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Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
01/08/2007 . Source: Pauline Morgan 
pub: Gollancz. 368 page hardback. Price: £12.99 (UK only). ISBN: 978-0-575-07912-0. Buy Heart-Shaped Box in the USA - or Buy Heart-Shaped Box in the UK  check out website: www.orionbooks.co.uk and www.joehillfiction.com
It is not always the case that authors are brilliant at writing both short stories and novels (some can't manage either). Joe Hill seems to be able to write well at any length. His first collection of stories, 'Twentieth Century Ghosts', won the British Fantasy Award and a number of the stories within it were reprinted in 'Year's Best...' anthologies before then. 'Heart-Shaped Box' is Joe Hill's debut novel and it matches up well to the promise shown in his shorter fiction.
The novel is supernatural horror but the themes running through it are music, guilt and redemption. The main character, Jude Coyne is an ageing rock musician who has had a string of young girl-friends, all of which he names after the state they come from. Coyne's current one is Georgia who was a performer in a sleazy night club. His band spit up after the deaths of two of the members though he still writes music. Coyne feels guilty that they died and not him.
His father, who he has not spoken to for thirty years is dying. Jude pays for his care but refuses to see his father because of the way his mother was treated and because his father broke his hand in an effort to stop him playing the guitar. Coyne, however, was determined and learned to play left-handed. He still has that determination to succeed.
Jude Coyne is also a known collector of occult ephemera. When he is offered a ghost via an Internet auction site he cannot resist, even though he thinks it is probably a scam. In exchange for his money, he is sent a suit of clothes purported to be haunted by the ghost of the previous owner. It arrives in a heart-shaped box reminiscent of the ones containing chocolates his father used to buy his mother, in which she kept her sewing stuff and in which Coyne keeps a collection of live ammo. When it arrives, Georgia pricks her thumb on a pin hidden in it. Later, strange things start to happen. Danny, Coyne's personal assistant, discovers that the woman who sold the haunted suit is the sister of his previous girl-friend. A depressive Florida killed herself after Coyne had sent her back to her sister because he felt it was the best thing for her and he couldn't cope with her mood swings any longer. The ghost is Craddock, Florida's step-father, who is determined to kill Coyne and anyone who offers him help. He proves it by persuading Danny to hang himself. Florida's sister, Jessica, claims that Craddock's motive is retribution, saying that it was Coyne's treatment of her sister that caused her suicide. This gives Coyne another reason to feel guilty and at the same time increases his vulnerability to Craddock's influence. Driven from their home, Coyne and Georgia embark on a wild drive to try and survive and find a way of laying the malevolent spirit.
Music pervades the whole novel. It is not just that Jude Coyne is a musician. He also finds that the best way to banish the influence of the ghost from his mind is to fill the space with music. Florida had once told him that Craddock never allowed music to be played in the car when they travelled. Music was obviously a significant factor in Hill's approach to writing this book. It is of note that the 'Heart-Shaped Box' is a track from Nirvana. Kurt Cobain was an influence in Jude's early career. He also played with Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. The titles of the first two sections in the novel, 'Black Dog' and 'Ride On' are tracks from these two bands. One wonders what Hill had on his turntable when he was writing the book.
This is an excellent debut novel. The characters are well-developed, with believable backgrounds which influence their actions. From the start, the tempo is fast, the plot consistent and the tension builds to a crescendo in the third section. If he continues to write this well, Hill has a high-profile future ahead of him.
Pauline Morgan
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