Hearts and Bones

‘Vivid, memorable and beautifully crafted‘ - Sarah Moss, author of Summerwater ‘A brilliant collection, from a remarkable talent‘ - Joseph O’ Connor, author of Shadowplay Hearts and Bones is Niamh Mulvey's collection of stories about relationships. It explores what love does to us, and how we survive it. First-time lovers make mistakes; brothers and sisters try to forgive one another; and parents struggle and fail and struggle again. Teenage souls are swayed by euphoric faith in a higher power and then by devotion to desire, trapped between different notions of what might be true. Quiet revolutions happen in living rooms, on river banks, in packed pubs and empty churches, and years later we wonder why we ever did the things we did. Set between Ireland and London in the first two decades of this millennium, the stories in Hearts and Bones look at the changes that have torn through these times and ask who we are now that we’ve brought the old gods down. Witty, sharply observed and deeply moving, these ten stories announce an extraordinary new Irish literary talent. 'Highly accomplished, inventive' - Irish Times 'Stunning' - Sinéad Gleeson, author Constellations 'Poignant, unsparingly honest' - Sunday Independent

‘Vivid, memorable and beautifully crafted‘ - Sarah Moss, author of Summerwater ‘A brilliant collection, from a remarkable talent‘ - Joseph O’ Connor, author of Shadowplay Hearts and Bones is Niamh Mulvey's collection of stories about relationships. It explores what love does to us, and how we survive it. First-time lovers make mistakes; brothers and sisters try to forgive one another; and parents struggle and fail and struggle again. Teenage souls are swayed by euphoric faith in a higher power and then by devotion to desire, trapped between different notions of what might be true. Quiet revolutions happen in living rooms, on river banks, in packed pubs and empty churches, and years later we wonder why we ever did the things we did. Set between Ireland and London in the first two decades of this millennium, the stories in Hearts and Bones look at the changes that have torn through these times and ask who we are now that we’ve brought the old gods down. Witty, sharply observed and deeply moving, these ten stories announce an extraordinary new Irish literary talent. 'Highly accomplished, inventive' - Irish Times 'Stunning' - Sinéad Gleeson, author Constellations 'Poignant, unsparingly honest' - Sunday Independent

"Keenly drawn characters headline this quietly absorbing tale of young love." - Kirkus Reviews The debut novel from Lawrence Bub, MD, a neuroradiologist who trained at Harvard and the University of Washington, Hearts and Bones is a poignant tale of love, loss, and becoming. It's a story about how the people we love never really leave us and how the choices we make in our formative years reverberate throughout our lives. Maya is a freshman in 1989 when she meets Peter, a vulnerable boy with a secret behind his smile. Their romance begins in the thrill of independence but soon collides with the realities of mental illness, betrayal, and the fragility of youth. Years later, as a third-year medical student, Maya is haunted by memories of that love-and the choices she made along the way. Navigating the weight of her mother's decline, the demands of medicine, and the lingering echoes of Peter's unraveling, Maya faces a reckoning with her own complicated past. But amid the heartbreak are glimmers of connection, forgiveness, and the quiet hope of a new beginning. -- "The story left me emotional, making me forever grateful I got the chance to follow Maya's incredible journey." - Alija Turkovic for Readers' Favorite "Filled with moments of reflection and discovery, Hearts and Bones is especially highly recommended to readers who like their romances more contemplative and thought-provoking than most. It delves beneath the surface of possibility to consider the lasting impact of heartbreak and what it means to truly move on." - D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review "The book captures the strain of early adulthood so well, from hectic hospital shifts to the small, hopeful moments that keep her moving forward. Her relationship with Peter was my favorite part. They had a natural chemistry. If you adore a love story grounded in real-world struggles, this is the book for you." - Jennifer Senick for Readers' Favorite "With Hearts and Bones, Lawrence D. Bub delivers a polished and well-rounded bildungsroman." - Victoria Lilly, Independent Book Review

First love. Lasting loss. A lifetime shaped in between. Maya is a freshman in 1989 when she meets Peter, a vulnerable boy with a secret behind his smile. Their romance begins in the thrill of independence but soon collides with the realities of mental illness, betrayal, and the fragility of youth. Years later, as a third-year medical student, Maya is haunted by memories of that love-and the choices she made along the way. Navigating the weight of her mother's decline, the demands of medicine, and the lingering echoes of Peter's unraveling, Maya faces a reckoning with her own complicated past. But amid the heartbreak are glimmers of connection, forgiveness, and the quiet hope of a new beginning. Spanning nearly a decade, Hearts and Bones is a poignant tale of love, loss, and becoming. It's a story about how the people we love never really leave us and how the choices we make in our formative years reverberate throughout our lives.