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ClareR (6192 KP) rated The Spoiled Heart in Books

May 26, 2026 - 1:31 PM  
The Spoiled Heart
The Spoiled Heart
Sunjeev Sahota | 2024 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I’ll be honest, I’m not too sure how to explain The Spoiled Heart, but I will say that I can’t understand why Sahota’s books aren’t more widely known and read. This is the second book I’ve read (The China Room being the first), and I will be reading his two earlier novels at some point!

Nayan is a man with a past: he loses his son and mother in a senseless fire (an arson attack), and turns to activism in his local Trade Union after the collapse of his marriage. He’s a caring man who. Looks after his father with dementia, even though they’ve always had a very tense relationship.

When he decides to run as the trade union General Secretary, Megha decides to run against him, even though she has far less experience and comes from a very affluent background. Nayan also starts a relationship with Helen, an old schoolfriend of his sister, who has a teenaged son.

There’s a lot going on in this - more than I could possible tell you in this short review (and why wouldn’t you read it instead?!), so I won’t!

I liked that it was written from the perspective of Sajjan, who is investigating what happened to Nayan and his own family’s involvement. This gripped me from the off. It’s a novel with big topics, big feelings and big reveals!