Book review: Sunjeev Sahota’s The Spoiled Heart tackles race and politics

The Spoiled Heart

By Sunjeev Sahota
Literary fiction/Harville Secker/Paperback/336 pages/$23.02/Amazon SG (

amzn.to/3wgqOFt

)
Two stars

Booker-nominated author Sunjeev Sahota’s latest work is an unfocused attempt at dissecting the downfall of a politician who proves to be predictably problematic.

The narrative is especially bogged down by a chunky fifth chapter lasting 147 pages – nearly half the book.

Protagonist Nayan Olak, favoured front runner in the election to be general secretary of his local union, throws himself into a political career after the tragic deaths of his mother and son.

Divorced and caring for his dementia-addled abusive father, he takes an interest in former troublemaker Helen Fletcher, who moves back to town after disappearing two decades before.

As narrated by investigative writer Sajjan Dhanoa, Nayan’s childhood acquaintance, the subplots around family, love, politics and community struggle to build tension.

British novelist Sahota grew up in Chesterfield, where The Spoiled Heart is set, giving him first-hand perspective on the town and its political and racial dynamics.

The Durham University associate professor’s second novel The Year Of The Runaways (2015) was shortlisted for the Booker and his third novel China Room (2021) was also longlisted for the award. Hence expectations are high for this fourth book.

Fans of his writing know to expect post-colonial themes as well as hot-button sociopolitical issues. Certainly political tensions between brown, black and white members of the British working class present the central conflict within the story.

Nayan recounts the words of his mother, a union representative before her death: “The workers in society have to work together, acha? Have to fight together to stand a chance. Have to stay solid. None of this Indians need this, whites this, blacks this. That’s them trying to make us fight each other, fight each other over the scraps.”

However, he does not have the wisdom and finesse his mother had, his political campaign lacking a definitive stance on racial tensions while pandering to the biases of his white colleagues.

The heavy-handed political plot is overshadowed by the awkwardly stiff romance he pursues with Helen. His tactic of insistently inserting himself into Helen’s life makes their eventual romance feel forced and begrudging.

Offering Helen’s son Brandon a job as an excuse to speak to and about Helen, asking her out multiple times after she clearly expresses disinterest and badgering her to accept a caretaker position for his ailing father – Nayan shows an inability to take no for an answer.

This is the classic toxic male myth that if a man were persistent enough, such intrusive actions are romantic and desirable.

Politics returns to a central position only near the end, by which time the dialogue about the election is laid so thickly with critiques of racism, abuse and misogyny that it loses the intended effect.

Rather than provoking thought in the reader, the issues feel like an attempt to pad the subplot with meaning and a reason to dislike Nayan.

The characters are so flatly written that even if one forgets their names and roles, it is no loss to the overall story.

The biggest handicap to the novel is the lack of development and characterisation of women, who blend together easily. This is the by-product of being told about the lives of the characters by a male narrator rather than seeing them unfold. The result is bland women who seemingly do not exist without the men around them.

The exception is Nayan’s abrasive and privileged election opponent Meghra, whose foremost trait is being disliked by everyone around her. It is a shame as the women lead far more interesting lives than any of the men.

If you like this, read: A Spell Of Good Things by Ayobami Adebayo (Knopf, 2023, $17.53, Amazon SG, go to

amzn.to/4aVVSJM

). Poverty-stricken teen Eniola and perfect daughter Wuraola find their lives intertwining as secret family connections lead them down a path of hardship and loss.