Book details

The Weight of a Human Heart turns the rules of storytelling on their head. A series of graphs illustrates the disintegration of a marriage, step by excruciating step. The heartbreaking story of a Rwandan boy is hidden in the pages of his English exam paper. A young girl learns her mother's disturbing secrets through the broken key on a typewriter. With settings ranging from China to Rwanda to Australia, these powerful and original stories announce the arrival of a brilliant literary talent. 'Clever ... uproarious ... dazzling' THE MONTHLY 'In O'Neill's hands, the minor art form of the short story becomes major art' BOOKSELLER AND PUBLISHER  Full of wit, irony, wild invention, love and pain Â- and sometimes shocking power' PADDY O'REILLY  By turns acerbic, playful and serious, O'Neill is equally at home with satire and pathos' CATE KENNEDY author of The World Beneath  With each new story O'Neill redefines the boundaries of what is possible' PATRICK CULLEN, author of What Came Between