Old Heart - by Peter Ferry (Paperback)

About the Book

Tom Johnson has turned 85 and has suffered a few events, though he knows his mind is sharp. His oldest son, who had Down Syndrome, has died, and his remaining two children want to move him out of the homestead lake house and into a retirement home in town. What Tom wants to do is to find the only woman he ever loved, a woman he met in the Netherlands where he was stationed during World War II.

Book Synopsis

Tom Johnson has turned 85 and has suffered a few "events," though he knows his mind is sharp. His oldest son, who had Down Syndrome has died, and his remaining two children want to move him out of the homestead lake house and into a retirement home in town. What Tom wants to do is to find the only woman he ever loved, a woman he met in the Netherlands where he was stationed during World War II.

And so he slips away, deftly covers his tracks, and begins his search for her in Eindhoven. While his children try to track him down and then have him extradited back home, Tom delves into love and loss and the value of memory. Soon he catches sight of a woman he believes to be Sarah, the love he lost almost a lifetime ago.

He will have to fight for her affections and forgiveness, even as he fights for the legal right to stay in the Netherlands in the name of love and family and all the remaining rights of an old man.

Review Quotes

Winner of a 2015 Novel of the Year award from the Chicago Writers Association

Old Heart mingles a bit of suspense with precise, unsparing reflection on personal histories against a backdrop of difficult events. In this the novel might be compared to Wallace Stegner's Crossing to Safety or Colm Tóoacute;ibíiacute;n's The Master, and it is nearly as well written. It should appeal to readers of any age and might make a good gift for a friend in doubt about the possibilities for renewal late in life. -- The Chicago Book Review

"This is a novel of love and of loss and of self-determination. Old Heart moves through time and grabs your interest on every page and will stay with you for keeps." -- Chicago Tribune

"A life-affirming novel about love and second chances" -- Publishers Weekly

"Old Heart manages to weave together an astonishing array of themes and layers--the perils and freedoms of old age, the complexity of family ties, the liberation of travel, and finally, Ferry presents and proves the bold and needed idea that it's never too late to re-open the past to recast the present." -- DAVE EGGERS

"Peter Ferry's writing is wry and beautiful, and this exuberant novel shows how a man driven by love can add a surprising extra chapter to his life." -- ELIZABETH MCKENZIE

"An important meditation on mortality and an honest, unsentimental celebration of the power of love, Old Heart has the feel of an instant literary classic." -- Don De Grazia

About the Author

Peter Ferry is a Chicago area teacher, editor and writer; he is the author of the 2008 novel Travel Writing. His short stories have appeared in McSweeney's, Fiction, StoryQuarterly, OR and Chicago Quarterly Review. Ferry is the recipient of an Illinois Arts Council Award for Short Fiction and is a frequent contributor to the travel pages of the Chicago Tribune and the website WorldHum.