Some novels create a small closed world; A piece of my heart unfolds immensely in its landscapes, both human and geographical. Richard Ford tells the violent - but also moving and funny - story of two men; one of them chases a woman, the other looks for himself. Robard and Sam meet in a peculiar house on an island in the Mississippi that is not on the maps. The intentions that encouraged them to head to the island soon become confused by the strangeness of the world in which they find themselves, and, in an explosive finale, they end up sacrificing their initial purposes.

The book begins with a mysterious murder, with an unknown victim. What follows is intense and often brutal, and culminates with a remarkable character, a brave man, who becomes his own - and final - victim. In this somber and intense book, the scene, action and dialogue are endowed with overwhelming vitality, and add up to achieve an unforgettable impact.

"In this book there is a quality of writing in the highest American tradition: that of Faulkner, Heminway and Steinbeck" (Peter Tinniswood, The Times).

"Superb, brutally real and also haunting... One of those rare surprises we get every few years" (Jim Harrison).