Lovely's debut novel, a touching journey of the heart, tracks what happens to two Midwestern families after a death and a gift of life. Archeologist Alex Voormann and his plant biologist wife, Isabel, had a pleasant enough life in Iowa until Isabel was struck and killed while riding her bicycle. Alex reluctantly complies with her wish to be an organ donor, which saves the life of Janet Corcoran, a 34-year-old Chicago art teacher and mother of two. Lovely thoughtfully weaves the tales of these two families together, tracing the realities of love and loss of all kinds as Alex attempts to move on, the man who was driving the truck that killed Isabel begins popping up in unexpected places, and Janet seeks out Alex and Isabel's mother to thank them and express her guilt and empathy. Lovely does a great job of staying out of sappy melodrama as the gravity of Isabel's death pulls the cast together in memorable fashion. The delicate handling of loaded material, attention to detail and depth of character make this a standout. (Feb.)
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The last thing in the world grieving Iowa widower Alex Voorman wants is to hear from the woman who now has his wife's heart. It's been a year since his beloved Isabel was killed in a truck/bicycle accident, and he's barely moving on. Close to his mother-in-law, Bernice, he resents her push for him to speak with Chicagoan Janet Corcoran, who was near death until she received Isabel's heart. First-time novelist Lovely writes unflinchingly of the medical and emotional realities that attend a heart transplant and the terrible toll it can take on recipients and their families, who are desperate to stop worrying, and the donors' loved ones, who will never stop grieving. First novelist Lovely throws into the mix a couple of over-the-top elements, including the truck driver, a disturbed young man whose intrusion into the lives of the two families adds a tension that goes a bit too far as the novel draws to its powerful close. Still, Lovely's sensitive handling of families going from catastrophe to something that looks like normal bodes well for a long, rich career. Strongly recommended.
Beth E. Andersen
Iowa City resident Lovely's first novel is an overwrought, often excruciating exploration of the ironies unleashed by a young woman's decision to donate her organs. Isabel, a botanist, is riding her bike up a hill on a blustery Iowa spring day. At the crest, a gust forces her into the wrong lane, just in time to collide head-on with a pickup truck driven by Jasper, an aspiring blues guitarist and all around ne'er-do-well. As Isabel lies brain-dead in the hospital, her organs are harvested as her mother, Bernice, and husband, Alex, keep horrified vigil. In Chicago, Janet, whose myopathic heart is failing, is the designated recipient of Isabel's heart. A year after Isabel's death, Alex's grief is still raw, but he's comforted by his kinship with Bernice. He's disturbed when Janet's thank-you notes become outright demands for friendship. Bernice, whose closeness to Alex is threatened by a new girlfriend, welcomes chatty e-mails from Janet's mother Lotta. Post-transplant, Janet returns to teaching troubled youth, while coping with her two boisterous children. Her workaholic lawyer husband David, who lacks caregiving genes, withdraws. Jasper, whose characterization is the most problematic in the novel, morphs from feckless screw-up-he's underemployed and underappreciated at Best Buy-to a stalker who's bent on forcing Alex, Bernice and Janet to acknowledge his "role" in the heart donation. Although acquitted at trial, Jasper, sole surviving witness to the accident, withheld one piece of crucial incriminating evidence-he was driving while dialing. In the sections devoted to Jasper, the writer's contempt for him is palpable. Because he killed Isabel he's already the obvious villain-the moredaunting challenge, ducked here, was to make him an identifiably flawed human. In the absence of a plot, the action is driven largely by Alex's ruminations, many voiced in long stretches of eloquent but repetitive speechifying. Despite evocative prose throughout, this morality tale never achieves dramatic lift-off.
"Truly unique. [Lovely's] writing is thoughtful and keeps you plowing ahead to find out what else can come of a widower's grief and a mother's desperation. An utterly convincing portrait of people who have lost the person they love most in the world. It is a touching story."Associated Press
"Irreplaceable is tender and dear. It explores the mystery and vagaries of life, with such gentle understanding of the way things can fall apart in an instant and, just as suddenly, come together. Stephen Lovely knows the human heart."Luanne Rice, author of Last Kiss
"Vividly realizes the casualties and rebirths that occur when an organ is donated after a fatal accident. Lovely explores the nature of grief and guilt, salvation and healing."The Columbus Dispatch
"Vividly realizes the casualties and rebirths that occur when an organ is donated after a fatal accident. Lovely explores the nature of grief and guilt, salvation and healing."
"Irreplaceable is tender and dear. It explores the mystery and vagaries of life, with such gentle understanding of the way things can fall apart in an instant and, just as suddenly, come together. Stephen Lovely knows the human heart."
"Truly unique. [Lovely's] writing is thoughtful and keeps you plowing ahead to find out what else can come of a widower's grief and a mother's desperation. An utterly convincing portrait of people who have lost the person they love most in the world. It is a touching story."
"Stephen Lovely's debut novel is wise, heartbreaking, funny, and human in every possible way. In this debut novel, he manages to humanize the sterile world of heart transplants, the faceless victims and lucky receivers of their organs, and the families who are touched forever by happenstance. Irreplaceable is unforgettable. I simply love this book."
"You may think you know the drama at the center of this accomplished debut novel: the agony and the joy that attends a heart transplant operation. Please, think again. Stephen Lovely has imagined his way deep into to the lives of his characters and evoked their varied experiences with remarkable insight and eloquence. In his sure hands it's all been made new the desperate grief, the wonder of a reclaimed life. Irreplaceable is a rich, poignant and powerful book."