The Silver Hearted

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Overview

“The Silver Hearted is our Heart of Darkness. It is just as ominous, as violent, as exotic, as darkly colonial. But it is a lot better written than Conrad’s book. Whereas Conrad is always resorting to ‘the unspeakable,’ McConnell tells us everything in glowing detail and in fresh, eloquent language. Sexy, demonic, elusive, The Silver Hearted is a perfect work of art.”—Edmund White

Set against a background of revolution and profiteering of an unnamed port town, the story’s unnamed narrator is hired to protect a vast sum of money shadowy investors have entrusted to him. Literally chests of silver coins, this fortune must be protected at all costs. He turns...

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Overview

“The Silver Hearted is our Heart of Darkness. It is just as ominous, as violent, as exotic, as darkly colonial. But it is a lot better written than Conrad’s book. Whereas Conrad is always resorting to ‘the unspeakable,’ McConnell tells us everything in glowing detail and in fresh, eloquent language. Sexy, demonic, elusive, The Silver Hearted is a perfect work of art.”—Edmund White

Set against a background of revolution and profiteering of an unnamed port town, the story’s unnamed narrator is hired to protect a vast sum of money shadowy investors have entrusted to him. Literally chests of silver coins, this fortune must be protected at all costs. He turns for assistance to a naïve sailor, beautiful and young, who helps the narrator evacuate his money from a trading emporium overrun by violent mobs. With a hopeless fondness, the boy wants acknowledgement that lives have been destroyed for the sake of money. Unfortunately the ruthless calculus of profit and loss has an eerie appeal the narrator can’t shake, and the mobs are closing in. And he again has to get his fortune out of the city he’s found uneasy shelter in.

New York-based novelist David McConnell, whose short fiction and criticism have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies, is the author of the fictional memoir The Firebrat.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
McConnell (The Firebrat) delivers an inventive if slightly flat tale of intrigue set in a volatile near future as an unnamed narrator is tasked with protecting a mysterious and valuable load of cargo. When his latest hideout gets attacked, the narrator pays teenage sailor Topher to take him on and help him transport and safeguard the cargo. The narrator's erotic attraction to Topher grows, and soon they discover the crates contain a vast load of silver that constitutes a not inconsiderable fortune in the revolutionary times. A flurry of thin secondary characters attempt to undermine the protagonist's faith in Topher, who, meanwhile, may have a number of enemies from his past tracking them, as well. The best parts of this novel are its descriptions of the pursuit and hunts, and while the port city locals are convincingly gritty, the distance McConnell leaves between character and reader makes it difficult to connect. (Feb.)
Kirkus Reviews
McConnell debuts with an enigmatic potpourri of violent intrigue and homoeroticism. Somewhere East of Suez, a shady young expatriate watches over 24 boxes of U.S. silver dollars. He hails from the city of Z (famous), but right now is in the riverfront city of B (obscure); we'll call him N (for nameless narrator). His job as a middleman is to launder this dirty money and make a profit through his trading; anything less and his brutal boss could have him murdered. To complicate matters, a civil war is raging in this backward tropical country, and there are many parties involved: the rebels, the government, foreign-owned companies and an eccentric oligarchy, the Mandarins. Don't let that last name fool you; there's no China connection. McConnell savors situations that are, to use his favorite expression, out-of-true. The bong, or warehouse, where N had stored his boxes is being shelled; there have been deaths; time is of the essence. N pays a 16-year-old sailor, Topher, to get his boxes on a vessel going downriver. Is N abandoning the bong's workers, all of whom he knew? That ethical question will linger. Meanwhile, muscular Topher is an object of fascination for both N and the obese captain, though neither man will act on his desires. N cannot open himself to love; "violence and mistrust made such pleasurable good sense to me that I luxuriated in them." McConnell skillfully evokes a shadow-world of ambiguities, but N's existential drama and his immediate quandary both languish; expect foreplay without consummation. N arrives in the capital and hides his boxes in a seedy hotel. His boss calls from Z. Is N intending to abscond with the silver and risk the consequences? Who knows? The end is amess, though N's final, delirious vision of some handsome sailors is fitting. Powerful atmospherics are not enough to sustain this ambitious study of corruption.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781593501402
  • Publisher: Alyson Books
  • Publication date: 2/1/2010
  • Pages: 213
  • Sales rank: 719,080
  • Product dimensions: 8.20 (w) x 5.66 (h) x 0.64 (d)

Meet the Author

David McConnell
David McConnell

New York-based novelist David McConnell, whose short fiction and criticism have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies, is the author of the fictional memoir The Firebrat.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
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Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews

  • Posted July 22, 2010

    A fascinating dark world

    As a fan of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, i found this book compelling. While there's no character that's distinctly likable, it's the author's imagination when it comes to setting and culture that make this book so readable.

    McConnell creates a dismal country that could be anywhere poor, post-colonial and dangerously chaotic. Then he sets up his unnamed narrator to have to struggle against a variety of obstacles to get a shipment of silver coins to his boss. If I had stronger feelings about the narrator, I might have a been a bit more invested. Also, it was a little weird that adult characters seemed to be lusting after sixteen-year-old boys. I know that age of consent is variable by culture, so it shouldn't really matter. Also, I don't think the author intended that aspect to be titillating or shocking, so perhaps the creepiness of it is more based on the nature of these eerie and sometimes repellent characters as opposed to any kind of societal bias on my part.

    While this book isn't for everyone, I think it's for people who enjoyed the surreal haze of the last 30-45 minutes of Apocalypse Now, who appreciate a kind of off-kilter reality that can only be perceived through the dimness of twilight. (The cover is very appropriate) Those readers will find this book thoroughly intriguing. Great for book groups.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted May 31, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    The Silver Hearted: A Novel, Book Review

    I really did not care for this novel all that much. I believe that it comes down to that it just was not the novel I thought it was going to be. I found it difficult to get into from the beginning. I kept asking myself, "What?!" Perhaps the author's style of writing was something of a turn off for me. It felt like I was trying too hard to stay or keep up with David McConnell. Finally, some small relief came at chapter four. However, by the end of the fast read novel, I felt that I should re-read the first three chapters again to fully understand the why of the actions of the twenty-dollar sailor. I don't believe that I will read another of David McConnell's books again. I also don't have any desire to keep this book on my shelf for a future read. I got through it, which I promised myself, and that is all I can justly do for it.
    The narrator is hired by a questionable casino owner to transport boxes of silver coins amounting to $200,000 US dollars. As if it isn't hard enough to be caught with this many curious boxes, he must do this in the political revolution of a very poor port city. With the aid of his twenty-dollar sailor, the narrator is able to get the treasure out of the fighting in Z. Can he get the boxes to his employer when the police, the young twenty-dollar sailor, and other questionable men are looking for him and the missing gold, not silver?

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
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