Coiled in the Heart

by Scott Elliott

Having caused the death of a young neighbor years earlier, Tobia Caldwell, the last in a line of proud and declining Southern aristocrats, struggles with his guilty secret when he falls in love with the victim's sister, Merritt. A first novel. Reprint.

304 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2003

Reviews

[Denelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book after a student gave me a report on it. The premise of it was really interesting. A young kid, Tobia, whose family is selling off its land piece by piece meets a boy, Ben, from one of the families who has bought a house on part of the sold-off land. They don't get along, and, long story short, Ben dies and Tobia has some culpability in it (NOT A SPOILER! THIS ALL HAPPENS W/I THE FIRST 100 PAGES!) The rest of the book flashes between now, when Tobia and his family are buying back the property that they had to sell off, and then-progressing-to-now. Parts of the book were confusing to me, if only because I didn't see how they tied in to the larger picture and/or they were not elaborated on enough. Also, it had the non-ending ending, where the reader doesn't find out the answers to his/her questions, which I don't mind (too much) if the rest of the book is great, which this book wasn't. Also, I felt as if the author was trying to win an award for "Most Challenging Vocab. in a Novel." I'm all for big words, but these were gratuitous.

[Haley Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book and was invested in Tobias and Merritt. For that reason, I kept reading. I felt deprived with how the book ended and wanted to know more and to see into the future for Tobias. I think we can all connect with the idea that something from our past continues to haunt us in our present life.

[Kimberly Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quiet, contemplative book- it's not for the reader who wants to get caught up in action but appreciates the intensity of being led into the complexity of the underlying reasons for human behavior. An insecure young boy makes a decision based on jealousy and dislike of another boy and it leads to tragedy. This is a study of how a guilty conscience can twist and warp an entire life- I found it fascinating and full of knowledge of human nature. It may be too slow for some readers who require immediate gratification but patience bears its reward and I do count this book as one of my favorites. It taught me a lot about motives, forgiveness, mercy, kindness and it was unflinchingly honest about the darkness that lives in all of us and the potential ruin that waits for us when we act on those primitive emotions that we'd all rather not have.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the best contemporary novels I've read lately. Well-written. A worthwhile approach to guilt. Multiple subplots. Okay, not much meat on the psychology, but still a lot to enjoy and think about. ... And then the ending just ruins it. As if the author himself was unsure what he wanted to say about his created world. I understand that some creators want to let us choose our own endings; but i myself think this is a cop-out. If we had wanted to end the book for the author, the last 50 pages could have been left blank for us to do that.... I would have certainly recommended this book to anyone with whom I spoke while I was reading it -- but now, I just can't.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is so very southern gothic and made think of the word "coil" for like a week. it is most definitely an underused word. everything is thick in this book. the heat, reptiles, loss of life, its all there for the wallowing. the story follows an uncomfortable boy from a tragic event to the redemption he seeks in adulthood. its well written story.