Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

 

Summary (from the publisher): For Lewis and Wren, their first year of marriage is also their last. A few weeks after their wedding, Lewis receives a rare diagnosis: He will retain most of his consciousness, memories, and intellect, but his physical body will gradually turn into a great white shark. As Lewis develops the features and impulses of one of the most predatory creatures in the ocean, his complicated artist’s heart struggles to make peace with his unfulfilled dreams.

At first, Wren internally resists her husband’s fate. Is there a way for them to be together after Lewis changes? Then, a glimpse of Lewis’s developing carnivorous nature activates long-repressed memories for Wren, whose story vacillates between her childhood living on a houseboat in Oklahoma, her time with her college ex-girlfriend, and her unusual friendship with a woman pregnant with twin birds.

Review: Lewis and Wren are newlyweds when Lewis receives the diagnosis that he has a rare mutation that will turn his body gradually into that of a great white shark. At first, he struggles to fulfill his artistic ambitions, spending his remaining days frantically writing a final play, even as he is quickly turning into a predator of the ocean. Meanwhile, Wren struggles to accept her husband's fate, which brings up suppressed memories of her childhood and the complicated memories she has of her mother.

At first blush, this book seems so odd and quirky. And of course it is! Multiple characters have rare conditions that turn them into various animals. But the fantastical conditions are really a stand in for any terminal or debilitating condition. At its heart, this is a novel about grief - for loss of ones you love and of the life you imagined you would have. 

I was surprised by some of the segues in this novel. The novel goes back in time to tell Wren's mother's story. At first, I was somewhat confused by this shift, since in many ways the novel had previously seemed like the story of a marriage. But gradually, the reason why Wren's mother Angela's story is relevant but also similar to Lewis's own story becomes clear. The author also seemingly randomly drops that Wren dated a woman in college. This doesn't really go anywhere or seem to signify anything, other than to say Wren experienced a college break up. Unclear what we're supposed to take away from this. Likewise, I struggled to understand why Wren's friend, the tiny pregnant woman, makes such a relatively brief arc in the plot. Perhaps it is to show that some people come in and out of our life. We can't always choose how our lives will go or who will remain in them. For Wren, she learns this lesson early and keeps losing people. I felt so much compassion for the sadness for the many people she loses.  

In the end, this novel is hopeful for embracing the life you do have and for capitalizing on the opportunities and connections that are available to you, even if they aren't your first choice. Who knew that such a weird book would be such an emotional affecting novel! Deeply moving and highly original. 

Stars: 4