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Set in the English countryside, Open, Heaven unfolds over the course of one year as two teenage boys meet and transform each other’s lives.
On the cusp of adulthood, James dreams of another life far away from his small village. As he contends with the expectations of his family, his burgeoning desire – an ache for autonomy, tenderness and sex – threatens to unravel his shy exterior.
Then he meets Luke. Unkempt and handsome, charismatic and impulsive, he has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle on a nearby farm. Luke comes with a reputation for danger, but underneath his bravado lie anxieties and hopes of his own.
With the passing seasons, the two teenagers grow closer and the bond that emerges between them transforms their lives. James falls deeply for Luke, yet he is never sure of Luke’s true feelings. And as the end of summer nears, he has a choice to make – will he risk everything for the possibility of love?
Author: Sean Hewitt
Paperback Published 29 April 2025 240 pages
Read and Reviewed by Graeme
"Seán Hewitt began his literary career as a poet with several volumes, followed by a memoir (All Down Darkness Wide) in 2022, and now he has produced one of the most beautiful books you will have read in years. It captures the ache of gay adolescent desire and longing with a vivid emotional intensity, while unfolding the narrative in lyrical, tender prose. The novel opens with James looking back on his life after the failure of his marriage. A real estate notice captures his eye, and he feels compelled to return to the village where he grew up. It was there twenty years earlier, that he first fell in love with a fervency that he has never shaken free of entirely. Luke, slightly older, infinitely more worldly and confident, has been bundled off to his uncle’s farm after some trouble with his parents - his father sent to prison, while his mother has disappeared to France for another man. Slowly over the course of a year, and four seasons, the two boys draw closer, but it is a tentative halting journey. Luke is lonely and hurt, damaged by the loss of his parents, particularly his father; while James is consumed by the depth of his feelings for Luke, yet too unsure of himself to act or to take a liberty that might be rebuffed. This slow dance is set against the vivid beauty of nature, and it is here that the poet’s eye excels, capturing the detail of the English rural landscape in dazzling prose. The novel gradually draws to a climax when James must choose between an important commitment to his family or a spontaneous invitation that promises greater intimacy with Luke. This novel of first love and loss is so exquisitely rendered it will likely bring a tear to the eye of some readers and linger in the mind long after it is finished."