Broken For You: Summary and book reviews of Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos, plus links to an excerpt from Broken For You and a biography of Stephanie Kallos.
Broken For You
by Stephanie Kallos
Hardcover: Sep 2004,
368 pages.
Paperback: Sep 2005,
400 pages.
Broken for You is a debut 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.
Funny, heartbreaking, and alive with a potpourri of eccentric and irresistible characters, Broken for You is a testament to the saving graces of surrogate families, and shows how far the tiniest repair jobs can go in righting the world’s wrongs.
Broken For You is a marvelous, heart-warming read with a well-crafted plot and an undercurrent of very funny but gentle wit. Reviewers have drawn comparisons between Kallos and a wide range of writers including John Irving, Anne Tyler, Carol Shields, Tennessee Williams and Margaret Atwood, however, the book that kept coming back to my mind was Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop Cafe. (Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Susan Coll - The Washington Post
The novel itself is a mosaic of eccentric characters and their interlocking storylines, which sometimes border on the fantastic … So lovely is the world Kallos has created that it seems more reparative to curl up on the couch with this book and suspend belief than to deconstruct the plot.
Detroit Free Press - Susan Hall-Balduf Broken for You is moving and endearing, painful and satisfying, put together in just the right shape.
Publishers Weekly
Though it takes a while to get started, this haunting and memorable debut is reminiscent of early Atwood, peopled by lovably imperfect and eccentric characters.
Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review. Kallos has a rare, deft way with whimsy, dream sequences and hallucinations. Comparisons to John Irving and Tennessee Williams would not be amiss in this show-stopping debut.
Booklist - Jennifer Baker
Starred Review. Well-crafted plotting and crackling wit make this debut novel by Seattle author Kallos a delight to read and a memory to savor.....Book groups will enjoy discussing the layers of meaning, the stylistic nuances, and the powerful message of hope secreted in these pages.
Library Journal - Jenn B. Stidham
Starred review. Kallos has given us a compelling, richly layered story reminiscent of works by John Irving and Anne Tyler in its bittersweet humor and well-drawn characters. Carol Shields also comes to mind for the sharp attention to domestic detail and insight into the tenuous relationships of contemporary life.
Lolly Winston author of Good Grief
A seventy-six-year-old woman who’s just learned that she has a brain tumor takes in a thirty-four-year-old woman who’s just been dumped by her boyfriend. Can this be funny? Yes. Painfully funny, beautifully written, and completely original. I love this novel.
Sheri Holman, author of The Dress Lodger and The Mammoth Cheese
Stephanie Kallos’s lovely and heartfelt first novel is a gift. A story of broken hearts and broken promises, it is also the story of the ways we put things back together—messily, beautifully, and ultimately triumphantly. Kallos is a writer to watch, and one who, mercifully, still believes in happy endings.
Nancy Rawles, author of Crawfish Dreams
Let the angels in! With this story of transformative friendships, Stephanie Kallos calls us to leave the dreary wisdom of our lives and seek the company of souls adrift. Good things come in pieces.
Tova Mirvis, author of The Outside World and The Ladies Auxiliary
In this sparkling debut novel, Stephanie Kallos has created an extraordinary testament to the power of love and forgiveness. Broken For You is a big-hearted book that pulses with life.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by linda Heart Warming Some books you hurry to finish, others you savour. Some are a one-time read, others need to be read over & over. This book will stay with me forever.
Rated of 5
by Smillw Broken for You This is a wonderful book. I loved the various eccentric and "broken" characters that all have a story and yet the ultimate lesson is love and hope.
Rated of 5
by Kate Passing it on Broken for you is one of those book you HAVE to pass on to everyone you know. My heart broke and healed during the reading and by the end I was emotionally drained and yet filled with the hope and love this book inspires. The characters were such... Read More
Rated of 5
by Linda Meyer
"Broken for You" is one of the freshest and most life-affirming novels I've read. Because of its positive messages, I will definitely be recommending it to others as well as rereading it myself. Multiple perspectives provide depth,... Read More
Rated of 5
by C. Ziering
A copy of Broken for You came my way via one of my favorite librarians. I had never heard of the book or the author. As I began to read, thought, what was Elizabeth thinking of when she sent this book to me? As I continued to read I began to... Read More
Rated of 5
by Marijo Carnino
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could not put it down until I finished. Loved her writing style, loved the craziness of the characters. Excellent read, hope she has more to come....
Stephanie Kallos spent
twenty years in the theater as an actress
and teacher. Her short fiction has been
nominated for both a Raymond Carver Award
and a Pushcart Prize. Broken for You
is her first novel. She is currently working
on a new novel, Hope's Wheelchair.
She lives in Seattle with her husband and
two children.
Richly comic, as well as deeply disturbing A Widow for One Year is a multilayered love story of astonishing emotional force.
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Stranger than fiction, blending tragedy and farce, How to Create the Perfect Wife is an engrossing tale of the radicalism, and deep contradictions, at the heart of the Enlightenment.
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Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
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Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
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U.S. ebook sales up in 2012, but rate of growth is slowing(May 16 2013) In 2012, trade book sales (i.e. non academic book sales) rose 6.9%, to $15.049 billion, and e-book sales continued to grow, although the rate of growth...
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(381 words).
Publishers Weekly
Lolly Winston author of Good Grief
of 5
by linda
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