Broken for You

By: Stephanie Kallos

Narrated by: Anna Fields

Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

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 to Seattle 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.

Exuberant, 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.

©2004 Stephanie Kallos (P)2004 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Well-crafted plotting and crackling wit make this debut novel by Seattle author Kallos a delight to read and a memory to savor." (Booklist)
"[A] dreamy, powerful tale of familial warring, secrets, and redemption....This haunting, memorable debut is reminiscent of early Atwood, peopled by lovably imperfect and eccentric characters." (Publishers Weekly)
"A dazzling mosaic of intersecting lives and fates...[A] multi-layered rhapsody....Kallos has a rare, deft way with whimsy, dream sequences and hallucinations. Comparisons to John Irving and Tennesse Williams would not be amiss in this show-stopping debut." (Kirkus Reviews)

Amazing story telling

At first I wondered how these 2 storylines could possibly intersect. I stuck with it, loving the characters. I had tears in my eyes when I was finished. Then I read first chapter and the last 2 chapters all over again. This book is about redeeming love and the family we make with whoever we choose.

Stick With It!

Took me a while to fully embrace the characters and the storyline, but eventually got swept up in the personalities and entanglements, and grew increasingly fond of the household occupants. This is an original, surprising and meaningful story with historical significance and evolves beautifully to a satisfying ending.

Fantastic!!

This book was so good!! I didn’t want it to end! I fell in love with the characters and their interwoven lives. I hope they make this book into a movie.

What a neat story and almost flawless performance

I really, really loved this story and the performance was spot on except for one small thing that annoyed me but probably no one else. The voicing of the small kids was just like nails on a chalkboard for me. The rest of the characters were done so very well that I almost gave that part 5 stars as well. The story was funny and moving, the dialogue was engaging and very believable. I snort laughed so many times listening to this. Highly, highly recommend.

Amazingly intricate character development.

Amazing book! The narrator was superb. The intertwining of the relationships will leave you satisfied.

Incredible listen, ought to be a movie!

What more can I say, that the other reviewers haven't already said. There must be some movie producer who has bought the option to this wonderful story! It was excellent... I cried, I laughed and I even sent a copy to my mother-in-law! Need I say more?

Couldn't finish it ...

I have listened to a number of books performed by Anna Fields, and I like her style. Her performance is not the issue with Broken For You.

The point is rather that there is no issue at all. There was nothing I hated about Broken For You but nothing I particularly liked either. Everything lukewarm. I just drifted out of it after the first third because I couldn't care for any of the characters, and I couldn't get a feel for the mood of the book. Initially, I liked the idea about the old woman and the dishes and so on but there just didn't happen anything with it.

Basically, this novel offered nothing to anchor me to it. With all the fantastic audiobooks out there, this one can be skipped.

A gentle break

This book is a source of comfort...if you’ve “lost” someone, if you’ve been betrayed, if you’ve had to live with pain. It’s about need and connections and about creating a family that has no biological base.

It’s not a thriller, but it is a loving mystery.

Beautiful story

An incredible tale of love and life. I absolutely loved this book! Life in all it’s technicolour - love and grief, guilt and reawakening.

Lovely

Don’t be put off by the slow start - I was confused about the quotes at the beginning, but once I got into the story I was mesmerized. Such a unique story. I want to go and break something!