Monday, April 11, 2011

Heaven Sent - Xavier Leret (review)



Genre:                           Contemporary Fiction
Year:                              2011
Word count:                  5158                            
Where to get:               Smashwords, Amazon,
Author's Website:       Xavier Leret
                                       Xavier's Goodreads Page





     Sixteen year old Carlo has no experience of the world. He desperately wants eternity to provide an alternative to the strict moral imperative of his Catholic parents. When Daizee Byatt, a girl from the other side of the tracks, crashes into Carlo's life, the course of his future veers off the road. This is the story of what Heaven Sent. 
(goodreads.com)


He pictured Daizee lying in a field, broken, naked, on her front. Saw himself searching for her, trolling the whole of Bristol, every building site, every disused building, the Downs, Leigh Woods and finally, after walking out into the countryside, seeing her from a distance. A white blur, it could be anything but he knew it was her, could feel it in his stomach. Throughout his search he knew that this was how it would end, that she hadn't abandoned him, but had been taken from him. Falling to his knees to take her up in his arms, his lips brush with her hair. Carlo bit his pillow, choked and as he told her that he loved her again and again he could not control himself from soaking his pillow with tears.
Carlo watched and wondered that if there was eternal life whether it would involve going to church everyday, or would God demand that you just kneel forever in his light and occasionally get up when it was your turn to make the tea.



     Mix together Romeo and Juliette with Bonnie and Clyde and throw them into J.D Salinger's Catcher in the Rye and you'll get an explosive, brilliant and breath taking novel: Heaven Sent, by debut author Xavier Leret.

     Superficially the story of two young people from the opposite worlds, undeniably drawn to each other, Heaven Sent is in fact a perceptive study of one's individual understanding of his human condition. It's a heavy and dark story which deals with some big, hard-hitting topics like social prejudices, religious beliefs, child abuse and prostitution.

     Carlo is a sixteen year old boy from a deeply Catholic family in Bristol, England. He grows up the only child in a severely religious household and is being forced to follow strict rules of Catholic Church. It seems that he's suffocating under the pressure his parents are putting on him to be perfect, pure and devoted. He's not allowed to have normal social interactions with his peers, which makes him feel disconnected and lonely. Lost and confused, he struggles to make sense out of the world around him.

     His world is turned upside down when he crashes into a young girl on the street. Daisy is a young prostitute, with a beautiful face and heavy Bristolian accent. Her childhood was a nightmare, she was abused, repeatedly molested and then forced to make a living by selling her body on the streets. She didn't have anyone she could trust to, no one ever made her feel safe, loved or understood. Carlo was the first person to reach out to her in attempt to help her. The only one to accept and love her for who she was.

     So what happens when these two opposite worlds come crashing together? Be prepared for a wild emotional roller coaster ride! I was captured by Xavier's exquisite writing and his ability to depict the world so vividly, it made the characters seem so very real. Especially Daisy, with her lines written with thick Bristolian accent. Once i started reading, I found it virtually impossible to put this book down. It was absolutely phenomenal!

     Is there anyone I wouldn't recommend this book to? Yes. I would say the content of the book, as well as coarse language makes this book not suitable for people under the age of 16 (maybe even 18). Also, if you're one of the people who get annoyed at the lack of speech marks, you might find it a little bit difficult to read it. I, personally, found it mildly irritating, for sometimes it was hard to tell the difference between dialogue and narration parts.

     Overall, I had a wonderful time reading this book. It left me speechless. I know I will be thinking about Carlo and Daisy for a long time!



18 comments:

Britta said...

I haven't heard of this one! But I am definitely adding it to my to-read pile ASAP. Thanks for the review and introducing me to this novel :)

Unknown said...

I could not get past the part with Carlos and the old man. That stopped me dead.

Lindsay said...

HA I am one that gets annoyed with lack of punctuation, but the story sounds good enough for me to attempt to overlook it. Especially with Lisa's comment... I have to know what she's talking about!

Jennifer said...

I was drawn to this book because of the cover. After reading the review not sure if it would definitely be my cup of tea. But glad you liked it. It sounds interesting.

Aleetha said...

This is the third book that I have never seen but in your blog. Totally new for me.

Jolene and Family said...

Wow, another book I have yet to hear about and am so glad you put this in front of me. Sounds like an amazing read!!

Sakira said...

I'm so glad you reviewed this. I've been looking for a book that delves into the individual and the search for self-identity. This sounds like an amazing, touching read. I'm definitely going to check it out!!

Thanks for the review :)

Kris

Unknown said...

I never heard of this book before... Thanks for reviewing this it seems like a book I would definetly read and get into! Going to put it on my TBR list and it's a bonus you gave it 5 stars! It must be a fb read :D

Jessica ( frellathon ) said...

I was lucky to win a copy of this so it's nice to see you enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to it.

Lindsay Cummings author said...

never heard of this one, but it does sound good! =]

Anonymous said...

Oh this looks like a good read. I love the conflict in the story! I think this would draw me to tears just basing from that quote you included in this review! I must find a copy of this!

aurora M. said...

Now this is something I would like to read! Thanks for the review.

Krystal Larson said...

This book looks really interesting. I love that the characters have accents.

_yay_ said...

I admit I REALLY am a sucker for unique covers. Lovely idea to post them instead of a regular list. It's even better when the synopsis sounds interesting as well. Definitely so in this case. Thanks for the review.

Yvonne @ The Shadow Realm said...

Never heard of this book before but your review has me intrigued. I'm not a religious person so i think that that part of the story might annoy me but i'm still gonna check it out

Munnaza said...

This book sounds absolutely brilliant. I love stories that are so engrossing that you can't put the book down at all (I feel like there is no higher praise for a novel) and the fact that you rated this give stars only makes me want to read it more. I can't wait to pick up a copy from the library soon. Thanks for telling us about this! Fantastic review!

Enbrethiliel said...

+JMJ+

I visited Xavier Leret's site because of your review. Your description of his writing style and his own short bio make me think of the Scottish author Irvine Welsh. I both want to and am a little afraid to read Heaven Sent now.

Jaime Lester said...

Carlo and Daisy seem to be characters that I would like to know. I have not heard about a lot of authors that you have read before, and I always enjoy hearing about the good ones. Thanks for the review

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