'Broken Things is sad, funny, original and wise' (The Literary Review)


Bought at a public library sale

Zum Hilden-WeihnachtsmeetUp mitgebracht und nicht wieder mit nach Hause genommen.

I think somebody has been very good this year and would love to be surprised by this..? o<|:0)>

Fleet-footed postal elves are carrying this book southward!

What a lovely surprise!
Thank you sooo much for this WishList book, rabcksanta, you have been brilliant!
Have a great New Year 2016! :)

Currently reading it; soon to continue travelling... :)

I was looking for something to send on for the Spurtle Sweepstakes, and came across this little book that had been sitting on my shelves for almost 2 years. And what a surprise it was!
This is a very well written novel, with an original plot; its characters will stay with me for a long time.
In Jean's own words:
"We construct our history in order to understand what we are now, that is all, it's a perfectly legitimate way of explaining things. Historians do it all the time."
Funny, cruel, and completely credible... a real gem! This novel is about the passing of time and the death of hopes, despair and lies; but most of all, it is a love story between the main three characters, who form a rather unusual family, but a family after all...
I was not expecting the twists at the end, they took me by surprise.
I was pleased to know that a film had been made, starring Penelope Wilton... not at all how I pictured Jean, but worth searching for.
It will continue its travels now; thanks, Santa, for making this wish come true...

Sent to the winner of the Spurtle Sweepstakes.
I hope you'll enjoy this novel as much as I did... a real page-turner.
Morag Joss was born in England and from the age of four grew up in Ayrshire on the west coast of Scotland; she considers herself "an English-born Scottish autor".
Congrats!! :)

Thank you for the book. I have not read this author before, but I look forward to reading a book you enjoyed a lot.

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Updated Jun 11, 2018

I enjoyed this book a lot. It is a great psychological thriller. I like the characters and keep on guessing how things will turn out as I read. Like Bookworm-lady, I did not expect the twists in the end.

The only complaint I have with the book is the very small print.

Now reserved to go in the Spurtles Sweepstakes.

On its way to the winner of the Spurtle Sweepstakes. I enjoyed this book very much and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

This well-travelled book arrived today along with a couple of BC labels, a postcard featuring Slains Castle -"inspiration for the setting of Bram Stoker's Dracula" ? I didn't know this- and a postcard quoting Edinburg-born Arthur Conal Doyle : "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact" !

Thank you very much everyone for sharing this book and thank you mcsar for your brilliant parcel! I feel spoiled! lol

I read some raving comments on this book online, but to be honest I don't think it lived up to the expectations created.

First of all I found it moved far too slowly, especially the first 100 pages or so. Then pace picked up but only a little till the end. Furthermore, the narration method swifting between third person and Jean's first person account of the story didn't do much for me. I found the descriptions of what was happening in the house far too detailed at parts. That's a pity because otherwise this author can write beautifully!

But what irked me most is that many key points were very predictable and most importantly that as a reader you need to suspend all common sense to make the plot believable. Far too many unconvincing elements to swallow for my taste.

That said, this book still held my attention up to an extend and provides some food for thought and many interesting questions. The characters gave wrong answers to all of those on my opinion, but the insight into their pasts, motives and state of mind was interesting, while I wanted to see how it would all end.

I think Half Broked Things is mostly a psychograph of the book's characters than a crime/thriller/mystery novel as advertised.

Not a bad read but not great either.
6+/10

Thank you very much for introducing me this author, I'd like to check other books written by her now...

It's time for this well-travelled book to move again, so I'm sending it to the lucky winner/decoy of the International RABCK Sweepstakes of Nov-Dec 2018!

Enjoy!

The book arrived safely in these first days of 2019. Thanks a lot Delphi-reader for the nice greating card, the nice stamps on the mail and the bc labels !!!

I wish you an Happy new year 2019 !

Since too long in my TBR, I prefer to let it travel again.

Bonjour et bienvenue dans le monde des livres en liberté !

Vous venez de trouver un livre voyageur.

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- l’endroit où vous avez trouvé ce livre
- si vous l'avez lu, la note que vous lui donneriez, vos impressions de lecture,
- et ce que vous comptez faire de lui (le donner à quelqu’un, le libérer dans un lieu public...à vous de choisir !).

En vous inscrivant sur le site du Bookcrossing (gratuit et anonyme), vous pourrez être prévenu par message électronique dès que le livre sera à nouveau trouvé et commenté ainsi que commencer à libérer vous aussi des livres si vous le souhaitez !

Bonne lecture !

Wilena