Excessive Joy Injures the Heart - Hardcover

In Elisabeth Harvor's oddly captivating first novel, Excessive Joy Injures the Heart, Claire Vornoff, a 37-year-old Ottawa woman, is having trouble sleeping. After sampling other body work, like reflexology, from a variety of creepy healers, she sends herself through a course of acupuncture and miscellaneous alternative treatments with the quietly charismatic Declan Farrell. One of the difficulties that she has been trying to address in therapy is her openness to men, her selflessness, her goodness, and it comes as no surprise to either Claire or the reader that she falls in love with Dr. Farrell, who aims to challenge all of this. As well as the "dull" breathing exercises he leads her through each week, his treatment includes poking at Claire like an irritating younger brother to see how (and if) she will defend herself. Harvor, a Canadian poet, is an observant novelist who takes great care with her details, which are striking, but never distract from the real business of Claire's obsession. --Regina Marler

“Harvor delivers a gorgeous sense of form, and an erotically charged atmosphere.”
–Hamilton Spectator

“A hypnotically compelling novel.”
–Saskatoon StarPhoenix

“[Harvor makes] observations of Chekhovian depth. You think you have it all figured out, only to discover that things are not at all what they seemed.”
–New Brunswick Reader

“A sophisticated, complex narrative....What Fay Weldon does so well in Britain, Harvor does equally well here, portraying with wry humour the worst aspects we try to keep hidden in ourselves....[Her] characters make us laugh as we respond to the biting accuracy of their depiction.”
–Calgary Herald

“Harvor writes beautifully, her language is hypnotic, with a sort of meditative lilt that encourages dreaming....Fascinating....”
–Fredericton Daily Gleaner

“A very moving book.”
–eye Weekly

“Declan Farrell is a Pied Piper of energy, a Shamanistic version of enchanter, alchemist, magician.”
–Ottawa Citizen

“Harvor provides us with a portrait of an intelligent, multi-faceted woman who is looking for the key that will unlock the door into a future that might be better than the present. Since we’re all junkies – addicted to ourselves, our lives, our dreams, and our experiences – meeting a fictional character like Claire may make us a bit more aware of how a desire for anything reflects Buddha’s second noble truth: that craving is the source of suffering.”
–Tone Magazine