The Unfastened Heart

by Lane von Herzen

The acclaimed author of "Copper Crown" paints a stunning portrait of a woman whose extraordinary gift for loving others is put to an extreme test when a man casts a shadow over her relationship with her daughter. "Tender and compassionate, The Unfastened Heart takes us deep into an enchanted -- and enchanting -- world." -- The New York Times Book Review. Literary Guild Selection, Doubleday Book Club selection. Movie rights sold to Columbia Pictures.

Genres: Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1994

About the author

Lane von Herzen is an award-winning literary novelist. Her two books, Copper Crown (Morrow/Penguin) and The Unfastened Heart (Dutton/Penguin) were sold at auction, being published to enthusiastic critical acclaim. The film option to The Unfastened Heart sold at auction to Columbia Pictures. Copper Crown was selected for the Discover Great New Writers series by Barnes and Noble and has been taught in Women's Studies courses at colleges and universities across the United States. Both novels were selections of the Literary Guild.

Ms. von Herzen has received literary fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council and Yaddo. She graduated from Dartmouth College with her B.A. in English literature, magna cum laude, and obtained her MFA in English literature from the writing program at UC Irvine.

She is currently working on her third novel.

Reviews

[Laura Ceja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the mystical, spiritual love between Anna and Mariela. The book has beautiful, sad, tragic imagery. This is a book I have read several times and still love it.

[Maude · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my mom’s favorite novel. She gifted me two copies, one hardback and one paper. The love of a mother and the love for one’s mother are both alchemies of the universe to be cherished. A gift.

[Cindy Watson]

Book Group

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a spectacular book that I've just read for the second time. Read it originally in 1994/95 but I didn't realize how good it was at that time. I passed it around to many of my friends and we all wrote in it because I wanted to know what they thought. Unfortunately I never got the book back and it has been on my mind and one of my friend's mind for a long time trying to remember the name of the book and what it was about. All we could remember was that it was somewhat mystical and something about a tree in the house. I finally was able to find the name and I bought the book again. And as I said, this time I thoroughly enjoyed it and am passing it around again. I only wish we could find out who has the original one so that we could compare what we wrote 15 years ago with what we write now.
It is wonderfully written book with loving women characters and with many wise things said about love and relationships.
Read it!

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book, utterly feminine in the best sense of the word, and deeply spiritual without being too much about religion per se. Nor is this a 'chick-lit' book; it is, rather, a book in which women will reconnect with the best of themselves, a book to teach men how to come back to what really matters in life.

This is a book about friendship among women, aging, love, loss, forgiveness, fragility, inner strength, and renewal. Its prose is poetical, its meanings deep but not New Age-y at all. Lane von Herzen's style is reminiscent of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, without abandoning too much to lush opulence and magical thinking.

This is a book to come back to at different stages of life, to reread again and again as a way of checking back into oneself and taking note of our changes. A beautiful book, and one I enthusiastically recommend both to those who wander in search of themselves and those whose peregrinations are more firmly rooted and internal.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came upon this lilting little novel courtesy of its author, my Dartmouth classmate, at an event where we were celebrating 35 years of women at Dartmouth and she, awesomely, was giving away autographed copies. As a fellow author I feel bad about the foresaken royalties, so YOU SHOULD BUY AND READ THIS BOOK. Not just to make up for my free ride, but because the language will thrill you and the musical-magical construction of a small world with colorful characters unfastened from any particular time and place (but more, say, Woodland Hills in the '90s than South America 100 years ago) will strum your heartstrings and make you feel that the universe is unified, people are redeemable, and love, in fact, conquers all.

[Pat Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book cast a spell on me during the reading. Maybe this was the result of the lyrical prose, which contained a rhythm and an originality bordering on poetry. Maybe it was the result of the characters who believed with great faith in the impossible. Either way, I was mesmerized by these pages and sorry when the book ended. I wanted to remain part of this magical story for a longer time. A beautiful, wise book! I found this author by chance and her work is a treasure.

[Katharine Grubb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful imagery, symbolism and language. Read this one quickly- great summer read. Loaded with wisdom on love. The plot is totally predictable, and I wondered a couple times about whether some characters' decisions were realistic. Appreciated reading a novel set in a time before technology was King of Communications. The writing reminded me a little of Kingsolver's "The Bean Trees."

[Erinndave · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book years ago at a used book store. I have read it at least 10 times. It is beautiful. might I even say haunting? It is not for everyone I am sure, but if you enjoy a little magic with your romance give it a try, and it might just become your favorite like it has become mine.

[Jennifer Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magical, lyrical and wise pages. I absolutely love this novel. It's reminiscent of Like Water for Chocolate or maybe the best of Anne Tyler, though I think this work surpasses them. I've re-read it twice, finding new meaning in it each time.

[Eilonwy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should probably reread this novel. I read it about twenty years ago, and it's amazing how clear the details still are in my head, so that's a testament to Lane von Herzen's vivid writing and emotional depth. I'm truly surprised that so few people have rated or reviewed this book.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. The descriptions were wonderful. Down to earth yet felt like poetry somehow.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up at the local book fair years ago and it sat on my "to read someday shelf". I only started to read it recently. I wish I had picked it up sooner! It is beautifully written, magical.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful tale of magical realism, lush with fluttering birds, listening saints, angel cakes, lovelorn children, and a circle of lonely supportive women.