Broken

I always breathe a sigh of relief on finishing a novel by Karin Fossum that I have made it through intact, never mind that the process often feels as harrowing and traumatic as a slow evisceration. Broken is a standalone work of true suspense that blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction and is quite different from the police procedural novels of Fossum which feature Inspector Konrad Sejer. Indeed it is debatable which genre this novel fits into, but either way it is an assault on the senses which invades the readers comfort zone.A fifty-one-year old author watches from her bedroom window the array of various characters who stand in her drive under the porch light and patiently wait for their stories to be told, for it is her job to give life to them and that burden takes its toll. Each is desperately hoping for a chance of her telling their story but one is more impatient than the others, jumping the queue, disrupting her sleep and breaking into the house to beseech the author to take up the rest of his story. Given that the author in question is dependent on anti-depressants, sleeping pills and alcohol to salve her journey through each and every day, she herself is as fragile as any of her characters. The forty-two year old single and self-contained Alvar Eide is the character so keen for her to continue his story, a perfectly orderly man, undemanding and unassuming. His life is dictated by routines and his solitary nature, meaning he has no callers to his house and no friends to speak of. He enjoys his job working in an art gallery and is a hardworking and honest employee with a true appreciation for the artwork that covers the walls.As Fossum takes up the story of Alvar we get to observe his daily travails, daily visits to the deli counter to purchase his evening meal on his way home from work through to checking his tuft of hair (comb-over) is retained in position. More and more he finds himself questioning whether he is a good man, needless to say that the test Fossum presents him with is a young heroin addict who drifts from one place to the next. From sheltering in the gallery and Alvar giving her a cup of coffee and his scarf, she is soon borrowing money and encroaching on his boundaries, all in all presenting a new challenge. Fossum throws test after test at Alvar and he reveals himself to be weak-willed, lacking in spine and completely out of his depth with the young woman. Art touches Alvar and the Broken referred to in the title is a painting that the gallery acquires by a little known artist, depicting a severed bridge that speaks to Alvar's soul and seems to echo his own problems with making connections and attachments to other people. It literally reflects how he has always felt and his own exclusion from society and priced at seventy thousand kroner it would require his life savings to purchase. Yet as he finds himself immune to the will of the young drug addict and the first significant human connection he has made he supplies her with money when she emotionally blackmails into financing her habit. From the threat of turning tricks and placing herself in danger, Alvar soon finds his savings drained and his chances of acquiring the painting reduced to nil with his decisions no longer a conscious choice.The alternating chapters move between seeing Alvar's daily life and then seeing him rejoin the author (Fossum) who is telling his story, apologising for being a nuisance whilst also aiming to flex some muscle and manipulate the direction of his tale. Fossum argues that this is against the rules, but tells him the date of November 18th when he will take control of his own life once again. The fate awaiting Alvar is almost a forgone conclusion in Fossum's hands. It is hard to apportion blame in Broken but when a person begs an author for the opportunity to be explored they surely cannot expect to dictate the events that unfold, given the real test is how one copes in the aftermath.Whose story is this? Is Broken the tale of an author's torture as they wrangle with their creation or is Alvar Eide the main focus of the novel? Whilst I remain in a quandary as regards this, what I can say with certainty is that is the tale of two vulnerable outsiders on a path to destruction and the good intentions and of a gentle man to contribute to society come back to haunt both of them. A bizarre and unique tale, with typically sparing prose and honesty, meaning it is by no means an easy read. That the finale of Broken sees surprises and several unexpected stings in the tail is Fossum's forte, and this tale of an eccentric loner sent a backbone revealing challenge could only have come from her pen. It is ambitious of Fossum to tell a story of an author battling it out with her protagonist and it presents the reader with an insight into the mind of a creative genius. Posing questions such as how much of an internal battle authors have with their characters and the creative process, it confounded me how I became so drawn into a fictional tale of an even more fictional character! This sounds confusing but Broken is a story to be read, re-read and processed gradually over time. Marvellous.Review written by Rachel Hall (@hallrachel)

Rachel Hall ('Read and Reviewed' - whose comments appear here on the main page for this novel), gives a detailed and insightful review of Karin Fossum's 'Broken', so I don't feel it necessary to add my four pennies' worth as she has more than said what I would like to say about this novel. I will add, however, that this is the second time reading this book - I first read it several years' ago and very much enjoyed it, but lent it to someone who did not return it. Feeling the urge to reread the novel, I recently ordered a new copy from Amazon and was looking forward to revisiting it - and I'm glad I did. It's an unusual and claustrophobic story within a story and one that draws the reader immediately into it, and it's also one that is best read in one or two sittings if possible. If I'm being entirely honest, I have to say that the story didn't have quite the impact it had on me at the first reading, but I was involved from beginning to end and found myself wanting to know what happened to the main protagonist (a writer) and her character, Alver Eade, after the close of the story; I also found myself wondering how the heroine tackled her next person in the 'queue' outside her window and what her narrative for this person would be. Recommended.4 Stars.

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.