Nayan has fought hard to move on, losing himself in his political work, trying to make a better world. A fresh challenge arrives with newcomer Megha, who threatens not just his career ambitions, but his ideals.

Meanwhile the enigmatic Helen Fletcher returns to Chesterfield and Nayan finds himself growing close to her. But Helen carries secrets which connect her to Nayan in ways he doesn’t realise.

The Spoiled Heart is an explosive story of how a few words or a single action – to one person careless, to another, charged – can trigger a cascade of unimaginable consequences.

‘One of Britain’s finest writers?page-turning’ Observer

‘Withheld revelations and dark secrets…plot-packed, propulsive’ New York Times

‘Moving and revelatory’ Financial Times

‘Smart and sophisticatedly written’ Daily Telegraph

‘Perfectly paced?gripping’ Guardian

Readers are obsessed with The Spoiled Heart:

**’A deft and artful novel when it comes to speaking around the philosophical questions that define our current ‘culture wars’

**’A compelling story that looks at a number of social and cultural issues but is basically a very absorbing narrative‘

**’A masterful novel which asks important topical state-of-the-nation questions‘

**’My favourite of Sahota’s novels‘

‘Perfectly judged and intimately alive’ Guardian

Nayan Olak hasn’t risked love since his young son died.

Instead he has ploughed his grief and energy into his work at the union, trying to create the world he would have wanted for his boy. Now he’s running for the leadership: a huge moment for Nayan, the culmination of everything he believes.

As he grows closer to the mysterious Helen Fletcher, and to the possibility that their pasts may have been connected, much more is suddenly threatened than his chances of winning. And when Megha Sharma, a new candidate with new politics, bursts into the picture, the race of a lifetime is on.

‘A plot-packed, propulsive story’ New York Times

‘Restless, inquiring, utterly topical. The Spoiled Heart may be his finest yet, with a tumultuous but perfectly sustained ending that proves both moving and revelatory’ Financial Times

Readers are obsessed with The Spoiled Heart:

**’A deft and artful novel when it comes to speaking around the philosophical questions that define our current ‘culture wars’‘

**’A compelling story that looks at a number of social and cultural issues but is basically a very absorbing narrative‘

**’A masterful novel which asks important topical state-of-the-nation questions‘

**’My favourite of Sahota’s novels‘

‘A gorgeous, gripping read’ Kamila Shamsie
‘A multi-generational masterpiece’ Daily Mail

* A Book of the Year for The Times, Guardian and Daily Telegraph *

Mehar, a young bride in rural Punjab, is trying to discover the identity of her new husband. It is 1929, and she and her sisters-in-law – married to three brothers in a single ceremony – spend their days hard at work on the family farm, sequestered from contact with the men. When Mehar develops a theory as to which of them is hers, a passion is ignited that will put more than one life at risk.

Spiralling around Mehar’s story is that of a young man who in 1999 flees from England to the deserted sun-scorched farm. Can a summer spent learning of love and of his family’s past give him the strength for the journey home?

Readers love China Room
***** ‘I didn’t want it to end’
***** ‘What. A. Book.’
***** ‘Beautifully crafted…a story as old as time’
***** ‘A novel of thwarted loves’

Shortlisted for the 2022 Rathbones Folio Prize
Longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize
Longlisted for the 2022 Walter Scott Prize
Longlisted for the 2021 Ondaatje Prize

‘Amazing storytelling…gripping and very moving’ BBC Radio 4, Open Book

‘I’m blown away by it’ Tessa Hadley

‘The stuff of miracles’ Bryan Washington

‘Moving…fresh and nourishing’ The Times