Broken for you

Broken for You holds its metaphor powerfully from beginning to end. Broken glass, broken fine porcelain, broken hearts, bones, spirits: a story full of brokenness …and the potential for repair.The plot intertwines the lives of two seriously broken women –Margaret, 70-something, long divorced and childless, and Wanda, early 30’s (?), long ago orphaned and recently abandoned by a lover. Margaret initiates the long and convoluted repair process in the first sentence of the book: “When Margaret Hughes found out she had a brain tumor, she stared at the black-and-white images illuminated on the screen behind her physician’s desk –“slices,” he called them. She was surprised to see that her brain looked like two halves of a desiccated walnut.”Margaret proceeds to open up her lonely life by advertising for a housemate to share her mansion filled with her extensive collection of exquisite fine china; she finds Wanda. Thus begins a wonderfully rich, tragic, comic, historic, and impassioned story of the pilgrimage from brokenness to reparation. “… [Wanda] suddenly knew that she had found a home with someone who was as deeply aggrieved and crazy as she was. It was tremendously comforting.”The tale is alive with a potpourri of eccentric and irresistible characters whose lives intersect –each intersection creating a bond, adding to the ultimate image of restoration. Kallos’ marvelous storytelling weaves in hints of the brokenness in all of the characters’ lives; the dialogue and description are perceptive throughout, full of color and surprising images. Halfway through the book, I so wanted the handsome, devoted lover to just kiss the distraught heroine and make a happy ending to the accumulated pain. Instead, there is an accident, resulting in more fractures of bones, lives, futures, …. A connection to Kristallnacht is introduced, along with the concept of “mitzvah,” the individual urge to perform acts of human kindness. The final expiation is a new creation, a Phoenix rising from porcelain shards, not resurrected as a unblemished whole, but with all the cracks and fissures of past experience and pain, a reassembly of the pieces of a life where the glue joints strengthen the core.I guess you have to identify with one or both of the main protagonists to enjoy this book as thoroughly as I did. I’d say if you like Margaret Atwood and her quirky, fated characters, you’ll probably love this one. “On the evening Wanda’s mashed potatoes, homemade herbed croutons, and white chocolate mousse came back as a miniature replica of the Taj Mahal, Margaret knew she was getting better.”

At a recent book discussion our round the room "what have you read" rap up at the end of book discussion one our members mentioned a book called Broken for You by Stepahnie Kallos. A debut novel, our member did not quite know how to describe it. Still, her limited review intrigued me and I grabbed it from our shelves. I started the book last evening and was immediately drawn in by the language and curious about the plot. It was late so I marked my place with a piece of paper towel.This morning I picked it up again and quickly started marking passages with those little post it notes made for this job. Soon I decidedly removed the paper towel marker and replaced it with a very beautiful beaded bookmark which more closely fitted the timbre of the book. I gave myself up to the magic and beauty of the story and read the rest of the day. When I finished I hugged the book to my chest, something I haven't felt compelled to do in such a long time. And yet how to describe it and do it justice in just a few quick sentences. During a visit to her doctor Margaret Hughes hears she has a malignant brain tumor and not long to live. Stopping for a coffee and sweet she poses this question to the nose-ringed young waitress. "If you found out that you had only a short while to live, maybe a year or two, how would you spend your time?" The girl frowned. She picked absentmindedly at her fingernails, and showers of silver glitter flaked off and fell toward the floor. Margaret tried to follow the trajectory of the glitter, but it seemed to vanish into thin air. "I suppose I'd think about whatever it is that scares me most--relationshipwise, I mean--and then do it. Do the opposite of what I've always done." Taking this advice to heart Margaret throws years of caution to the wind and opens her solitary life to new experiences, starting with her invitation to one Wanda Schultz to share her home. Bit by bit these two discover the secrets that lay beneath the surface of their lives, each reluctant to share, to let anyone see who and what they are. Without revealing too much, it is story with strong, unique characters who you'll grow to love. It has it all; art, antiques, poetry, symbolism, love, forgiveness, redemption,life and death. It left me breathless! I wish it were the end of the year so I could put it on my best of 2006 list for all to see right now.

We read Broken for You in our monthly book club last year, and it was an overwhelming hit. Although some thought the writing was not stellar in that it meandered and contained some plot contrivances, most overlooked these first-time author mistakes and loved the book. The characters were vivid and varied from a dying octogenarian to a messed-up, single, thirty-something who bring together a clan of other characters representing a true melting pot of personalities. The story goes from being a "live life to the fullest or it might be too late" saga to a "you can change your life completely if you want to" story to one of the meaning of family, loss, and redemption spanning our time and the past. After reading Broken for You, our entire club felt well-put-together and excited to be alive and reading! One of our members even found a piece of jewelry made from a broken dish and brought it to show to the club, and another shared a story of someone who brings treats to those in need of them on a china plate with instructions to break it after eating. It's a book that will stick with you, piece by piece.