Open, Heaven Audiobook By Seán Hewitt cover art

Open, Heaven

A Novel

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Open, Heaven

By: Seán Hewitt
Narrated by: Sebastian Croft
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A stunning novel from the acclaimed young Irish poet Seán Hewitt, a luminous and intensely evocative portrayal of two teeneagers bonding with each other over one heady, transformative year.

"[Open, Heaven] is a searching novel orbiting pleasure, loss, and the ecstatic release of both; which is to say it’s a novel about time. Which is to say it’s a novel about us." —Kaveh Akbar, author of Martyr!

Set in a remote village in the north of England, Open, Heaven unfolds over the course of one year in which two teenage boys meet and transform each other’s lives.

James—a sheltered, shy sixteen-year-old—is alone in his newly discovered sexuality, full of an unruly desire but entirely inexperienced. As he is beginning to understand himself and his longings, he also realizes how his feelings threaten to separate him from his family and the rural community he has grown up in. He dreams of another life, fantasizing about what lies beyond the village’s leaf-ribboned boundaries, beyond his reach: autonomy, tenderness, sex. Then, in the autumn of 2002, he meets Luke, a slightly older boy, handsome, unkempt, who comes with a reputation for danger. Abandoned by his parents—his father imprisoned, and his mother having moved to France for another man—Luke has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle on their farm just outside the village. James is immediately drawn to him "like the pull a fire makes on the air, dragging things into it and blazing them into its hot, white centre," drawn to this boy who is beautiful and impulsive, charismatic, troubled. But underneath Luke’s bravado is a deep wound—a longing for the love of his father and for the stability of family life.

Open, Heaven is a novel about desire, yearning, and the terror of first love. With the striking economy and lyricism that animate his work as a poet, Hewitt has written a mesmerizing hymn to boyhood, sensuality, and love in all its forms. A truly exceptional debut.

Accolades & Awards

Best of 2025
Editors Select
Best of 2025 Coming of Age Editors Select Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Genre Fiction Village World Literature

Editorial Review

Queer fiction that reads like poetry
Although Open, Heaven may be his debut novel, award-winning poet and memoirist Seán Hewitt is no stranger to good writing. Set in a remote English village in the early aughts, this heart-wrenching coming-of-age story captures the yearning, sorrow, and angst of exploring your sexuality and finding first love. Hewitt perfectly depicts the nuance and heartbreak of young queer discovery, and also explores the often thin line between platonic and romantic entanglements. Told in the lyrical prose of a poet—and beautifully performed by narrator Sebastian Croft— Open, Heaven is sure to be one of the most bittersweet novels of the year, and perfect for anyone in need of a good ugly cry. —Michael C., Audible Editor

All stars
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A brilliant description of the awakening of a gay love. Echoing my own experience of my first love

Absolutely beautiful prose

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The story was a beautiful tale of first love and loss. Sebastian was brilliant at the narrator (though the sweetness of his voice often sent me to sleep). Will definitely read this again.

Besutiful Story Read by a Sweet Voice

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I enjoy YA novels and this is at the top of the list. The main character is so well thought out and you learn of every nuance of their struggle of how they see the world, love, their family. Beautifully read, gentle and sweet dialogue. The imagery is a nuanced as the well thought out characters. Uplifting, real, sad all at once.

Touching and well written

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A realist novel and written in such a way that it puts you right there. I look forward to more to come from this author.

What a writer!

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Omg I just love it!!! I will always reread it ! It was such a good book!

The longing and yearning for love and something more that takes place in the book!

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