“O’Neill is an extraordinary writer, and her new novel is exquisite. . . .O’Neill has taken on sadness itself as a subject, but it would be terribly reductive to say that this book is sad; it’s also joyful, funny, and vividly alive.”

— emily st.john mandel, author of station eleven

“A fairy tale laced with gunpowder and romance and icing sugar, all wrapped round with a lit fuse. Each of Heather O’Neill’s sentences pricks or delights. If you haven’t read her other books, start with this one and then read all of the rest.”

— kelly link, author of pulitzer prize finalist 'get in trouble'

heather oneill's debut novel, "lullabies for little criminals" was the 2007 canada reads selection. her second novel, "the girl who was saturday night", was shortlisted for the scotiabank giller prize in 2014.

on april 24 heather joins us to talk about her latest novel, 'the lonely hearts hotel'. set in Montreal and New York between the wars, 'the lonely hearts hotel' is a spellbinding story about two orphans whose unusual magnetism and talent allow them to imagine a sensational future.

two babies are abandoned in a Montreal orphanage in the winter of 1914. Before long, their true talents emerge: Pierrot is a piano prodigy; Rose lights up even the dreariest room with her dancing and comedy. As they travel around the city performing for the rich, the children fall in love with each other and dream up a plan for the most extraordinary and seductive circus show the world has ever seen.

Separated as teenagers, both escape into the city's underworld, where they must use their uncommon gifts to survive without each other. Ruthless and unforgiving, Montreal in the 1930's is no place for song and dance. But when Rose and Pierrot finally reunite beneath the snowflakes, the possibilities of their childhood dreams are renewed, and they'll go to extreme lengths to make those dream come true. After Rose, Pierrot and their troupe of clowns and chorus girls hit the stage and the alleys, the underworld will never look the same.