The Broken Teaglass

By: Emily Arsenault

Narrated by: Eileen Stevens, Oliver Wyman, Therese Plummer

Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

The dusty files of a venerable dictionary publisher, a hidden cache of coded clues, a story written by a phantom author, an unsolved murder in a gritty urban park. All collide memorably in Emily Arsenault's magnificent debut, at once a teasing literary puzzle, an ingenious suspense novel, and an exploration of definitions: of words, of who we are, and of the stories we choose to define us.

In the maze of cubicles at Samuelson Company, editors toil away in silence, studying the English language, poring over new expressions and freshly coined words - all in preparation for the next new edition of the Samuelson Dictionary. Among them is editorial assistant Billy Webb, just out of college, struggling to stay awake and appear competent. But there are a few distractions. His intriguing coworker Mona Minot may or may not be flirting with him. And he's starting to sense something suspicious going on beneath this company's academic facade.

Mona has just made a startling discovery: a trove of puzzling citations, all taken from the same book, The Broken Teaglass. Billy and Mona soon learn that no such book exists. And the quotations from it are far too long, twisting, and bizarre for any dictionary. They read like a confessional, coyly hinting at a hidden identity, a secret liaison, a crime.

As Billy and Mona ransack the office files, a chilling story begins to emerge: a story about a lonely young woman, a long-unsolved mystery, a moment of shattering violence. And as they piece together its fragments, the puzzle begins to take on bigger personal meaning for both of them, compelling them to redefine their notions of themselves and each other.

Charged with wit and intelligence, set against a sweetly cautious love story, The Broken Teaglass is a tale that will delight lovers of words, lovers of mysteries, and fans of smart, funny, brilliantly inventive fiction.

©2009 Emily Arsenault (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A literary gem.” (New York Times Notable Crime Books of 2009)

“Word lovers won't want to miss this one.” (Library Journal)

“The very definition of a promising debut.” (Booklist)

Cute.

This is a nice little mystery story. Was I bowled over? No. But, it was a pleasant listen and worth a credit.

a bit tedious; did not like narrators

This book is based on an interesting concept, but I found myself anxious to be done with it. I found the voice of Mona to be particularly irritating.

Music. Ugh!

My complete review is on Goodreads, but I'm posting part of it here to discourage others from making the same mistake I did.

"...this is one of those horrendous productions that has music...

[It] only adds to the confusion of the multiple narrators in this book. Rather than just three narration voices, they are semi-dramatized...Zero stars for directing and production. The individual performances weren???t that bad considering the material they had to work with."

Great Premise, unrealized

This book has a really good concept but fell oddly flat. The characters just didn't leave me wanting more or imagining what happens next.

Started out so good....then fell flat

This novel started out wonderfully. I was captivated by the slowly unfolding mystery and the excellent character development. About halfway through the story, things began to slow down and become dreary, dull, drawn-out, and melancholy. The mystery took a back seat to the navel-gazing of the two slueths. The ending was hugely dissapointing. This really should have been a short story, not a novel. Most of it was depressing filler. Skip this one.

Good listen

I enjoyed listening to this book and I liked the narration. The premis was clever and the setting unique. Yet, there was something missing. Characters too superficial? It would make a good movie. The girl from "Up in the Air" would make a great Mona!

Mixed feelings!

I liked the story line and thought it was an interesting story within a story. I thought the dictionary business was probably pretty unrealistic. I liked the narrators, but thought the women's voices were a little too similar. My main objection was the use of 4 letter words, which seem to appear more and more in books and add nothing to them. People in my world don't talk that way on an everyday basis!

Mental intrigue and murder

Would you listen to The Broken Teaglass again? Why?

Yes. There are many facets to the book. It is suspenseful and there are things that you can learn about language, books etc. The mental intrigue of the plot makes this mystery engaging at every turn.

The Broken Teaglass

I thought this book was reasonably good. I was almost put off by some of the negative reviews. It is true the male narrator's voice is very deadpan. Another commenter complained about the use of a female narrator's voice followed by "she said" as being very off-putting which I only noticed because the comment drew my attention to it. Finally some of the reviews were negative because of all the lexicographical lore in it which is a bit like buying Moby Dick and then complaining about all the stuff about whales. If you are interested in words and dictionaries, it is an interesting angle on a whodunnit. I would not say it was a riveting read but there was enough to it to make me want to listen to the end.

Weak

I listen to at least 4-5 audio books a week (long commute). I thought that this book would be more along the lines of a Dan Brown book with puzzles and mysteries to solve. Very bland book, no real suspense, no action. I finished it, but will never listen to it again. How do I say this?? Wait until it gets put on the discount rack before spending good money on this book.