SHARK HEART

by Emily Habeck

Shark Heart is one of the strangest books, both in form and content, that I have read in a very long time. Yet somehow, I find myself thinking about it often, even weeks after finishing it. 

The premise of the novel is that Wren and Lewis are newlyweds, but before they even have a chance to honeymoon, Lewis is diagnosed with a Carcharodon carcharias mutation. And here is where things get strange. This mutation means that Lewis will gradually and painfully transform into a great white shark. In the world of Shark Heart, this is a shocking, heartbreaking, but not unheard-of diagnosis. There are doctors and services designed to help Lewis and Wren with the transition. But facing the total loss of his life as a human is a nearly impossible task. As Habeck fills in the details of Wren’s backstory, and eventually that of Wren’s mother as well, each story develops themes of transition, abandonment and what it means to be human.

The other unusual feature of Shark Heart, is that the chapters are often extremely short and occasionally formatted as a play script. This ties into Lewis’ profession as a former-actor-turned-drama-teacher, but also serves to cut pieces of the story down to the absolute essentials of dialogue and brief descriptions of actions. I felt like I sped through this book at top speed, both because of this unique formatting, but also because I was dying to know how, or if, any of the wild upheaval would resolve. But despite, or perhaps because of the unusual style and story elements, Habeck reveals an essential truth about human nature and the way we love and need one another. (Lily)