What do You think about Broken For You (2005)?
and the final review....this book is just bull shit, to be really, very blunt. i mean what is this novel even trying to be about? is it about friendship substituting family? is it about selflessness and selfishness? is it about the loneliness that absence of parents in a life? is it about death? is it about throwing caution to the wind and being crazy and free? is it about art? is it about france? is it a love story? is it about the holocaust? is it really just about broken dishes and figurines? because really, it couldn't make up its damn mind.i felt that the author was superfluous with language to cover up her unbelievable characters and ridiculous plot lines. every situation and scenario that they were in seemed utterly ridiculous to me. if this is a portrait of human life i want to know... whose? i do not really feel that i or hardly anyone could identify with even their most human emotions unless they were stripped down to something bare. the things i found most intriguing about the book was that process of the making of the art involved by one of the main characters. i suppose i found this interesting because i, on occasion, have dabbled in being a would-be artist. i think that is what kept me reading. that and the early chapters dealing with the estranged father when he was all alone.i never give a book a 1. i feel like i wasted my time. almost 4 days! (it rarely takes me that long to read a book). i rarely choose something to read that i dislike intensely. i imagine this happens because i know my reading self very, very well. man, myself and i need to have a serious chat after this one. apparently i maxed out the character limit on who i'd recommend this book to. so here it is: those who like contrived writing, a bad attempt at pulling heart-strings, unbelievable characters & plot, all tied up with a bow and happy ending.06.25.2009second day update. begeezus, why am i reading this?! something just happened that made me say outloud, ARE YOU SERIOUS?! NO, REALLY?!06.24.2009so far i am really not sure how i feel about this book. but i am well past nancy pearl's recommended 50 page marker. ; ) i keep going back and forth on my opinion. i like a chapter, i hate a chapter and on and on. no doubt, i'll probably finish it. but it's driving me crazy!
—mia
This is one of my favorite books, I keep hoping it will be made into a movie. The characters psychological problems and quirks make you fall in love with them. The below came from "Book Browse" BOOK SUMMARYBroken for You is a novel of infinite charm and tremendous heart that explores the risks and rewards of human connection, and the hidden strength behind things that only seem fragile. With a riotous energy that recalls the works of John Irving and Anne Tyler, Kallos brings to life a delightful set of characters—among them an old woman who converses regularly with her porcelain collection; a young woman who can fix a leaky sink but can’t stop her own tears from falling; a Yeats-loving bowling enthusiast; and a woman who survived a world war with her sense of humor (and her affinity for Hawaiian shirts) intact.When we meet septuagenarian Margaret Hughes, she is living alone in a mansion in Seattle with only a massive collection of valuable antiques for company. Enter Wanda Schultz, a young woman with a broken heart who has come west to search for her wayward boyfriend. Both women are guarding dark secrets and have spent many years building up protective armor against the outside world. But as the two begin their tentative dance of friendship, the armor begins to fall away and Margaret opens her house to the younger woman. This launches a series of remarkable and unanticipated events, leading Margaret to discover a way to redeem her cursed past, and Wanda to learn the true purpose of her cross-country journey. Along the way, a famous mosaic artist is born, a Holocaust survivor is reunited with her long-lost tea set, and a sad-eyed drifter finds his long-lost daughter.
—Dee Georgette
This probably deserves a 5 rating, but I am quirky about destroying things--even for a good cause. That being said, I was pulled into this book and cared very much for the characters and hoped for a good ending (even if not totally happy). I was satisfied, although in a couple of characters' cases, I wish the plot had moved in a slightly different direction--for example, something which would have made one character extremely happy was missed by only a few days. The plot centers on an elderly woman with an incurable brain tumor--she decides to take in boarders as a relief from loneliness and to help her, since one of them will become a personal nurse. Of course, these boarders open new worlds to her just as she thought her life was ending. Her house is filled with valuable artwork which her father collected and she realizes that it had belonged to Jewish and other people persecuted during WW II. What should she do with it? The answer to this and other life-altering quests make the book the treasure that it is.
—Karen
