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Broken River
A modest house in upstate New York. One in the morning. Three people—a couple and their child—hurry out the door, but it’s too late for them. As the virtuosic and terrifying opening scene of Broken River unfolds, a spectral presence seems to be watching with cold and mysterious interest. Soon the house lies abandoned, and years later a new family moves in.
Karl, Eleanor, and their daughter, Irina, arrive from New York City in the wake of Karl’s infidelity to start anew. Karl tries to stabilize his flailing art career. Eleanor, a successful commercial novelist, eagerly pivots in a new creative direction. Meanwhile, twelve-year-old Irina becomes obsessed with the brutal murders that occurred in the house years earlier. And, secretly, so does her mother. As the ensemble cast grows to include Louis, a hapless salesman in a carpet warehouse who is haunted by his past, and Sam, a young woman newly reunited with her jailbird brother, the seemingly unrelated crime that opened the story becomes ominously relevant.
Hovering over all this activity looms a gradually awakening narrative consciousness that watches these characters lie to themselves and each other, unleashing forces that none of them could have anticipated and that put them in mortal danger. Broken River is a cinematic, darkly comic, and sui generis psychological thriller that could only have been written by J. Robert Lennon.
Karl, Eleanor, and their daughter, Irina, arrive from New York City in the wake of Karl’s infidelity to start anew. Karl tries to stabilize his flailing art career. Eleanor, a successful commercial novelist, eagerly pivots in a new creative direction. Meanwhile, twelve-year-old Irina becomes obsessed with the brutal murders that occurred in the house years earlier. And, secretly, so does her mother. As the ensemble cast grows to include Louis, a hapless salesman in a carpet warehouse who is haunted by his past, and Sam, a young woman newly reunited with her jailbird brother, the seemingly unrelated crime that opened the story becomes ominously relevant.
Hovering over all this activity looms a gradually awakening narrative consciousness that watches these characters lie to themselves and each other, unleashing forces that none of them could have anticipated and that put them in mortal danger. Broken River is a cinematic, darkly comic, and sui generis psychological thriller that could only have been written by J. Robert Lennon.
240 pages, Paperback
First published May 16, 2017
173 people are currently reading
3403 people want to read
About the author
J. Robert Lennon
43 books288 followersJ. Robert Lennon is the author of three story collections and ten novels, and is co-editor of CRITICAL HITS, an anthology of writing on video games. He lives in Ithaca, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 294 reviews
May 10, 2017
This is a novel that carries a subtle air of atmospheric menace in its compelling narrative. It begins with a house in a town, Broken River, in upstate New York, where two brutal murders take place, and a spectral presence observes, whilst a young child hides. The killers are never caught but the cursed house proves to be unsaleable. More than a decade later, the house is finally sold at a bargain price. Karl, a sculptor and serial philanderer, his wife, Eleanor, a writer, and their precocious twelve year old daughter, Irina, move in. Relocating is Eleanor's attempt to keep their marriage intact. All is being observed in all its human frailties and limitations as numerous threads converge into a devastating and inevitable conclusion triggered by secrets, lies, and the human inability to foretell the consequences of actions. This is a novel that is literary noir, part mystery, and part a philosophical reflection on family and individual decision making.
Karl continues meeting Rachel, the woman Eleanor insisted he break up with. A breast cancer survivor, Eleanor takes care of the chores that keep the family together, and is responsible for taking care of Irina, who is writing a novel. Eleanor is struggling to write her latest novel and secretly investigates the murders that occurred in the house, posting on the website, Cybersleuths, as smoking jacket. Irina, who is privy to the mess that is her parents marriage, is also secretly drawn to delve into the historical murders, drawn particularly to Samantha Geary, the child, who is now seventeen, but whose whereabouts are not known. Irina projects her delusions on Sam, a twenty year old woman who has just moved to Broken River to be with brother, Daniel, soon to be released from prison. The killers are drawn back to the house and Broken River as a chain of events leads once again to murder and mayhem. Amidst all this we have the observer, who has moved from simply seeing to becoming aware of cause and effect, compelled to make judgements.
This is an intelligent examination of family, lies and secrets, and a headlong collision of the present with the past. It is a thoughtful meditation of individual human shortcomings and lack of self awareness, and the useful device of having the observer paint the bigger picture of the law of unintended consequences. If you are looking for something different to read, I can strongly recommend this thought provoking novel. A great read. Thanks to Serpent's Tail for an ARC.
Karl continues meeting Rachel, the woman Eleanor insisted he break up with. A breast cancer survivor, Eleanor takes care of the chores that keep the family together, and is responsible for taking care of Irina, who is writing a novel. Eleanor is struggling to write her latest novel and secretly investigates the murders that occurred in the house, posting on the website, Cybersleuths, as smoking jacket. Irina, who is privy to the mess that is her parents marriage, is also secretly drawn to delve into the historical murders, drawn particularly to Samantha Geary, the child, who is now seventeen, but whose whereabouts are not known. Irina projects her delusions on Sam, a twenty year old woman who has just moved to Broken River to be with brother, Daniel, soon to be released from prison. The killers are drawn back to the house and Broken River as a chain of events leads once again to murder and mayhem. Amidst all this we have the observer, who has moved from simply seeing to becoming aware of cause and effect, compelled to make judgements.
This is an intelligent examination of family, lies and secrets, and a headlong collision of the present with the past. It is a thoughtful meditation of individual human shortcomings and lack of self awareness, and the useful device of having the observer paint the bigger picture of the law of unintended consequences. If you are looking for something different to read, I can strongly recommend this thought provoking novel. A great read. Thanks to Serpent's Tail for an ARC.
May 15, 2018
Here we go... There is a witness in the house that neither the panicked parents or their terrified 5 year old know about, yet who is the only observer to the full tragedy as it plays out. Afterward, nobody of course wishes to rent or purchase this place where bad men came and death snuck in. Vagrants, decay, cheap renovations, and then decay again arrive over the next decade or so.
The observer, though - the witnessing presence - stays on throughout the years. It remains in Broken River.
A dozen summers later, a little family moves their bustling lives from Brooklyn to this upstate, down-on-its-heels town where the state prison (and the distribution of pot) are its primary economic industries. Nell, the mother, is a successful women's author while the avante garde bear of a father is a sculptor who works in behemoth hunks of glass and bent metal rods.
**Note: book reports are generally something I avoid, but the following has that flavor. No spoilers, but skip the following if you want to be entirely surprised by the book.
The decrepit house has fantastic bones and a ridiculously low price tag, and the observer - still here - sees the mother and girl squeal with delight when the renovations directed by Karl, the artist dad, materialize. His forge in the newly built studio and his wife's laptop are the means by which the house is renovated and their bright 12 year old is afforded 23 acres to wander about exploring.
In this secluded and pastoral setting (once you get out of Broken River proper with its defunct book store and abandoned theater), the artistic parents are able to work on their respective endeavors without diversion or interruption. Yet it is not this creative solitude that has brought them here. Putting physical geographic space between scruffy Karl and his (latest) lover is the reason for their migration. Nell has made incredible sacrifices for her husband, and this will be their last chance to solidify the marriage.
As we get to know this couple - the husband is the Dude, straight out of The Big Lebowski, even regularly calling his 12 year old kid "dude!" - we wonder if their crumbling marriage will heal itself. The observer, too, is a character we begin to get a feel for, and although its ability to see into the future builds, it does not care enough to offer us any insights.
As the parents work, their precocious girl Irina is bored. While trying to write snippets for her own little novel (just like mom!), she ends up online to learn more about the murders that occurred, like, RIGHT HERE! Her excitement and pre-pubescent voice are really well characterized by the author and are an emotionally charged contrast to the neutrality of the observer.
Young Irina ends up creating a profile on "Cyber Sleuths", one of those chat rooms for amateur detectives and bored retirees who try to solve various cold crimes. Because the murders at her home were never solved and the little five-year-old girl survived, Irina is obsessed.
As Irina starts posting information about the house online, the observer knows that the bad men who once came to kill are aware of these updates. Since they did not find what they once murdered for (and thanks to the 12 year old's inflated imagination on Cyber Sleuths), they are coming back.
I've never read anything by Lennon before, but he has charmed me here with psychological suspense, wit, and not-so-hidden commentary about the world of artistes.
The metafictional inclusion of an omnipresent narrator is quirky, yet rather a throw-back. Interestingly, Lennon has this observer gradually become self-aware. It becomes a full character in the story, at times acting the role of the Greek chorus in making insightful commentary or moving us from setting to setting. Its disinterest in the well being of the humans in the story also helps ramp up the atmosphere of dread. If you remember the partial narration of Death in 'The Book Thief,' then you know that this method can work nicely if written well. It was and it did.
I also think that there is a deep layer written into this story that average people like me won't fully appreciate. The women's writer makes statements in a dream sequence where she is being skewered by some successful male author of thrillers. In defense of her chick lit, written for 'educated, upper middle class females,' she states that there is nothing wrong with giving people what they want. And yet the novel she works on while hoping that her marriage does not splinter into shards is decidedly not what they want.
The futzy, pot-smoking Karl posesses two hulking slabs of sculpture that he once began as a commission but that ended up meaning too much to him to ever let go. The pieces stand massively in the house exactly where other families might place their big screen TV, as they have for all the years they've been with Karl. We learn that the rods which pierce both structures actually align when the two pieces are placed next to one another, just so. That the two killers, when they reappear, resemble precisely those hunks of glass, stabbed with metal is not pointed out. We wonder if these men were always meant to pierce this little family's life.
The observer surely knows. It is just not telling.
I apologize that this rambling, disjointed review cannot do justice to the quirkiness of this psychological thriller/family drama. It was not the perfect book for me, and the father figure was a bit cartoonish. As the last ten percent went a little off the course I wanted, a 4 fits best for my experience. Well done.
But of course, the observer already knew that.
The observer, though - the witnessing presence - stays on throughout the years. It remains in Broken River.
A dozen summers later, a little family moves their bustling lives from Brooklyn to this upstate, down-on-its-heels town where the state prison (and the distribution of pot) are its primary economic industries. Nell, the mother, is a successful women's author while the avante garde bear of a father is a sculptor who works in behemoth hunks of glass and bent metal rods.
**Note: book reports are generally something I avoid, but the following has that flavor. No spoilers, but skip the following if you want to be entirely surprised by the book.
The decrepit house has fantastic bones and a ridiculously low price tag, and the observer - still here - sees the mother and girl squeal with delight when the renovations directed by Karl, the artist dad, materialize. His forge in the newly built studio and his wife's laptop are the means by which the house is renovated and their bright 12 year old is afforded 23 acres to wander about exploring.
In this secluded and pastoral setting (once you get out of Broken River proper with its defunct book store and abandoned theater), the artistic parents are able to work on their respective endeavors without diversion or interruption. Yet it is not this creative solitude that has brought them here. Putting physical geographic space between scruffy Karl and his (latest) lover is the reason for their migration. Nell has made incredible sacrifices for her husband, and this will be their last chance to solidify the marriage.
As we get to know this couple - the husband is the Dude, straight out of The Big Lebowski, even regularly calling his 12 year old kid "dude!" - we wonder if their crumbling marriage will heal itself. The observer, too, is a character we begin to get a feel for, and although its ability to see into the future builds, it does not care enough to offer us any insights.
As the parents work, their precocious girl Irina is bored. While trying to write snippets for her own little novel (just like mom!), she ends up online to learn more about the murders that occurred, like, RIGHT HERE! Her excitement and pre-pubescent voice are really well characterized by the author and are an emotionally charged contrast to the neutrality of the observer.
Young Irina ends up creating a profile on "Cyber Sleuths", one of those chat rooms for amateur detectives and bored retirees who try to solve various cold crimes. Because the murders at her home were never solved and the little five-year-old girl survived, Irina is obsessed.
As Irina starts posting information about the house online, the observer knows that the bad men who once came to kill are aware of these updates. Since they did not find what they once murdered for (and thanks to the 12 year old's inflated imagination on Cyber Sleuths), they are coming back.
I've never read anything by Lennon before, but he has charmed me here with psychological suspense, wit, and not-so-hidden commentary about the world of artistes.
The metafictional inclusion of an omnipresent narrator is quirky, yet rather a throw-back. Interestingly, Lennon has this observer gradually become self-aware. It becomes a full character in the story, at times acting the role of the Greek chorus in making insightful commentary or moving us from setting to setting. Its disinterest in the well being of the humans in the story also helps ramp up the atmosphere of dread. If you remember the partial narration of Death in 'The Book Thief,' then you know that this method can work nicely if written well. It was and it did.
I also think that there is a deep layer written into this story that average people like me won't fully appreciate. The women's writer makes statements in a dream sequence where she is being skewered by some successful male author of thrillers. In defense of her chick lit, written for 'educated, upper middle class females,' she states that there is nothing wrong with giving people what they want. And yet the novel she works on while hoping that her marriage does not splinter into shards is decidedly not what they want.
The futzy, pot-smoking Karl posesses two hulking slabs of sculpture that he once began as a commission but that ended up meaning too much to him to ever let go. The pieces stand massively in the house exactly where other families might place their big screen TV, as they have for all the years they've been with Karl. We learn that the rods which pierce both structures actually align when the two pieces are placed next to one another, just so. That the two killers, when they reappear, resemble precisely those hunks of glass, stabbed with metal is not pointed out. We wonder if these men were always meant to pierce this little family's life.
The observer surely knows. It is just not telling.
I apologize that this rambling, disjointed review cannot do justice to the quirkiness of this psychological thriller/family drama. It was not the perfect book for me, and the father figure was a bit cartoonish. As the last ten percent went a little off the course I wanted, a 4 fits best for my experience. Well done.
But of course, the observer already knew that.
March 20, 2018
This is a hard one to pigeonhole. It begins and ends with a crime, but it's not really crime fiction. All activities are monitored by an Observer, but this unseen force holds no menace, so it's not really a ghost story. It's mostly about a family who has become a family of strangers -their feelings for one another buried under a mantle of lies and secrets.
I'm not going to reveal anything else. It's an mesmerizing, oddball read that held me spellbound for three days. That's all, folks.
I'm not going to reveal anything else. It's an mesmerizing, oddball read that held me spellbound for three days. That's all, folks.
September 29, 2017
This is certainly a different kind of story I found interesting. Although portions could have been handled differently, it was a worthwhile listen. The narration was good, except for the mispronunciation of the word, "often." The "t" is silent and costs an overall star. 7 of 10
June 6, 2017
I was looking for a summer read, something suspenseful but smart; a page-turner that wasn’t ridiculously childish. Influenced by a very positive review in the New York Times from author, Jonathan Lethem, I gave Broken River a go. Right from the first page I found myself completely immersed in this novel as I quickly noticed that I was reading something exceptional. The first chapter is masterfully chilling, and so well written that you simply have to keep going. Not only is there an increasing sense of tension in this book but also striking observations about the trajectories of the characters lives, made even more layered by a subtle uncanny presence, called The Observer, which may or may not represent the very idea of the creation of narratives itself. Lennon’s characters are beautifully realized, flawed, all too human and in nearly every case invite a sympathetic understanding, which gives this book a warmth to contrast with the growing apprehension. Wonderfully written, powerful observations about the course of human lives occur throughout this book, elevating it far past anything like a standard suspense novel.
I finished Broken River deeply satisfied and impressed.
I finished Broken River deeply satisfied and impressed.
July 30, 2017
Wow, what a cool read this was. It begins with a house in upstate New York in 2005. The couple living there is brutally murdered; only their young daughter survives. The crime remains unsolved.
Inhabiting the house is an omnipresent Observer—somewhat of a ghost—who, from that point forward, will follow (or dictate?) the narrative thread that links the house to the people connected with it.
Following a decade of vacancy, a new family moves into the house: a philandering man-child husband, his novelist wife who suspects her cancer may have returned, and their precocious 12-year-old daughter. Whether they know it or not, the very act of moving into this house has inserted them into the house's narrative, and the consequences will be beyond their control.
The use of the omnipresent third-person Observer helping to narrate the story provides us, the readers, with a sort of godly knowledge of the characters and the ways their lives will intersect. We see the simmering tensions, the secrets they keep from one other, the impending doom. This is not a fast-paced psychological thriller, but a clever and slow-burning domestic drama with the fatalism of a Greek tragedy.
Lennon's writing is cerebral and metaphysical, exploring the nature of cause and effect, the line between existential randomness and predetermined outcomes. How much control do we possess over our own lives, limited beings that we are? Are we all just part of a meaningless and fatalistic narrative? Does any of it even matter?
Inhabiting the house is an omnipresent Observer—somewhat of a ghost—who, from that point forward, will follow (or dictate?) the narrative thread that links the house to the people connected with it.
Following a decade of vacancy, a new family moves into the house: a philandering man-child husband, his novelist wife who suspects her cancer may have returned, and their precocious 12-year-old daughter. Whether they know it or not, the very act of moving into this house has inserted them into the house's narrative, and the consequences will be beyond their control.
The use of the omnipresent third-person Observer helping to narrate the story provides us, the readers, with a sort of godly knowledge of the characters and the ways their lives will intersect. We see the simmering tensions, the secrets they keep from one other, the impending doom. This is not a fast-paced psychological thriller, but a clever and slow-burning domestic drama with the fatalism of a Greek tragedy.
Lennon's writing is cerebral and metaphysical, exploring the nature of cause and effect, the line between existential randomness and predetermined outcomes. How much control do we possess over our own lives, limited beings that we are? Are we all just part of a meaningless and fatalistic narrative? Does any of it even matter?
April 12, 2017
I really enjoyed reading this and looked forward to reading it every day. It's super compelling and sort of a thriller, but not really, it more plays with being a thriller, hooking you in with questions, but then telling you the answers almost straight away.
It has thriller/horror tropes but then it's also mixed with super- interesting writing with great characters too - love Irina's voice in particular.
It's pretty plotty and I slightly got queasy with the plottiness- does that make sense? That's why I gave it four stars.....
It has thriller/horror tropes but then it's also mixed with super- interesting writing with great characters too - love Irina's voice in particular.
It's pretty plotty and I slightly got queasy with the plottiness- does that make sense? That's why I gave it four stars.....
February 23, 2017
Propulsive and intense. Reading this book was like watching a train you know is going to crash, in slow-motion. Inexorable and riveting, filled with wry observations.
August 30, 2017
After reading 70 pages, I'm throwing in the towel. Just didn't get it!
October 10, 2017
What a dynamic, strange, fascinating novel. On the one hand, it is a novel of a failing marriage and a small cast of characters who surround it - but on the other, it is an ambitious look at the creative process through a metafictional Observer and what it means to tell stories, to be a part of stories, to understand time and space and the mind.
Lennon does something unique here, something that only a writer of his caliber could have achieved. It is both inventive and traditional, frightening and comforting. Yes there are murders, but there are also long digressions (or, well, not LONG) on the creative process. There are main characters but also a plethora of supporting characters who are far more developed than they have any right to be.
It's a marvel, if you can open up to it. If you're so inclined, I recommend the attempt.
Lennon does something unique here, something that only a writer of his caliber could have achieved. It is both inventive and traditional, frightening and comforting. Yes there are murders, but there are also long digressions (or, well, not LONG) on the creative process. There are main characters but also a plethora of supporting characters who are far more developed than they have any right to be.
It's a marvel, if you can open up to it. If you're so inclined, I recommend the attempt.
December 11, 2025
Dull, study of uninteresting characters. The author's obsession with mundane descriptions of detail that serve no real purpose, becomes tiresome. I found myself trying to find something likable in any of the characters, as it turned out there was nothing to hate or like about any of them. You have no investment in the outcome and are merely hanging on to the end, as a test in reader endurance and stamina.
March 17, 2017
Like a Coen Brothers film, Broken River is a strange world unto itself. It is the work of one of today's great unheralded masters of fiction writing at his most compelling and most innovative yet. Somehow, Lenon has achieved something ingenious and unimaginable: he has made the reader complicit in a tangled narrative of cause and effect, a witness to a double homicide, bystander to troubled lives, and co-conspirator in the worst revenge plot imaginable. All the while, you, guilty reader, are helplessly bound by your own reality, forever separated by the page from the world within this book that is as near perfect a literary thriller as could ever be written.
June 12, 2017
This was great, really weird and dark, fucked up marriage, seedy motels, goths, drug dealers, all the elements I enjoy, plus some meta-commentary about reading and writing. If ONLY the 12 year old girl character had been more believable. She fell flat and she should have been the heart of this book. I bought this book on the strength of Lennon's story in The Short Story Advent Calendar, in which he showed amazing insight into the mind of a seven year old - or at least, I thought so. Maybe it's because I have a seven year old. Anyway. Great book and I will read more of him.
December 14, 2017
I find myself writing this over and over in reviews...I really enjoyed the first half of this intriguing book, but then it kind of fell apart for me.
It begins with a murder of a couple outside of their house as they are running away from something. We don't know the details, as this first chapter is narrated by a shadowy "observer" who makes it's presence known throughout the book. It's an odd device, and I found it interesting in the beginning, then just puzzling as to it's intent. But it is clever. There is a child left behind in the the house after the murder. Then the story begins.
A new family finally moves into the house, another couple and their daughter. Mother is a successful writer and father is a philandering artist, and they have marital problems galore. Their daughter, Irina, is a precocious, lonely child, and her character is well-drawn. Irina is obsessed with the murders that happened years ago in her house. When the men who did the original murder get together again, the tension mounts. But to me, this was more of a character-driven psychological family drama than a thriller. And I found the focus meandering in the second half, although I appreciated the writing and the novel's uniqueness.
It begins with a murder of a couple outside of their house as they are running away from something. We don't know the details, as this first chapter is narrated by a shadowy "observer" who makes it's presence known throughout the book. It's an odd device, and I found it interesting in the beginning, then just puzzling as to it's intent. But it is clever. There is a child left behind in the the house after the murder. Then the story begins.
A new family finally moves into the house, another couple and their daughter. Mother is a successful writer and father is a philandering artist, and they have marital problems galore. Their daughter, Irina, is a precocious, lonely child, and her character is well-drawn. Irina is obsessed with the murders that happened years ago in her house. When the men who did the original murder get together again, the tension mounts. But to me, this was more of a character-driven psychological family drama than a thriller. And I found the focus meandering in the second half, although I appreciated the writing and the novel's uniqueness.
April 6, 2017
J. Robert Lennon writes some of the creepiest, most satisfying fiction around. This new book is a complex, dark crime thriller. It's also a family drama, a coming of age tale, and a look at a dying American town. Lennon goes inside the heads of his troubled characters while also allowing us to see the story unfold from the point of view of an omniscient Observer. Another hit for this author and Graywolf Press.
July 7, 2020
A tense and atmospheric piece of literary noir here, the writing is absolutely wonderful and the story is dark, spooky and cleverly plotted.
A strong sense of character and place, a genuinely absorbing read that I devoured in short order.
A strong sense of character and place, a genuinely absorbing read that I devoured in short order.
maybe
July 1, 201702.07.2017: a review in The Guardian
September 10, 2017
Moved along quickly, but I didn't care for the omnipotent "Observer" whose meandering thoughts got on my nerves, the connection between past and present violence was well done.
October 9, 2018
Ummmm. Did i really need to know one of the main characters was “small-breasted”?
June 30, 2017
In a perfect world, one where my football team wins every week and Donald Trump's tweets are for entertainment value only and don't forecast the complete collapse of civilisation, I wouldn't need to review J. Robert Lennon's new novel, Broken River. You would be reading it as a matter of course. But we don't live in that world – to my great sorrow - and J. Robert Lennon isn't as famous, cherished and adored as he should be. So here am I to tell you that you should drop whatever lacklustre potboiler you're currently reading and go and purchase Broken River.
The novel opens in upstate New York where in a moment of terror a husband, wife and child run headlong from their house. It's a few minutes past 1:00 in the morning and in a matter of moments the two adults will be murdered and the daughter will disappear into the adjoining forest. The years go by and the dwelling is vandalised, then renovated, then vandalised, then, eventually purchased by a not entirely successful artist named Karl. He moves in with his wife, Eleanor, a commercially popular novelist and their daughter Irina. Both mother and daughter are separately - and without the knowledge of the other - obsessed with the crime that was committed so many years past. And then one day Irina has a chance meeting with a teenage girl, a young woman she's convinced is the child that fled and survived.
Broken River is a bang-up, page-turning psychological thriller with a memorable, unconventional villain. But the genius of the novel is how Lennon weaves a compelling narrative from a range of disparate, ill-fitting ideas. This is a book about infidelity and true crime obsessions and coincidence and the commercialisation of art. If that's not enough, what at first reads like a literary affectation, an observer standing above the events (essentially a proxy for the reader), becomes gradually sentient, a self-aware entity drawing insight from the events that transpire. It should be pretentious. But there's something so innocent and curious about this observer that you just accept its presence throughout the book.
It helps that Lennon's handle of character and tone is sublime. Both Karl and Eleanor are flawed, contradictory and utterly sympathetic people. While you hate Karl for cheating on Eleanor and his ham-fisted interactions with his daughter you recognise there's no malice in his heart. He's simply doing a terrible job of being a human being. And while Eleanor is often described (by Karl, he really can be an arse) as cold, stone-like, not in touch with her emotions, we are regularly exposed to her deep passion for her work, for her daughter and sometimes her less than honest husband. The main reason they feel so real is because Lennon puts a great deal of effort into keeping their voices distinct. This especially evidenced in the sections of the book seen through Irina eyes. While not as complicated as her parents, she's a wonderfully smart, self-aware and vulnerable girl on the cusp of teenage-hood and Lennon absolutely nails her voice. There's never a moment when Irina sounds like an adult writing for a younger person. And the same goes for Karl and Eleanor and the supporting cast including the Observer and our memorable over the top villain. Each has a unique voice and as a consequence each live and breath on the page.
Broken River is a great thriller and a fantastic character piece. It also features one of my favourite passages of prose for the year, a near perfect summation of the world we currently live in:
"None of it matters—the coincidences, the connections. Things look connected because everything is connected in a place like Broken River. That’s why people want to leave small towns. Everything reminds them of some stupid shit they did or that was done to them. These people aren’t part of some grand conspiracy. They’re just some fucking losers living in a shit town, like pretty much everybody else on earth."
Buy this book.
The novel opens in upstate New York where in a moment of terror a husband, wife and child run headlong from their house. It's a few minutes past 1:00 in the morning and in a matter of moments the two adults will be murdered and the daughter will disappear into the adjoining forest. The years go by and the dwelling is vandalised, then renovated, then vandalised, then, eventually purchased by a not entirely successful artist named Karl. He moves in with his wife, Eleanor, a commercially popular novelist and their daughter Irina. Both mother and daughter are separately - and without the knowledge of the other - obsessed with the crime that was committed so many years past. And then one day Irina has a chance meeting with a teenage girl, a young woman she's convinced is the child that fled and survived.
Broken River is a bang-up, page-turning psychological thriller with a memorable, unconventional villain. But the genius of the novel is how Lennon weaves a compelling narrative from a range of disparate, ill-fitting ideas. This is a book about infidelity and true crime obsessions and coincidence and the commercialisation of art. If that's not enough, what at first reads like a literary affectation, an observer standing above the events (essentially a proxy for the reader), becomes gradually sentient, a self-aware entity drawing insight from the events that transpire. It should be pretentious. But there's something so innocent and curious about this observer that you just accept its presence throughout the book.
It helps that Lennon's handle of character and tone is sublime. Both Karl and Eleanor are flawed, contradictory and utterly sympathetic people. While you hate Karl for cheating on Eleanor and his ham-fisted interactions with his daughter you recognise there's no malice in his heart. He's simply doing a terrible job of being a human being. And while Eleanor is often described (by Karl, he really can be an arse) as cold, stone-like, not in touch with her emotions, we are regularly exposed to her deep passion for her work, for her daughter and sometimes her less than honest husband. The main reason they feel so real is because Lennon puts a great deal of effort into keeping their voices distinct. This especially evidenced in the sections of the book seen through Irina eyes. While not as complicated as her parents, she's a wonderfully smart, self-aware and vulnerable girl on the cusp of teenage-hood and Lennon absolutely nails her voice. There's never a moment when Irina sounds like an adult writing for a younger person. And the same goes for Karl and Eleanor and the supporting cast including the Observer and our memorable over the top villain. Each has a unique voice and as a consequence each live and breath on the page.
Broken River is a great thriller and a fantastic character piece. It also features one of my favourite passages of prose for the year, a near perfect summation of the world we currently live in:
"None of it matters—the coincidences, the connections. Things look connected because everything is connected in a place like Broken River. That’s why people want to leave small towns. Everything reminds them of some stupid shit they did or that was done to them. These people aren’t part of some grand conspiracy. They’re just some fucking losers living in a shit town, like pretty much everybody else on earth."
Buy this book.
did-not-finish
May 15, 2017Abandoned at 25%. Really intriguing opening chapter, but when the viewpoint of an extremely unconvincing 12-year-old girl was introduced, I felt myself losing interest. Skipped ahead a bit but couldn't reignite my enthusiasm.
February 14, 2018
2/1 - I was wavering between two and three stars because I did feel a small desire to keep reading, but I wouldn't say I 'liked' it, so that has mean it can only be a two.
I understand why Lennon used the Observer, so that we could go to anyone's point of view whenever the author wanted, but I found the narrator and the writing style distanced me from the story and left me feeling completely disconnected from all the characters. A sample from page 67
'Suddenly the Observer is aware, as it never was before, of the existence, the scope, of time and space; it sees itself as an entity within a frame of reference. It is a thing that exists: and if one thing can exist, the other things, perhaps, cannot. Did the Observer ever not exist? Did it begin to exist, or has it always existed? Is it more like the man in the windbreaker, or is it more like the other humans? Is it the diving bird, or is it the flash of gray?'
That is pretty close to my worst nightmare, as far as wacky, existential writing goes. The only way it cold have been worse was if there had been no punctuation. Even if the writing had been in a different style, I still doubt I would have found anything to enjoy in Karl's story. He wasn't a particularly nice character - cheating on his wife after he pushed her to marry him and keep their accidental baby, taking drugs which caused him to have trouble acting like the 'responsible' adult when necessary, refusing to take responsibility for himself and helping to provide for the family he was so determined to have and insisting on calling everyone "Man" and "Dude" (even his daughter, I don't remember him calling her by her name even once in the dialogue, just a few cases of 'Rinny' in his head).
After looking at Lennon's other books I seriously doubt I'll be reading any more of them as this seems to have one of the higher average ratings among his collection.
I understand why Lennon used the Observer, so that we could go to anyone's point of view whenever the author wanted, but I found the narrator and the writing style distanced me from the story and left me feeling completely disconnected from all the characters. A sample from page 67
'Suddenly the Observer is aware, as it never was before, of the existence, the scope, of time and space; it sees itself as an entity within a frame of reference. It is a thing that exists: and if one thing can exist, the other things, perhaps, cannot. Did the Observer ever not exist? Did it begin to exist, or has it always existed? Is it more like the man in the windbreaker, or is it more like the other humans? Is it the diving bird, or is it the flash of gray?'
That is pretty close to my worst nightmare, as far as wacky, existential writing goes. The only way it cold have been worse was if there had been no punctuation. Even if the writing had been in a different style, I still doubt I would have found anything to enjoy in Karl's story. He wasn't a particularly nice character - cheating on his wife after he pushed her to marry him and keep their accidental baby, taking drugs which caused him to have trouble acting like the 'responsible' adult when necessary, refusing to take responsibility for himself and helping to provide for the family he was so determined to have and insisting on calling everyone "Man" and "Dude" (even his daughter, I don't remember him calling her by her name even once in the dialogue, just a few cases of 'Rinny' in his head).
After looking at Lennon's other books I seriously doubt I'll be reading any more of them as this seems to have one of the higher average ratings among his collection.
June 28, 2017
J. Robert Lennon is a master when it comes to a creepy, vaguely supernatural atmosphere. In this novel, a family moves into a house where a terrible murder occurred years before. The house is sentient, a fascinating if overused device in this novel. Lennon's characters are never all that likable, but I was enthralled by the twelve-year-old daughter's POV, which I thought very well executed.
Unfortunately, Lennon is not so good at bringing his books to satisfying conclusions; of the three novels of his that I've read, this one proved no exception. In this case, the climax of the book, which already strains credulity, is relayed via the sentient house's perspective, making for an emotionally detached reading experience. I thought this a poor narrative decision.
But there is something about Lennon's novels that make me keep coming back. I'm having trouble articulating just what this is, but they are quick and engaging reads, and the taste of them lingers.
Unfortunately, Lennon is not so good at bringing his books to satisfying conclusions; of the three novels of his that I've read, this one proved no exception. In this case, the climax of the book, which already strains credulity, is relayed via the sentient house's perspective, making for an emotionally detached reading experience. I thought this a poor narrative decision.
But there is something about Lennon's novels that make me keep coming back. I'm having trouble articulating just what this is, but they are quick and engaging reads, and the taste of them lingers.
May 17, 2019
I have a former coworker that is a voracious reader and a music snob. I am also a reader and music snob. He and I rarely agreed on the same things. Over the years it has been a personal challenge for each of us to recommend something that the other would truly enjoy. As soon as I finished Broken River, I texted him. I am confident he’ll like this book and J. Rover Lennon.
By beginning with a horrible crime, Broken River sets itself up to be a thriller. The first clue that Broken River is not the typical thriller is that the account of the crime, the years the house sits empty and the arrival of a new family is narrated by The Observer. The Observer is not human, it just is.
What sets this book apart from the vast majority of thrillers and true crime rehashing is the writing and character development. J. Robert Lennon is talented writer with a unique point of view. The use and development of the Observer is interesting.
I am struggling to write a review that does this book justice. I do not want to give away anything that would take away from another reader’s experience. I went into this book blind and I want to preserve the what I enjoyed for the next reader who trusts my recommendation enough to pick up this book. If you follow my recommendation, message me after reading and we can have a book discussion.
By beginning with a horrible crime, Broken River sets itself up to be a thriller. The first clue that Broken River is not the typical thriller is that the account of the crime, the years the house sits empty and the arrival of a new family is narrated by The Observer. The Observer is not human, it just is.
What sets this book apart from the vast majority of thrillers and true crime rehashing is the writing and character development. J. Robert Lennon is talented writer with a unique point of view. The use and development of the Observer is interesting.
I am struggling to write a review that does this book justice. I do not want to give away anything that would take away from another reader’s experience. I went into this book blind and I want to preserve the what I enjoyed for the next reader who trusts my recommendation enough to pick up this book. If you follow my recommendation, message me after reading and we can have a book discussion.
October 2, 2017
Jonathem Lethem, schrijver en criticus van The New York Times schreef in een recensie over Broken river: “It’s a tense, surprising thriller, with perverse overtones of the Coen brothers variety, but containing an enigmatic narrative device, a kind of ‘haunting of the point-of-view’ – one which proves, as ever, that the novel can do things nothing but the novel can do.”
In één zin somt Lethem alle kenmerken op die dit boek zo verrassend en boeiend maken, en ja, Broken river lijkt bij tijd en wijle inderdaad op een nieuwe film van de Coen brothers. Met name op de momenten dat Louis en Joe in het script voorkomen. Louis is de arme sloeber die tegen wil en dank boef is, terwijl Joe de kwaadaardige bullebak is die niets zonder geweld kan oplossen en over geen enkel greintje empathie beschikt. Dé hoofdpersoon van het boek is echter het iets, die spookachtige aanwezigheid, die 'enigmatic narrative device' zoals Lethem het omschrijft. Het ontstaat in de keuken op het moment dat vroeg in de ochtend, rond de klok van één, het huis wordt verlaten: drie mensen - een man, vrouw en hun kind - haasten zich de deur uit, maar de haast is tevergeefs zoals snel blijkt. Wat er gebeurt, wordt op neutrale, emotieloze toon doorverteld door iets dat aarzelend ontstaat en zich voorzichtig door het nog onbekende huis beweegt:
En die 'he or she' vertelt vervolgens wat zich buiten afspeelt, maar helemaal duidelijk wordt het niet, daarvoor is het te donker. Plezierig is het in geen geval, dát maken de geluiden wel duidelijk. De man en de vrouw worden nooit meer gevonden, maar het kind overleeft de gebeurtenissen doordat het zich verstopt. Eerst buiten, en even later, als iedereen verdwenen lijkt, brengt ze de nacht door in het huis dat ze de volgende ochtend weer verlaat om nooit meer terug te keren.
Jaren gaan voorbij. Jaren waarin er niet veel gebeurt en waarvan de observer op een 'fast forward' wijze verslag doet. En dan, eindelijk, wordt het huis in het buitengebied van Broken river - waarvan niet alleen de rivier 'broken' is - gekocht door Karl, een beeldend kunstenaar die er samen met zijn vrouw Eleanor en dochter Irina gaat wonen. Dat er in het verleden een dubbele moord is gepleegd, op hun terrein weten ze. Zowel Eleanor als Irina trachten, met de online hulp van anderen om de moord alsnog op te lossen en tegelijkertijd te achterhalen waar de dochter van het vermoorde stel is gebleven. Als Irina haar denkt te hebben gevonden en dat bekend maakt, zet ze meer in gang dan haar lief is.
Karl, Irina, Eleanor, Louis en één keer de al dan niet teruggevonden dochter Sam, vertellen afgewisseld met de observer – die na verloop van tijd meer bewegingsvrijheid en een hoofdletter krijgt – wat zij meemaken en wat er in hun verleden gebeurd is. Stukje bij beetje wordt duidelijk wat zich bij het huis heeft afgespeeld al die jaren geleden, terwijl tegelijkertijd de gebeurtenissen in het heden almaar gevaarlijker worden om uiteindelijk Coen-brothersachtig te escaleren: genadeloos, gewelddadig en bloederig. Dit zou het perfecte einde van een origineel verteld verhaal zijn geweest, ware het niet dat de Observer nog nieuwsgierig is naar het wel en wee van een aantal randfiguren, terwijl de rest van de personages en zijn lezers – geheel terecht – klaar zijn met het verhaal.
Gerecenseerd voor Hebban.nl
In één zin somt Lethem alle kenmerken op die dit boek zo verrassend en boeiend maken, en ja, Broken river lijkt bij tijd en wijle inderdaad op een nieuwe film van de Coen brothers. Met name op de momenten dat Louis en Joe in het script voorkomen. Louis is de arme sloeber die tegen wil en dank boef is, terwijl Joe de kwaadaardige bullebak is die niets zonder geweld kan oplossen en over geen enkel greintje empathie beschikt. Dé hoofdpersoon van het boek is echter het iets, die spookachtige aanwezigheid, die 'enigmatic narrative device' zoals Lethem het omschrijft. Het ontstaat in de keuken op het moment dat vroeg in de ochtend, rond de klok van één, het huis wordt verlaten: drie mensen - een man, vrouw en hun kind - haasten zich de deur uit, maar de haast is tevergeefs zoals snel blijkt. Wat er gebeurt, wordt op neutrale, emotieloze toon doorverteld door iets dat aarzelend ontstaat en zich voorzichtig door het nog onbekende huis beweegt:
If an observer in het house were to climb the stairs that lead up from the kitchen, he or she would reach a narrow hallway interrupted by three doorways. [...] It is even possible to see them now, from the child's room: if an observer here were to turn off the overhead light and move tot the open window, he or she could make out the family standing around a station wagon parked at an awkward angle on a weedy gravel drive.
En die 'he or she' vertelt vervolgens wat zich buiten afspeelt, maar helemaal duidelijk wordt het niet, daarvoor is het te donker. Plezierig is het in geen geval, dát maken de geluiden wel duidelijk. De man en de vrouw worden nooit meer gevonden, maar het kind overleeft de gebeurtenissen doordat het zich verstopt. Eerst buiten, en even later, als iedereen verdwenen lijkt, brengt ze de nacht door in het huis dat ze de volgende ochtend weer verlaat om nooit meer terug te keren.
Jaren gaan voorbij. Jaren waarin er niet veel gebeurt en waarvan de observer op een 'fast forward' wijze verslag doet. En dan, eindelijk, wordt het huis in het buitengebied van Broken river - waarvan niet alleen de rivier 'broken' is - gekocht door Karl, een beeldend kunstenaar die er samen met zijn vrouw Eleanor en dochter Irina gaat wonen. Dat er in het verleden een dubbele moord is gepleegd, op hun terrein weten ze. Zowel Eleanor als Irina trachten, met de online hulp van anderen om de moord alsnog op te lossen en tegelijkertijd te achterhalen waar de dochter van het vermoorde stel is gebleven. Als Irina haar denkt te hebben gevonden en dat bekend maakt, zet ze meer in gang dan haar lief is.
Karl, Irina, Eleanor, Louis en één keer de al dan niet teruggevonden dochter Sam, vertellen afgewisseld met de observer – die na verloop van tijd meer bewegingsvrijheid en een hoofdletter krijgt – wat zij meemaken en wat er in hun verleden gebeurd is. Stukje bij beetje wordt duidelijk wat zich bij het huis heeft afgespeeld al die jaren geleden, terwijl tegelijkertijd de gebeurtenissen in het heden almaar gevaarlijker worden om uiteindelijk Coen-brothersachtig te escaleren: genadeloos, gewelddadig en bloederig. Dit zou het perfecte einde van een origineel verteld verhaal zijn geweest, ware het niet dat de Observer nog nieuwsgierig is naar het wel en wee van een aantal randfiguren, terwijl de rest van de personages en zijn lezers – geheel terecht – klaar zijn met het verhaal.
Gerecenseerd voor Hebban.nl
January 5, 2018
Murder, She Googled.
A small wood-shrouded house in Broken River, upstate New York, has stood empty for over a decade. It had been the scene of a double murder, the 5-year daughter of the victims having survived. Eventually, the house is bought and renovated by a family from the city: louche sculptor Karl, his novelist wife Eleanor and their bright 12-year old daughter Irina. It’s not long before mother and daughter – unbeknownst to each other - land on the CyberSleuths forum for unsolved murders…
J Robert Lennon’s meta murder novel is several notches up on the usual crime fare. An omniscient Observer hovers over the whole thing: the house, the town and the many strands of the story. I chose to view it as a clever way to provide the reader with a narrator, others might see it as something quite other. Whatever the Observer is, it’s a very effective hook. At 275 pages, Broken River is packed with layers of plot and doesn’t outstay its welcome. The story is gripping, the characters unusually interesting and the writing flawless. Highly recommended.
A small wood-shrouded house in Broken River, upstate New York, has stood empty for over a decade. It had been the scene of a double murder, the 5-year daughter of the victims having survived. Eventually, the house is bought and renovated by a family from the city: louche sculptor Karl, his novelist wife Eleanor and their bright 12-year old daughter Irina. It’s not long before mother and daughter – unbeknownst to each other - land on the CyberSleuths forum for unsolved murders…
J Robert Lennon’s meta murder novel is several notches up on the usual crime fare. An omniscient Observer hovers over the whole thing: the house, the town and the many strands of the story. I chose to view it as a clever way to provide the reader with a narrator, others might see it as something quite other. Whatever the Observer is, it’s a very effective hook. At 275 pages, Broken River is packed with layers of plot and doesn’t outstay its welcome. The story is gripping, the characters unusually interesting and the writing flawless. Highly recommended.
June 27, 2017
I really enjoyed this well written thriller. It's packed with beautifully drawn, and very flawed human characters. The book begins and ends in violence, but for most of it's pages a sense of danger and suspense grows more and more intense without a lot of unnecessary action forced in. Sometimes when I'm reading a thriller I find myself irritated with the relationship squabbles between the characters because they seem like a distraction from the plot that just slows everything down (every Stephen King novel could be 30% and 30% better by thinning out his boring character building and boring plot distractions), but I liked every bit of this novel. Everything contributed to the whole.
July 20, 2017
Lennon writes engaging characters, and although I found the "Literary" device of the Observer (a supernatural being that is also a metaphor for the reader) to be annoying and obvious, I mostly thought the novel's strengths outweighed its weaknesses... until the Observer takes over for the most ludicrously overwritten climax I've ever read in all my years of reading.
It's too bad, because there's a decent book under all the pretentious existential bullshit, but I'd only recommend this to precocious twelve-year-olds like the one in this book.
It's too bad, because there's a decent book under all the pretentious existential bullshit, but I'd only recommend this to precocious twelve-year-olds like the one in this book.
November 30, 2020
In a scene near the end, one of the principal characters, a writer, receives feedback from her agent on her just-completed manuscript: "Why don't you tell me," [the agent] goes on "what your thoughts are on this book. Where you wanted to take it. Where it actually went." There's a lot of meta packed into this book — some of it effective, some less so — this one elicited a grin. I'm convinced Lennon must've had a similar conversation with his own agent.
This is a tough book to categorize. I see that Goodreads sorts it into Crime/Thriller/Mystery/Horror, and I can sort of understand that, but it's really much more than that: I would file it under Relationships, or Explorations of the Narcissistic Psyche, or Existential Angst, or a handful of other imaginary genre bins. For me, minor spoiler alert, . Despite that, and despite underdeveloped characters, I quite enjoyed the book. As I said above, there's a lot of meta, but it's subdued, self-aware, playful; not pretentious. The lonelinesses between the characters are each unique, and hot damn, having just written that I remembered another memorable passage from an early chapter, on a fascination for negative spaces. I think Lennon was deliberately aiming at loneliness, miscommunication, the difficulty of connecting with others. That negative-space paragraph was a huge hint, and I didn't get it until just now. I wonder what else I missed?
This is a tough book to categorize. I see that Goodreads sorts it into Crime/Thriller/Mystery/Horror, and I can sort of understand that, but it's really much more than that: I would file it under Relationships, or Explorations of the Narcissistic Psyche, or Existential Angst, or a handful of other imaginary genre bins. For me, minor spoiler alert, . Despite that, and despite underdeveloped characters, I quite enjoyed the book. As I said above, there's a lot of meta, but it's subdued, self-aware, playful; not pretentious. The lonelinesses between the characters are each unique, and hot damn, having just written that I remembered another memorable passage from an early chapter, on a fascination for negative spaces. I think Lennon was deliberately aiming at loneliness, miscommunication, the difficulty of connecting with others. That negative-space paragraph was a huge hint, and I didn't get it until just now. I wonder what else I missed?
December 30, 2017
This book is so unique. It opens with a violent scene: a family in upstate New York is trying to escape from their house with their young daughter. The whole scene is narrated from the perspective of "the observer", a ghost-like presence that floats in and out throughout the entirety of the book. We do not know what the family is trying to escape, but the husband and wife are murdered as their daughter hides in the woods, leaving the young girl alone. The killers remain on the loose, with the observer being the only witness to the crime.
Over the years, the abandoned house becomes a spot for young lovers to find privacy and eventually for vandals to destroy. Realtors try relentlessly to sell the house - it is renovated beautifully, and then destroyed again. No one wants to buy a house where murders have taken place. After a long vacancy, the house is finally sold, renovations take place yet again, and a new family moves in.
Karl is an overgrown teenager - childish, irresponsible, and unfaithful. His wife Eleanor is a cancer survivor and begrudging, though successful, "chick-lit" novelist who suspects her cancer may have returned. Irina, their adolescent daughter, is witty and wise, brave and insecure, and an aspiring writer as well. Eleanor and Irina take a great interest in their home's history, unknowingly becoming a part of its narrative. A local resident, Samantha, soon becomes entwined with the family, culminating in a dramatic denouement.
It's difficult to put into words that which makes this book so good. I cared about these characters - they are all spiraling in different ways, and I wanted them to wake up. They are messy, real. The omnipresent observer served as a clear vantage point for everything going on - sort of a non-judgemental landing place that helped to piece it all together. This is the sort of book that begs the question: what does it all mean? How much control do we have in our lives? Are we really writing our own narratives? Is everything predetermined? There are no bells or whistles here, just great storytelling and character development. I'll definitely be checking out Lennon's other books in 2018.
Over the years, the abandoned house becomes a spot for young lovers to find privacy and eventually for vandals to destroy. Realtors try relentlessly to sell the house - it is renovated beautifully, and then destroyed again. No one wants to buy a house where murders have taken place. After a long vacancy, the house is finally sold, renovations take place yet again, and a new family moves in.
Karl is an overgrown teenager - childish, irresponsible, and unfaithful. His wife Eleanor is a cancer survivor and begrudging, though successful, "chick-lit" novelist who suspects her cancer may have returned. Irina, their adolescent daughter, is witty and wise, brave and insecure, and an aspiring writer as well. Eleanor and Irina take a great interest in their home's history, unknowingly becoming a part of its narrative. A local resident, Samantha, soon becomes entwined with the family, culminating in a dramatic denouement.
It's difficult to put into words that which makes this book so good. I cared about these characters - they are all spiraling in different ways, and I wanted them to wake up. They are messy, real. The omnipresent observer served as a clear vantage point for everything going on - sort of a non-judgemental landing place that helped to piece it all together. This is the sort of book that begs the question: what does it all mean? How much control do we have in our lives? Are we really writing our own narratives? Is everything predetermined? There are no bells or whistles here, just great storytelling and character development. I'll definitely be checking out Lennon's other books in 2018.
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