For everyone Book review: The Spoiled Heart

The Spoiled Heart by Sunjeev Sahota

A factory worker from one of the few Sikh families in Sheffield, Nayan Olak is running for general secretary of his large (fictional) blue-collar union, Unify. He finds himself facing an unexpected rival in Megha – an inexperienced but determined young woman running on a very different ticket.

Caring for his ageing father and still grappling with the loss of his mother and son in a mysterious fire 20 years ago, Nayan finds himself drawn to Helen, who has returned to town after decades away. When Helen’s son becomes the victim of public annihilation following a misunderstanding at work, it’s a harbinger of what’s to come.

Soon, Nayan finds himself mired in a generational clash about the nature of solidarity, equality, and discrimination: his traditional ‘working class vs the elite’ up against Megha’s ‘we can’t be colourblind’ push for decolonisation.

In this thriller, Sahota (twice nominated for the Booker) builds a powerful, multilayered excavation of contemporary debates, identity politics, and the risk of losing our sense of shared humanity.