39 pages 1 hour read

Joe Hill

Heart-Shaped Box

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2007

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Part 1, Chapters 1-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1: “Black Dog”

Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary

Content Warning: This section discusses anti-gay bias, sexual assault, incest, child pornography, mental health conditions, murder, and suicide. It also depicts physical and verbal abuse (including that of children), animal death, and general violence.

Danny Wooten, assistant to retired rock star Judas “Jude” Coyne (born Justin Cowzynski), received an email about a woman auctioning off her stepfather’s haunted suit. Jude is a collector of macabre items and thus makes the purchase.

Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary

The haunted suit arrives at Jude’s secluded New York farm in a heart-shaped box. Marybeth “Georgia” Kimball, Jude’s girlfriend, joins him and opens the box. She asks if he’s going to wear the suit, but he is revolted by the idea. While handling the suit, Georgia is pricked by something she assumes to be a pin.

Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary

Jude puts the heart-shaped box in his closet and decides not to think about it.