Mend the Living

Winner of the Wellcome Book Prize 2017Longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize 2016. A twenty-four-hour whirlwind of death and life. In the depths of a winter's night, the heart of Simon Limbeau is resting, readying itself for the day to come. In a few hours' time, just before six, his alarm will go off and he will venture into the freezing dawn, drive down to the beach, and go surfing with his friends. A trip he has made a hundred times and yet, today, the heart of Simon Limbeau will encounter a very different course. But for now, the black-box of his body is free to leap, swell, melt and sink, just as it has throughout the years of Simon's young life. 5.50 a.m. This is his heart. And here is its story. Now a major French film, Reparer Les Vivants/Heal the Living, directed by Katell Quillevere and starring Emmanuelle Seigner. ‘What de Kerangal treats in extended passages as a mechanical – or medical – fix takes flight when all those involved are forced to engage with precisely what that means… a novel that goes to the heart of what it means to be a human being.’ – The Independent “Mend the Living is a metaphorical and lyrical exploration of the journey of one heart and two bodies. Over 24 hours we travel from trauma to hope, discovering both the humane aspect of organ donation and the internal dramas of those affected by it. Compelling, original and ambitious, this novel illuminates what it is to be human.” - Val McDermid commenting on behalf of the Wellcome Book Prize judging panel