Chris Hewitt, The Minnesota Star Tribune

Publicity materials for “Heart the Lover” describe it as a novel about a romantic triangle, which strikes me as lazy and unworthy of this witty, insightful book.

Yes, the triangle is absolutely writer Lily King’s favorite shape: Her “ Euphoria " turned on the isosceles relationship between naturalist Margaret Mead and two men. And “ Writers & Lovers ” also dealt with a woman who’s having trouble deciding between two (possibly three) men. But “Heart the Lover” is about grief and family much more than it’s about whether Jordan, a novelist, will end up with one of two college sweethearts, Sam or Yash.

Jordan narrates in the present, looking back to several decades earlier, when she, Sam and Yash all studied literature. Now a novelist who is accl

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