Broken for You

by Stephanie Kallos

Book Overview

National best seller and Today show Book Club selection, Broken for You is the story of two women in self-imposed exile whose lives are transformed when their paths intersect. Stephanie Kallos's debut... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802142109
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.0" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

One of the best novels I have ever read

I am a voracious reader, and I can honestly say this is one of the best novels I have ever read. The story is poignant and redemptive, and the writing is at times stunningly beautiful. I do not want to give too much away as the loveliness of the story is largely in the unfolding of the plot. Suffice it to say that the story centers around two lonely, restrained women - one 30ish (Wanda) and one 70ish (Margaret) - who are both consumed by their emotional pain. Their meeting sets in motion a spectacular series of events that ultimately liberates both women (and a few other characters too). This book left me amazed and moved. I LOVED it! Thank you, Stephanie Kallos. I can't wait for your next novel!

One of my favorite books...

I really enjoyed reading this book and despite having very little down/reading time (have 2 small children), I finished it in just a few days, staying up late, waking up early, not doing all the chores for that week, etc. It's just that good - sweet, heartbreakingly captvating, funny, soothing, dark but airy at the same time, uplifting. The book takes you into a intricate world with surprising twists. Nice read. I highly recommend it.

We're all broken in one way or another.

Kallos' debut novel is a delight to read. The characters are all quirky and loveable, and are all wounded in one way or another. Their lives intertwine when 70-year old Margaret, a lonely rich woman living in a huge Seattle mansion, is diagnosed with a brain tumor. She makes a decision about how to live out the short remainder of her life, which brings all of these wounded souls together as a surrogate family. One of these wounded souls, a young artist named Wanda, discovers the healing art of mosaic making. Through Wanda we discover that these broken souls, like the valuable knick knacks that she breaks for use in her mosaics, are more interesting and beautiful broken than they were whole. A great read that stays with you long after you put it down.

Engaging for Its Quirky Characters, Plot Twists and Humor

My wife read this book in one gulp, so to speak, and said, 'You must read this. You may find it a little too "girly," but I think you'll really like it anyhow.' Well, she was certainly right about my liking it. And it wasn't too 'girly,' either; although the main characters are women, the interactions, the plot twists, the quirkiness of all the characters, and the unexpectedness of their inner lives made it all fascinating to me. Stephanie Kallos, a first-time novelist, has a delightful sense of humor and a real facility with words. Although the main arc of the plot winds up being fairly predictable (and, I might add, extremely satisfying), there are enough unexpected incidents and revelations along the way to make this trip very enjoyable. And her characters are all credible people with vivid inner lives, past histories, present desires and hesitations. All are wounded in some way, but none is a victim in the usual sense. And underlying all this is a strong current of the will to survive and even triumph, especially in the context of a purpose-created community of eccentrics. It would be a shame if this book is overlooked because it is by a new novelist whose name doesn't ring a bell. If Kallos keeps writing, her name WILL become much better known. Recommended. Scott Morrison

A Heartful Gem

When I finished this novel a flood of pleasure and satisfaction washed over me. The denouement I had hoped for had come to pass and the characters I had fallen in love with had completed the arc of their journeys. And for the first time ever I started a book over. I was looking for the crsft that had carried me away. The imagination had been evident, in fact after 20 pages of stumbling over gem after gem of language and observation, I had begun to read word for word. This is rare for me since once I care about a character I race to the next plot point hoping for good things to happen. The only authors I make a habit of reading word for word are Austen, so as not to miss the laugh out loud humor, Fowles, the master of the human heart and Stoppard, the best living writer in the English language. I knew the flashbacks, the split storyline and the erudition had been beautifully done. But I wanted to see if the character development had been as carefully executed. All the adumbrations and internal logic were there carefully placed in an artful mosaic. The next time I pick up a novel by Ms. Kallos, I will know to read it word for word, certain it will be a treasure.