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38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unusual psychological thriller, August 19, 2008
This review is from: Broken (Paperback)
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.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fate or Free Will?, July 29, 2010
THREE QUICK POINTS *Point 1: Where's the mystery? A quarter of the way through, I realized this wasn't a traditional whodunit mystery; it wasn't a traditional mystery in any sense. *Point 2: It's about characters under a microscope. Flawed and exaggerated, but haunting characters crafted with aplomb. *Point 3: Smooth prose and pacing. Lost in translation isn't a cliché for nothing, but if anything was lost in this translation, I didn't miss it. SHORT SYNOPSIS A writer agonizing over the line of people waiting to have their stories told is surprised one evening when one of those characters invades her bedroom. After a bit of confabulation, they decide on a name for him--Alvar Eide--and she agrees to start his story. She carved out his life: living alone, working in an art gallery, and shunning basic human interactions until a drug-addicted girl wanders into the gallery one day. And from time to time, Alvar would stop in on the author to discuss the story, particularly when things weren't going as he expected. MY THOUGHTS First, I was confused. Then, I was intrigued. Finally, I reflected. On the cover it says that it's "a mystery", and from that I expected something along the lines of a detective declaring at some point that Professor Plum did it in the parlour with a candlestick. But that's not what I got. The walls around me dissolved as I drifted into the story and with morbid curiosity (and some sympathy) I watched as Alvar's world spiraled out of control, all because of one crucial choice he made to help the drug-addicted girl instead of shooing her from the gallery. When he felt the consequences of that choice--his act of kindness backfired--he went to the author and practically asked, "Why have you done this to me?" Surprising is the author's answer: she can only write what she observes as she drifts along; she does not have as much control over what happens as Alvar thinks. But Alvar believes, since she is the author, she can write it any way she pleases and begs her to write something more suitable to his nature. This novel is a mind warp. The true mystery is not whodunit, but what made him do it: whether our actions are the product of fate or free will. Subtle clues are sprinkled throughout to support both theories and to, no doubt, spark discussions. Although it wasn't what I expected, I enjoyed it. Broken is a quiet, languid philosophical book for people who enjoy pondering the mysteries of the human condition, or those who just enjoy character studies. What made this novel even more disturbing was how real each character felt, despite having exaggerated personalities. At the end, you may be left wondering whether we are creations of divine inspiration or the puppets of a frustrated novelist.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Miscategorized, But Engaging Nonetheless, July 5, 2010
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Broken is my first introduction to Karin Fossum and I should also mention that I don't speak Norwegian, so I'll be reviewing the English translation done by Charlotte Barslund. There's no way for me to know how much of the author's voice and style was (or was not) lost in translation. And now, with that small caveat out of the way, on to the review. This book is actually two stories in one: The story of an author struggling to complete her novel and the story of Alvar Eide. Sometimes these two stories overlap, mainly in subtle ways, but for the most part, they remain separate. It opens with an author staring out of her window at the long line of people in her driveway waiting to have their stories told. But one character takes initiative and ambushes the author while she's sleeping. He begs her to write his story, allowing him to cut in front of the girl who would have been next.* Eventually the author gives in, names him Alvar Eide, and begins to tell his story. And from time to time Alvar pops in to discuss the story's progression. The telling of Alvar Eide's story was more about character development and setting the overall tone for the events which would follow. He was a painfully shy man who avoided friendly banter and thought of himself as a good person, meticulous and removed from society. He was a darn fine art dealer, carefully pairing the paintings with the people he believed would most appreciate them rather than the people who only purchased for investment value. Then all of that changed when a young blond heroin-addicted girl wanders into the gallery to escape from the cold, and instead of turning her away, Alvar offers her a cup of coffee. While I can't be certain whether this was the product of the translator or Fossum's intention, the gentle ebb and flow of the telling was, I believe, a rather nice juxtaposition to the brutality of each story. To be clear, when I say the stories were brutal, I don't mean in a physically violent sense, but psychologically: the author's turmoil about the meaning of life, the significance of her craft, and her sense of impending doom; Alvar's constant fear of being judged, his self-doubt and weak will; and the blond girl's sociopathy and her addiction to heroin. Reading the book was akin to drifting down a placid river, bobbing up and down with its currents. By page 184 I already knew what would happen. It didn't happen the way I'd anticipated, but still it happened. Basically there is a level of predictability, but it didn't bother me. By that time, I was already engaged by Alvar's story. I thought it interesting that Alvar and the girl could be so different, yet so similar. As it played out, Alvar became to the author what the heroin-addicted girl was to Alvar--a greedy beggar who intruded without invitation--except in the case of the author, she was able to stave him off with proffers of wisdom in exchange for his patience rather than giving him cold hard cash. In a way, the author's sections came to have a Conversations with God feel to them. It's easy to see this as a book club selection because there is so much to chop up and dissect and there is likely to be plenty of differing views on the choices the author and Alvar and the blond girl made and why they made them. But this book certainly will not appeal to everyone--in fact, I'd say it wouldn't appeal to most--and it is neither a thriller, nor suspense, nor mystery. If I were to categorize this book, I'd say that it's dark gray literary fiction, focusing mostly on the psychological makeup of its characters. Overall, a compelling read if you enjoy such studies, but if you're expecting a fast-paced romp or a mystery to solve, you will find yourself disappointed. [*] There is a tidbit at the end which may explain why Alvar was right to cut in the line. I thought it was a nice twist.
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