What do you think?
Rate this book
Immaculate Heart
When visiting Ballymorris in Ireland for a funeral, a down-on-his-luck American reporter learns of a story that happened only months after his last visit many years before. A group of four teenagers, three of whom are family friends, claimed to have been visited by the Virgin Mary. Almost twenty years later, one of them denies it ever happened, another has left the small town, never to be heard from again, another has become a nun, and the fourth has been locked away in a psychiatric ward for many years. At the time, news of the visitation brought much wealth and tourism to this dreary Irish town, but as the years went by, and after the Pope refused to officially recognize it as a true Marian Apparition, what had been seen as a miracle began to feel like a curse, and this reporter believes there is more to the story than the townspeople are letting on. As he seeks out each of the four stories, each begins to take a different and sinister turn. Surrounded by secrecy and confusion, the journalist must decide how much of what he's uncovering is the truth, how much of it is lies, and much he can trust the four witnesses-one of whom he's become infatuated with-or for that matter, himself. Immaculate Heart is a novel where nothing is certain and everything should be questioned. Camille DeAngelis will leave you guessing what is real and what is only just a vision.
- GenresFiction
304 pages, Hardcover
First published March 22, 2016
2 people are currently reading
561 people want to read
About the author
Camille DeAngelis
13 books377 followersI'm the author of three fantasy novels for adults—Immaculate Heart, Mary Modern, and Petty Magic. My young adult novel, Bones & All, won an Alex Award from YALSA and the American Library Association in 2016 (thank you, librarians!!) This little teen-cannibal road trip novel has been adapted into a film directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, Mark Rylance, and a bunch more stunningly talented actors. David Kajganich wrote the script, and I often say (0% kidding) that if I could go back in time I'd novelize the screenplay and put both our names on the cover. (Well, his name *is* on the cover of the spiffy new movie tie-in edition, but you know what I mean.)
Anywho, back to the bio! My favorite of my novels is my middle-grade debut, The Boy From Tomorrow. I've also written two books of practical philosophy: Life Without Envy: Ego Management for Creative People and A Bright Clean Mind: Veganism for Creative Transformation. I also researched and wrote the first, second, and third editions of Moon Ireland.
I love reading and writing about the supernatural: my second children's novel (forthcoming!) is a ghost story, as is my first published short story, "The Coroner's Bride," now available from iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Amazon. "The Coroner's Bride" originally appeared in Exotic Gothic 5, edited by Danel Olson.
CURRENT PROJECT: a retro-futurist screwball comedy. For updates, you can sign up for my (not too frequent) newsletter: http://bit.ly/cometparty
**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE email me instead of using Goodreads messaging—I'm not on here often enough to give you a prompt reply! Thanks for understanding.**
Anywho, back to the bio! My favorite of my novels is my middle-grade debut, The Boy From Tomorrow. I've also written two books of practical philosophy: Life Without Envy: Ego Management for Creative People and A Bright Clean Mind: Veganism for Creative Transformation. I also researched and wrote the first, second, and third editions of Moon Ireland.
I love reading and writing about the supernatural: my second children's novel (forthcoming!) is a ghost story, as is my first published short story, "The Coroner's Bride," now available from iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Amazon. "The Coroner's Bride" originally appeared in Exotic Gothic 5, edited by Danel Olson.
CURRENT PROJECT: a retro-futurist screwball comedy. For updates, you can sign up for my (not too frequent) newsletter: http://bit.ly/cometparty
**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE email me instead of using Goodreads messaging—I'm not on here often enough to give you a prompt reply! Thanks for understanding.**
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 14, 2021
"When you're listening to a story, any story a'tall, you've got to believe in it with all you've got as it's being told, or else there's little pleasure to be found in it."
For me, this admonishment from Tess in the latter pages of Immaculate Heart felt like a mild rebuke, because I had been reading the book with a somewhat cynical attitude.
It's set in a small town on the west coast of Ireland, between Sligo and Galway, which the narrator is visiting. I don't recall that he's ever named, other than as "Ethna's grandson, all the way from New York." He's there, for the first time in 25 years, presumably to attend the funeral of a distant relative, but an item of much greater interest is his discovery that four locals, whom he'd known as playmates on his previous visit at age 12, created a sensation when they were teenagers by reporting several visitations by the Virgin Mary.
Our narrator writes for a magazine back home, and he immediately senses potential for a feature article. The people with whom he's staying show him the old newspaper clippings, which he sees as disappointing examples of "lazy journalism." He decides "Someone had to tell the story properly, and I knew it should be me." (It should be mentioned that his editor does not share the enthusiasm.)
A key part of getting the facts, of course, will involve interviewing those teenagers, who are now middle-aged adults like himself. One of them, Tess, a lay sister with the Church, is both accessible and friendly, but reluctant to tell him much. Another, named Orla, is a frazzled housewife with a chip on her shoulder. The best she can tell him is that "There's no story here. When will you see there's no story here?"
The third, and most interesting witness is Síle (the name is a variant of Sheila). Studying her photo in an old clipping, he observes "it was remarkable how her eyes could shine out of a pattern of tiny black dots." Unfortunately, Síle has been "hidden away" in a home for mentally disturbed people, possibly because (as a very aged woman suggests) the authorities "don't like what she saw."
There's undeniable allure in the suggestion that something miraculous occurred in this town. The narrator feels "a weird air of expectancy," and there is tension in "just waitin' on the second shoe to drop," implying that something miraculous may happen again, or at least that with effort on his part some kind of door into the Unknown might be cracked opened. That was the cause of my cynical attitude mentioned above, because I expected nothing of the kind. I figured this would be one of those stories that use suspense and mystery to attract readers but provide nothing of substance. And that might be a fair complaint, but for the characters and the writing and the theme, and of course the reminder: "Who are any of us to say we do see things as they are?"
The theme, of course (at least in my view), is loss and the hope of recovery, forlorn though it must be. Enormous losses have been registered by everyone present in this story. For example, the narrator has just broken up with a girlfriend back home. He knows he will return to an empty apartment, and he's beginning to realize his life in the years ahead will be solitary. When he's talking with Paudie over the newspaper clippings, he sees that the old widower is "half sad and half content, which I suppose was the only way you could feel after a long and happy life with someone you loved. ... I would never know anything close to what Paudie was feeling now, not for anyone, not ever." The narrator also lost his sister Mallory, not long after the previous visit to Ireland, and the thought of her is still ever-present. Her name is tattooed on his wrist with the infinity symbol. He even seems to glimpse her in the back seat of his rental car. A fourth witness to the visitations decamped years ago to Australia. No one has heard from him in years, and yet his elderly mother continues to look for his arrival any day now. Meanwhile, Leo, another of the old folks in town, obviously still carries a torch for the narrator's grandmother, whom he hasn't seen in 60 years.
There is a bittersweet pleasure to be found in the yearnings of these characters, made sweeter by a multitude of muted, easily overlooked bits, almost like grace notes in music, providing assurance that we are entrusting our time to a fine writer. Thus, when they venture into an old cemetery, "Paudie stood with his hands thrust in his coat pockets, looking up at the trees and the sky as if he might find what he was looking for above our heads rather than beneath our feet."
EDIT: Forgot to mention that, at least with regard to the Mary sightings, this could go on the same shelf with Our Lady of the Forest, by David Guterson.
For me, this admonishment from Tess in the latter pages of Immaculate Heart felt like a mild rebuke, because I had been reading the book with a somewhat cynical attitude.
It's set in a small town on the west coast of Ireland, between Sligo and Galway, which the narrator is visiting. I don't recall that he's ever named, other than as "Ethna's grandson, all the way from New York." He's there, for the first time in 25 years, presumably to attend the funeral of a distant relative, but an item of much greater interest is his discovery that four locals, whom he'd known as playmates on his previous visit at age 12, created a sensation when they were teenagers by reporting several visitations by the Virgin Mary.
Our narrator writes for a magazine back home, and he immediately senses potential for a feature article. The people with whom he's staying show him the old newspaper clippings, which he sees as disappointing examples of "lazy journalism." He decides "Someone had to tell the story properly, and I knew it should be me." (It should be mentioned that his editor does not share the enthusiasm.)
A key part of getting the facts, of course, will involve interviewing those teenagers, who are now middle-aged adults like himself. One of them, Tess, a lay sister with the Church, is both accessible and friendly, but reluctant to tell him much. Another, named Orla, is a frazzled housewife with a chip on her shoulder. The best she can tell him is that "There's no story here. When will you see there's no story here?"
The third, and most interesting witness is Síle (the name is a variant of Sheila). Studying her photo in an old clipping, he observes "it was remarkable how her eyes could shine out of a pattern of tiny black dots." Unfortunately, Síle has been "hidden away" in a home for mentally disturbed people, possibly because (as a very aged woman suggests) the authorities "don't like what she saw."
There's undeniable allure in the suggestion that something miraculous occurred in this town. The narrator feels "a weird air of expectancy," and there is tension in "just waitin' on the second shoe to drop," implying that something miraculous may happen again, or at least that with effort on his part some kind of door into the Unknown might be cracked opened. That was the cause of my cynical attitude mentioned above, because I expected nothing of the kind. I figured this would be one of those stories that use suspense and mystery to attract readers but provide nothing of substance. And that might be a fair complaint, but for the characters and the writing and the theme, and of course the reminder: "Who are any of us to say we do see things as they are?"
The theme, of course (at least in my view), is loss and the hope of recovery, forlorn though it must be. Enormous losses have been registered by everyone present in this story. For example, the narrator has just broken up with a girlfriend back home. He knows he will return to an empty apartment, and he's beginning to realize his life in the years ahead will be solitary. When he's talking with Paudie over the newspaper clippings, he sees that the old widower is "half sad and half content, which I suppose was the only way you could feel after a long and happy life with someone you loved. ... I would never know anything close to what Paudie was feeling now, not for anyone, not ever." The narrator also lost his sister Mallory, not long after the previous visit to Ireland, and the thought of her is still ever-present. Her name is tattooed on his wrist with the infinity symbol. He even seems to glimpse her in the back seat of his rental car. A fourth witness to the visitations decamped years ago to Australia. No one has heard from him in years, and yet his elderly mother continues to look for his arrival any day now. Meanwhile, Leo, another of the old folks in town, obviously still carries a torch for the narrator's grandmother, whom he hasn't seen in 60 years.
There is a bittersweet pleasure to be found in the yearnings of these characters, made sweeter by a multitude of muted, easily overlooked bits, almost like grace notes in music, providing assurance that we are entrusting our time to a fine writer. Thus, when they venture into an old cemetery, "Paudie stood with his hands thrust in his coat pockets, looking up at the trees and the sky as if he might find what he was looking for above our heads rather than beneath our feet."
EDIT: Forgot to mention that, at least with regard to the Mary sightings, this could go on the same shelf with Our Lady of the Forest, by David Guterson.
May 8, 2016
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway.
Immaculate Heart by Camille DeAngelis was, at first, difficult for me to get into at first; however, once I did it has been the most lyrical of books that I have read in quite a while. The language is beautiful and moves so smoothly - is it was one of the reasons I was able to continue on; I wanted to hear the Irish accent in my mind.
The book is about an American reporter who comes back to Ireland for his Uncle Johnny's funeral. Well, that's the main reason. The other reason is a sinister secret in which he has kept for over 20 years and this trip is supposed to help him cleanse himself or at least he hopes it does.
He discovers that three friends (and one other he didn't know) he had met some 20-25 years earlier during a trip to Ireland with his grandmother had seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary some years following this trip. Tess has become a lay nun, Sila is in an institution, Orla, Sila's sister, is still in Ballymorris and a bitter, uppity individual, and Declan (the unknown to our reporter) soon left after the apparition for Australia never to be heard from again. Our reporter decides that there is a story here to be told and begins an investigation by talking with the friends and families that he met so many ago. For some reason, his deceased sister, Mallory, continues to "pop" up in odd places; for example, he discovers her name in a notebook that Declan's mother is keeping but Mallory didn't know Declan's mother.
During this investigation though, he soon figures out that he is truly there to confront his own demons from his past before he can move on with his future. With an ending that is twisted and surprising, this book is captivating and haunting at the same time.
Immaculate Heart by Camille DeAngelis was, at first, difficult for me to get into at first; however, once I did it has been the most lyrical of books that I have read in quite a while. The language is beautiful and moves so smoothly - is it was one of the reasons I was able to continue on; I wanted to hear the Irish accent in my mind.
The book is about an American reporter who comes back to Ireland for his Uncle Johnny's funeral. Well, that's the main reason. The other reason is a sinister secret in which he has kept for over 20 years and this trip is supposed to help him cleanse himself or at least he hopes it does.
He discovers that three friends (and one other he didn't know) he had met some 20-25 years earlier during a trip to Ireland with his grandmother had seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary some years following this trip. Tess has become a lay nun, Sila is in an institution, Orla, Sila's sister, is still in Ballymorris and a bitter, uppity individual, and Declan (the unknown to our reporter) soon left after the apparition for Australia never to be heard from again. Our reporter decides that there is a story here to be told and begins an investigation by talking with the friends and families that he met so many ago. For some reason, his deceased sister, Mallory, continues to "pop" up in odd places; for example, he discovers her name in a notebook that Declan's mother is keeping but Mallory didn't know Declan's mother.
During this investigation though, he soon figures out that he is truly there to confront his own demons from his past before he can move on with his future. With an ending that is twisted and surprising, this book is captivating and haunting at the same time.
January 3, 2017
I loved her book before this Bones & All because it was such a different premise. I missed this one when it came out last year. Then through a random tweet from the author and a couple of more tweets she asked if I had read it. She said it was different than Bones & All but still had the wtf factor. On that recommendation I did take the plunge and started reading it that night. I am so glad I did! It turned out to be nothing like I expected. We look back on an event that happened twenty years ago through the eyes of the children who experienced it then and their now adult recollections. As our narrator digs deeper we are not sure who to believe or what really happened. Throw in some great characters and a strong sense of place means my 2017 reads is off to a good start!
March 23, 2016
Loved this book. Part religious mystery, part personal journey, it follows an American reporter as he tries to learn more about a sighting of the Virgin Mary in Ireland. The writer is so talented in bringing us into this world.
May 3, 2016
Strange story. Kept waiting for something, anything to happen. The ending was unexpected, I think. Not sure what really happened! Disappointing!
Read
September 19, 2022A male narrator (never named).... now a NY magazine journalist, returns to a coastal Irish village to attend a funeral, but also to report on the visitation of the Blessed Mother Mary who appeared to 3 girls almost 20 years earlier. This visitation occurred when the 3 women (and the narrator) were pre teens... but now the village which once celebrated the visitation is doing its best to forget it. The characterizations, good writing and the Irish wit and dialogue help this story immensely. The story does wander and the last fifth of the book is a little frustrating. (3.7-2.9 stars/5.0)
December 24, 2017
The author and I follow each other on social media. I read (loved, positively reviewed) one of her books "Bones & All" years ago. She encouraged me to give her latest book a try, and finally I did. I'm not sure how I feel about it. The concept--that a Marian apparition is not a blessing--becomes more interesting when the author leaves you to wonder if the apparition was not Mary, but perhaps a demon.
August 19, 2020
Who are the people giving this 4/5 stars?? I guess if you enjoy reading a book that leads you on thinking you are going to find out what happens and then you never really do but there is a strange secret thrown in at the end that you never expected then you will like this. Spoiler alert - you never do figure out what happened in the past with these sightings, were they real? Who knows. Characters weren't very likeable either..
November 24, 2017
compelling and upsetting.
December 5, 2019
DeAngelis explores the intersection of faith and deception in this compelling, surprising tale.
June 28, 2025
Shocking ending. Set in an Irish setting, the vibe was on point and the mystery was heartbreaking and unexpected. Hope to read more from this author.
October 31, 2017
Link: https://holedupinabook.blogspot.com/2...
This book started off a little slow and then it became quite fascinating for me. It also reminded me of The Wonder which I had reviewed a long time ago because they both dealt with these weird “supernatural”/”spiritual” situations and the main character basically went to investigate to find the truth. Also, I noticed that in this book, the reporter’s name was never mentioned. At least I don’t recall his name at all and I even checked Goodreads and everyone just refers him to “the American reporter”. So that’s also an interesting side bit.
The first thing that really struck me was the synopsis on the book flap – it talked about how there were three people who saw the Virgin Mary but clearly in the book, it depicted four. So I was definitely a little confused at first so I’m not sure who wrote that book flap synopsis but they should redo it or get fired or something. Anyways, so the book talked about four witnesses to the supposedly Virgin Mary sighting but one of them moved to Australia and therefore wasn’t a real focus in the book. It was the other three that the reporter really got a chance to discuss with.
The book was incredibly confusing. Honestly, it was interesting but confusing. I didn’t really get a lot of what was going on and why certain people acted the way they did. Originally the reporter went there for a family’s funeral but then got sucked into the whole apparition story and decided to investigate. The three who witnessed it and had stayed in the little town all showed a varying degree of readiness to share the story. One of them pretty much forgotten the whole situation and put it behind her; the other ended up becoming a nun; and the last one ended up in a mental instutition. And as the reporter went on with his investigations, it became more and more puzzling as to what really happened that time.
I don’t really want to go too much into detail about the plot because this is really one of those books where clearly the plot out trumps the characters themselves. I mean, the book was certainly engrossing – I found myself wondering about what was going to happen and what had really happened so long ago. However, at the end, I ended up feeling more baffled than before. I’m still not entirely sure how the book concluded because it was a little strange, to put it mildly. Especially with one of the witnesses.
Overall, I thought this book was great in its buildup but the ending was poorly executed. However, if you enjoy open-ended/cliff hangers as endings then I guess you can pick up this book. At the end of the day, I did find the book to be well written and the overall plot engrossing.
This book started off a little slow and then it became quite fascinating for me. It also reminded me of The Wonder which I had reviewed a long time ago because they both dealt with these weird “supernatural”/”spiritual” situations and the main character basically went to investigate to find the truth. Also, I noticed that in this book, the reporter’s name was never mentioned. At least I don’t recall his name at all and I even checked Goodreads and everyone just refers him to “the American reporter”. So that’s also an interesting side bit.
The first thing that really struck me was the synopsis on the book flap – it talked about how there were three people who saw the Virgin Mary but clearly in the book, it depicted four. So I was definitely a little confused at first so I’m not sure who wrote that book flap synopsis but they should redo it or get fired or something. Anyways, so the book talked about four witnesses to the supposedly Virgin Mary sighting but one of them moved to Australia and therefore wasn’t a real focus in the book. It was the other three that the reporter really got a chance to discuss with.
The book was incredibly confusing. Honestly, it was interesting but confusing. I didn’t really get a lot of what was going on and why certain people acted the way they did. Originally the reporter went there for a family’s funeral but then got sucked into the whole apparition story and decided to investigate. The three who witnessed it and had stayed in the little town all showed a varying degree of readiness to share the story. One of them pretty much forgotten the whole situation and put it behind her; the other ended up becoming a nun; and the last one ended up in a mental instutition. And as the reporter went on with his investigations, it became more and more puzzling as to what really happened that time.
I don’t really want to go too much into detail about the plot because this is really one of those books where clearly the plot out trumps the characters themselves. I mean, the book was certainly engrossing – I found myself wondering about what was going to happen and what had really happened so long ago. However, at the end, I ended up feeling more baffled than before. I’m still not entirely sure how the book concluded because it was a little strange, to put it mildly. Especially with one of the witnesses.
Overall, I thought this book was great in its buildup but the ending was poorly executed. However, if you enjoy open-ended/cliff hangers as endings then I guess you can pick up this book. At the end of the day, I did find the book to be well written and the overall plot engrossing.
Want to read
October 25, 2015
YAY!!!
A new book only a year after the most recent?! The Book Powers That Be (and Camille, of course) have blessed us!
Looking forward to reading it!!
April 8, 2016
I love a good mystery. Add that to a personal journey and throw in Ireland and you have a damn good read.
July 1, 2016
An intriguing and well executed plot; it keeps you charging through the book with great anticpation. The ending was (in hindsight) well signposted, but jarring nonetheless.
July 11, 2016
The mercantile virgin comes to help people make a living.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews