Broken
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Product Description
Review
"A superb writer of psychological suspense."-"New York Times"
Book Description
'There is no room for debate: the most important writer of foreign crime fiction at work today is Karin Fossum' Rough Guide to Crime Fiction
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you're a fan of Fossum's Konrad Sejer detective series, you might feel a bit disappointed that her latest novel `Broken' isn't part of the series but something rather different.
You might even, having read the synopsis, imagine that this isn't going to be for you. It sounds a bit odd, doesn't it? One of her characters comes into her bedroom and talks to her. I admit I wasn't sure this was going to work.
But I needn't have worried, and you needn't worry either. The mark of a really good writer is that whatever they write, it will be worth reading.
And in any case, 'Broken' is not that dissimilar to Fossum's other books. In those there's often a social misfit who, through his inexperience of the world ends up in trouble, unintentionally and without malice. This is a theme Fossum has explored many times and she goes to town on it here.
The misfit this time is Alvar Eide, who works at an art gallery, has no friends or family, and is socially inept, to an extreme degree.
And yet, he's rather likeable. A bit weird, perhaps, but his weirdness is only an extreme version of what's in a lot of us. It's easy to empathise with Alvar - most of the time anyway.
The book is all about him, and focuses very closely on him. We get to know him very well. And from different angles, because he's the character that pops into the author's house from time to time for a chat about how the plot's going. This is an odd device, but strangely, and contrary to my expectation, it works. You could read a lot into why Fossum does this. Is it to reveal something about her creative process, or about herself perhaps? It's hard to know because the 'author' is also a character, presumably. But to what extent? By letting the character talk to the author, and therefore the reader, off stage as it were, it in a way lets the reader into the process more than usual too.
It shouldn't work. It's an odd thing to do. I've never come across it before, but I don't wish she hadn't done it.
And Alvar's story is as compelling as anything else Fossum has written.
There may not be a string of gruesome crimes and a police investigation (though the police are involved at some point...) but `Broken' is full of suspense and tension. I found myself getting quite worked up at times, almost wanting to shout at Alvar. He certainly is impossible at times. If he'd come into my house I would have given him some good advice, that's for sure.
As usual, the writing is spare and concise. With the lightest touch Fossum lays the story before you so you see it like a movie running in your head. There's great skill in the writing but you never notice it.
So then. A different kind of Karin Fossum novel. I thought I would miss Sejer and Skarre, and that old dog. But I didn't. Not for a second. This is a brilliant novel.
You might even, having read the synopsis, imagine that this isn't going to be for you. It sounds a bit odd, doesn't it? One of her characters comes into her bedroom and talks to her. I admit I wasn't sure this was going to work.
But I needn't have worried, and you needn't worry either. The mark of a really good writer is that whatever they write, it will be worth reading.
And in any case, 'Broken' is not that dissimilar to Fossum's other books. In those there's often a social misfit who, through his inexperience of the world ends up in trouble, unintentionally and without malice. This is a theme Fossum has explored many times and she goes to town on it here.
The misfit this time is Alvar Eide, who works at an art gallery, has no friends or family, and is socially inept, to an extreme degree.
And yet, he's rather likeable. A bit weird, perhaps, but his weirdness is only an extreme version of what's in a lot of us. It's easy to empathise with Alvar - most of the time anyway.
The book is all about him, and focuses very closely on him. We get to know him very well. And from different angles, because he's the character that pops into the author's house from time to time for a chat about how the plot's going. This is an odd device, but strangely, and contrary to my expectation, it works. You could read a lot into why Fossum does this. Is it to reveal something about her creative process, or about herself perhaps? It's hard to know because the 'author' is also a character, presumably. But to what extent? By letting the character talk to the author, and therefore the reader, off stage as it were, it in a way lets the reader into the process more than usual too.
It shouldn't work. It's an odd thing to do. I've never come across it before, but I don't wish she hadn't done it.
And Alvar's story is as compelling as anything else Fossum has written.
There may not be a string of gruesome crimes and a police investigation (though the police are involved at some point...) but `Broken' is full of suspense and tension. I found myself getting quite worked up at times, almost wanting to shout at Alvar. He certainly is impossible at times. If he'd come into my house I would have given him some good advice, that's for sure.
As usual, the writing is spare and concise. With the lightest touch Fossum lays the story before you so you see it like a movie running in your head. There's great skill in the writing but you never notice it.
So then. A different kind of Karin Fossum novel. I thought I would miss Sejer and Skarre, and that old dog. But I didn't. Not for a second. This is a brilliant novel.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The other posted reviews give a great view of this book, but I just wanted to add that as a big Fossum fan, this book let me in on an important aspect of this author: she has great compassion for people and for her characters which portray them. Reading her other novels, I had noticed that she has a big heart for the downtrodden and suffering in our society and here in Broken you can see how the character who portrays the author cares so greatly about not only her art but about human beings.
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
For the many fans of Fossum's excellent Inspector Sejer series,it
should be pointed out that 'Broken' is not a crime/mystery
novel.It features a depressed,anxious,lonely female writer
who has a collection of characters waiting to feature in her
stories.One night a mild man appears in her bedroom insisting
he jump the queue.The author agrees and starts to create a
story about this unremarkable man ,Alvar Eide,who has closed
himself off from relationships and responsibility.All this changes
when a young female drug addict walks into the art gallery where
he works.This is a challenging ,controlled,inventive,beautifully
written novel,concerning anxiety,goodness,and how anxiety prevents
one becoming fully human and good
should be pointed out that 'Broken' is not a crime/mystery
novel.It features a depressed,anxious,lonely female writer
who has a collection of characters waiting to feature in her
stories.One night a mild man appears in her bedroom insisting
he jump the queue.The author agrees and starts to create a
story about this unremarkable man ,Alvar Eide,who has closed
himself off from relationships and responsibility.All this changes
when a young female drug addict walks into the art gallery where
he works.This is a challenging ,controlled,inventive,beautifully
written novel,concerning anxiety,goodness,and how anxiety prevents
one becoming fully human and good
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Unusual concept but it works
Broken is an unusual novel whereby the character comes to talk to the author about how he would like to see the story progressing. Read more
Published 1 month ago by booklover
Well Written
This novel is not something I would normally read however it was very well written and kept me wanting more. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mr. S. N. Pattison
I'm just a man who can't say no!
Sorry to have to disgree with the other reviewers but the title of this book should have been the title of this review (with apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein). Read more
Published 13 months ago by David Smith
Unusual Norwegian novel about love, loneliness, art and loss
A long queue of people waits patiently at a door. Old and young, in small groups or alone, everyone waits silently. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Maxine Clarke
Very Twisty Tale---A Delight
Broken
by Karin Fossum
Book Review by Jay Gilbertson
Imagine waking up late one night and there's a man standing next to your bed. You'd freak--right? Read more
by Karin Fossum
Book Review by Jay Gilbertson
Imagine waking up late one night and there's a man standing next to your bed. You'd freak--right? Read more
Published 15 months ago by Jay Gilbertson
Accessible philosophical literature
This is the first Karin Fossum novel that I have read, and it won't be the last. I stumbled across it in a supermarket on holiday in Finland whilst searching for a replacement for... Read more
Published on 6 April 2010 by Cuchulain
Different
This book is out of character, basically because Inspector Seyjer or whatever he's called doesn't come into it. But there is no doubt it's as black as they come. A disturbing read.
Published on 31 Jan 2010 by Mme Roslyn Mor
Karin Fossum - Broken
An author wakes one night to find a strange man in her bedroom. One of her prospective characters, he relentlessly persists in trying to make her tell his story. Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2008 by RachelWalker
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