 2023
A great collection from The Sun.
April 17, 2016
"The Mysterious Life of the Heart": This anthology of Sun Magazine stories presents intimate looks at tragic circumstances, but no one seems to be running away from anything. In fact, sadness seems to be an incredible attraction.
My favorite story of the bunch is "Still Life With Candles And Spanish Guitar". It's about a uppity white chick on a blind date. From the first few pages, you might tell that she's arrogant and selfish and probably self destructive. Her self-absorption fills the first 90 percent of this short story. It's all about her, and for this reason you know she's never going to be happy with anyone. In fact, the guitar player date she's with soon begins to - surprise! - annoy her and she looks for excuses and ways to dump him
It's a look at every spoiled, intolerant college girl I've ever known. She's so sad, probably two drinks away from either breaking down in tears or throwing her glass into a mirror until the most random of opportunity moves her life in a different direction.
On the date, this guy brings his guitar with him and plays the crowd while she fumes in her seat, alone. I mean she hates the music. She hates the guy. And she hates this restaurant, but there is this scene where she finally tries to flee, but on her way out she discovers something "strikes a chord".
Her date is requested to play a song for a group of senior citizens in another room.
So imagine this: They are old and faded and wrinkled, but they revel in the moment. She, on the other hand, is young and beautiful and incredibly sad.
For the length of a song that they request him to play, she sees in their faces they seem to cling on to each note, intimately, as if each sound represented a loving memory. The moment she stops thinking about herself, she learns something that might get her past her dispostion. She learns that maybe love is not about struggle. It's about giving in. Letting yourself go.
Sometimes you just have to sit back and listen.
My favorite story of the bunch is "Still Life With Candles And Spanish Guitar". It's about a uppity white chick on a blind date. From the first few pages, you might tell that she's arrogant and selfish and probably self destructive. Her self-absorption fills the first 90 percent of this short story. It's all about her, and for this reason you know she's never going to be happy with anyone. In fact, the guitar player date she's with soon begins to - surprise! - annoy her and she looks for excuses and ways to dump him
It's a look at every spoiled, intolerant college girl I've ever known. She's so sad, probably two drinks away from either breaking down in tears or throwing her glass into a mirror until the most random of opportunity moves her life in a different direction.
On the date, this guy brings his guitar with him and plays the crowd while she fumes in her seat, alone. I mean she hates the music. She hates the guy. And she hates this restaurant, but there is this scene where she finally tries to flee, but on her way out she discovers something "strikes a chord".
Her date is requested to play a song for a group of senior citizens in another room.
So imagine this: They are old and faded and wrinkled, but they revel in the moment. She, on the other hand, is young and beautiful and incredibly sad.
For the length of a song that they request him to play, she sees in their faces they seem to cling on to each note, intimately, as if each sound represented a loving memory. The moment she stops thinking about herself, she learns something that might get her past her dispostion. She learns that maybe love is not about struggle. It's about giving in. Letting yourself go.
Sometimes you just have to sit back and listen.
June 17, 2023
A beautiful collection of stories about the trajectory’s of life and live. “Green” by Colin Chisholm is a standout story for me.
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May 7, 2009If you like reading short stories in The Sun, my favorite magazine and the only one I still read cover to cover--although, I read it from back to front, sort of odd--you will enjoy this sweet collection of stories about love in it many forms.
May 19, 2012
Definitely a good book with essays, short fiction, and poetry on my different facets of love. Some of the pieces were exceptional, and some were so-so. A strength of this anthology is the variety of perspectives it represents.
December 31, 2012
A very fine collection of dark, deep, thought provoking essays and short fiction (with the occasional poem thrown in for balance) from "The Sun" magazine founder and editor, Sy Safransky. A longer review of this compendium is available at: www.cloquetriverpress.com.
June 17, 2016
THE MYSTERIOUS LIFE OF THE HEART is a collection of short stories formerly published In THE SUN magazine. What I most love, is the open invitation I perceive from most of the authors to step right into an open wound. Stories are agonizingly true to life and heart clenchingly vivid.
June 10, 2009
Wonderful short stories and poems. Seems a little trite by the title, but very thoughtful and moving essays.
August 23, 2009
"Is love an endless feast, or is it what people manage to serve each other when their cupboards are bare?"
September 1, 2010
Love it! Great Short Stories.
March 8, 2010
Nice selection of moving pieces, previously published in _The Sun_.
July 15, 2010
Beautiful short stories. All unique, intense. I enjoyed each one of them and am sure I'll be back to read them over and over again.
June 21, 2013
The Sun magazine rocks. This collection covered all of my faves--short story, memoir, essay and love.
August 4, 2013
Not wowed. Honestly, the only story that will probably have a lasting impression is "The Year in Geese".
August 20, 2015
Excellent, love his magazine, The Sun also.
April 11, 2016
Loved this collection
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews