Broken Country (Reese's Book Club)

Clare Leslie Hall, a new author for me, and one I will forever follow. Broken Country is a masterpiece of deep human emotions and heart strings with a beautiful storyline that kept me glued to its pages, beginning to end. Characters are so believable and perfectly flawed, if that’s even possible. I expect a movie out of this one, folks. It’s a story full of feelings and descriptive beauty of location. I want more…

“You can live a whole lifetime in a final moment.” Synopsis: Beth and Frank are happily married despite the tragic events that have occurred during their life together. When Beth’s Brother-in law shoots the neighbor’s dog, the chain of events that follows dramatically alters their lives. The dog belongs to Beth’s high school sweetheart who recently moved back to town. Beth is quickly sucked back into Gabriel’s life developing a relationship with his young son who reminds Beth of her own son that she tragically lost. Beth quickly becomes the talk of the town resulting in tension, jealousy and fear that the secrets she buried long ago may soon surface. This book is proof that you don't need 450 pages to tell a story. You get everything you could possibly need in 320 pages. It was a fast-paced and engaging read that hooked me pretty much from the start. The story is incredibly powerful. There is something about this story that makes parts of it relatable for every type of person. It always amazes me how emotion can so quickly and completely overpower logic...how matters of the heart can make us do things that we know we shouldn't. I am equally amazed at how love and guilt and shame are all equally powerful motivators for our actions. But…I think that there are aspects that could have made it better. This story is told strictly from Beth's point of view. I would have loved Frank's and Gabriel's and even Jimmy’s. I prefer seeing a story unfold from multiple angles. I think that adding multiple perspectives could have created much more complexity to the storyline and the characters. With that being said, I loved the plot twist and was completely caught off guard when it was revealed. I fell in love with the characters. They are so well written. Their emotional depth makes them relatable and authentic. Even though Beth isn’t perfect, you can’t help but love her and empathize with her. She is deeply confused and knows that her actions are hurtful and wrong but she starts to compartmentalize her life so that both lives are real and right and safe in her mind. I felt a maternal bond toward Leo and a deep level of respect and empathy for Frank. It is definitely a book I would recommend to reader who love a fast-paced, emotionally complex novel that mixes romance and mystery

Some reviews describe 'Broken Country' as a romance, and others describe it as a thriller. It is both but, more importantly, it is a literary novel of historical fiction that is a great read. Whether you want a novel for your airplane ride, or you want a deep read, you will get both in this novel. The novel centers around a married couple, Beth and Frank, who live on a farm in England. They love each other deeply despite the tragic death of their son several years ago, for which Frank feels responsible. The novel is told in different timelines, one in the relatively near past and one in the present, late 1960's. They are very close with Frank's brother Jimmy who appears to be an immature binge drinker. All is copacetic until Gabriel, Beth's first love, enters their lives after Frank shoots and kills Gabriel's son's dog who is a danger to the farm animals. It is not difficult to see where the narrative is going and what will happen in the immediate future. What is difficult to fathom is where the novel is headed down the line. There are twists and turns as the author explores the impact of infidelity on the marriage, on Beth, and on Gabriel and his son. We know from the very beginning that someone has been killed. Who it is, why they were killed, and who the killer is, is not revealed until the very end of the novel. I loved the book and had my head in it for two days, until I finished it. It is mesmerizing, well-written, and the characterizations are strong and carefully drawn out. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves literary fiction, historical fiction, a twisty murder mystery and an obsessive love story.

I will be the first to say that this book is imperfect. In fact, one significant element of this novel — that Frank would risk his freedom and take responsibility for a crime that the true perpetrator would be excused for — is so implausible that it sidles up to nonsensical. Yet I loved this book so much I devoured it until the wee hours of the morning and gave it 5 stars. It is the profound, deep empathy and depiction of multifaceted characters that made me love Broken Country so deeply. I loved all of these flawed humans (maybe even Helen). I felt — deeply — their emotions and turmoil as they battled with themes of class, longing, and profound sacrifices for love. That depth of character development — particularly in a book that is only 320 pages — is so exceptional that I had to give it 5 stars. The story was balanced, filled with love and humor AND longing and sadness. The emotional frailties written felt real and authentic to real people, versus easy characterizations — the drunk is the bad guy, the rich boyfriend is callous, the adulterer is selfish. I really appreciated the complexity of emotional reactions that existed in this books and I really hope more books from Clare Leslie Hall (or whichever name she chooses to use) include this depth. I hated finishing the book.

Super

Loved this beautiful story and the end was quite the surpise. Great writing and I look forward to another book from this author

Excellent book couldn't put it down. Good story line. Totally enjoyed it. Recommend it a must read.

Wow, wow, wow. I'm a grizzled 65YO infantry soldier who shouldn't read books like this; and yet... I came outa' the womb reading books! This is a phenomenally good book with an ending so unexpected, I'm still struggling to work out how I missed the surprise(s). Not to be missed... Congrats Ms Hall.

Uma boa leitura!