What do you think?
Rate this book
Kings of Broken Things
With characters depicted in precise detail and wide panorama—a kept-woman’s parlor, a contentious interracial baseball game on the Fourth of July, and the tragic true events of the Omaha Race Riot of 1919—Kings of Broken Things reveals the folly of human nature in an era of astonishing ambition.
During the waning days of World War I, three lost souls find themselves adrift in Omaha, Nebraska, at a time of unprecedented nationalism, xenophobia, and political corruption. Adolescent European refugee Karel Miihlstein’s life is transformed after neighborhood boys discover his prodigious natural talent for baseball. Jake Strauss, a young man with a violent past and desperate for a second chance, is drawn into a criminal underworld. Evie Chambers, a kept woman, is trying to make ends meet and looking every which way to escape her cheerless existence.
As wounded soldiers return from the front and black migrant workers move north in search of economic opportunity, the immigrant wards of Omaha become a tinderbox of racial resentment stoked by unscrupulous politicians. Punctuated by an unspeakable act of mob violence, the fates of Karel, Jake, and Evie will become inexorably entangled with the schemes of a ruthless political boss whose will to power knows no bounds.
Written in the tradition of Don DeLillo and Colum McCann, with a great debt to Ralph Ellison, Theodore Wheeler’s debut novel Kings of Broken Things is a panoramic view of a city on the brink of implosion during the course of this summer of strife.
During the waning days of World War I, three lost souls find themselves adrift in Omaha, Nebraska, at a time of unprecedented nationalism, xenophobia, and political corruption. Adolescent European refugee Karel Miihlstein’s life is transformed after neighborhood boys discover his prodigious natural talent for baseball. Jake Strauss, a young man with a violent past and desperate for a second chance, is drawn into a criminal underworld. Evie Chambers, a kept woman, is trying to make ends meet and looking every which way to escape her cheerless existence.
As wounded soldiers return from the front and black migrant workers move north in search of economic opportunity, the immigrant wards of Omaha become a tinderbox of racial resentment stoked by unscrupulous politicians. Punctuated by an unspeakable act of mob violence, the fates of Karel, Jake, and Evie will become inexorably entangled with the schemes of a ruthless political boss whose will to power knows no bounds.
Written in the tradition of Don DeLillo and Colum McCann, with a great debt to Ralph Ellison, Theodore Wheeler’s debut novel Kings of Broken Things is a panoramic view of a city on the brink of implosion during the course of this summer of strife.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2017
1356 people are currently reading
3510 people want to read
About the author
Theodore Wheeler
8 books135 followersTheodore Wheeler is the author of three novels, most recently THE WAR BEGINS IN PARIS (Little Brown, 2023). He has won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Nebraska Arts Council, and Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart, Germany. He worked for fourteen years as a journalist who covered law and politics, and his fiction is often influenced by real life and historical events. Wheeler and his family operate Dundee Book Company, an independent neighborhood bookshop, and he is a professor in the English Department at Creighton University. A native Iowan, he now lives in Omaha, Nebraska.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 165 reviews
May 1, 2017
I love when a story grabs me right away and drops me into a world I had no idea I would be fascinated by. This book pulled me into Omaha, Nebraska at the end of WWI, and showed the immense racial, national, and economic strife bubbling up to the surface. The cast of characters are rich, diverse, and compelling. I’ve happened across some of Wheeler’s short stories in literary journals in the past and made a note to watch out for whatever big book he surly had in him, and this does not disappoint. The amazing amount of research that went into the writing of this book was seamlessly incorporated and created a lively, sort of dangerous world on the cusp of great cultural change. The lead up to and execution of the Omaha race riot he portrays feels like one of those prophesized historical moments that if forgotten, repeats itself, and reading this novel against the backdrop of our current news cycles was a profound experience. I loved the writing, the story, and the great reminder that historical fiction is very much a mirror to our daily lives. A great read!
June 1, 2017
A thoroughly engaging work of historical fiction that manages to blend race relations, baseball, and the corruption that made early 1900s Omaha run. Wheeler's prose is fluid and carries you along from beginning to end.
August 26, 2017
American history is not my strong point ...
But I must say I thought this book was about race relations with respect to a baseball game.
And maybe I missed it but, there were some characters made more important than necessary, so I often found myself trying to remember who that person was.
All in all a decent story ... perhaps trying to squeeze too many elements into it - a perception born of ignorance of the real history I suppose.
But I must say I thought this book was about race relations with respect to a baseball game.
And maybe I missed it but, there were some characters made more important than necessary, so I often found myself trying to remember who that person was.
All in all a decent story ... perhaps trying to squeeze too many elements into it - a perception born of ignorance of the real history I suppose.
April 5, 2021
This is the first book in a new book club I've joined. We're focusing on either books by Omaha authors and/or stories set in or about Omaha. "Kings of Broken Things" ticks both boxes. It's a story set in Omaha by an Omaha author about real events that occurred in the late 1910's. This book was sold to me as being about the real life incident where the Omaha courthouse was burned down and a prisoner was taken, hung and burned in the street. Was the book about that? Kind of, not really, it's complicated.
The book was mostly about four characters, only one of them real, and he was the best one. During those years, the criminal underbelly of Omaha was run by a man named Tom Dennison. He was a fascinating character who was coming to terms with his waining days of his power and his struggles with what his legacy would be both personally and professionally.
The other three characters had moments of clarity which mostly got muddled as the book went on. Karel Miihlstein begins the story as an 11 year old immigrant from Austria. I felt like I really understood him in the beginning of the book but Wheeler seems to lose interest in Karel and the story zaps forward to when he is much older with many unexplained changes.
Another character is Jake Strauss, a farm boy who comes to the big city and gets involved with Dennison, the underworld, and fast women. Again, his character grows through the first half of the book, only to become lost in the second.
The final character is Evie Chambers, the one again/off again kept woman of Jake Strauss. She is the least fleshed out of all because of the role she plays in the story. However, unlike Jake and Karel, I felt like her character was better explored in the second half of the story.
There are underlying racial issues throughout the book but the ending with the courthouse do kind of feel tacked on at the end. Wheeler wrote a good book with interesting original characters but seemed to remember to tie everything into the real life hook of his story too late in the process.
The book was mostly about four characters, only one of them real, and he was the best one. During those years, the criminal underbelly of Omaha was run by a man named Tom Dennison. He was a fascinating character who was coming to terms with his waining days of his power and his struggles with what his legacy would be both personally and professionally.
The other three characters had moments of clarity which mostly got muddled as the book went on. Karel Miihlstein begins the story as an 11 year old immigrant from Austria. I felt like I really understood him in the beginning of the book but Wheeler seems to lose interest in Karel and the story zaps forward to when he is much older with many unexplained changes.
Another character is Jake Strauss, a farm boy who comes to the big city and gets involved with Dennison, the underworld, and fast women. Again, his character grows through the first half of the book, only to become lost in the second.
The final character is Evie Chambers, the one again/off again kept woman of Jake Strauss. She is the least fleshed out of all because of the role she plays in the story. However, unlike Jake and Karel, I felt like her character was better explored in the second half of the story.
There are underlying racial issues throughout the book but the ending with the courthouse do kind of feel tacked on at the end. Wheeler wrote a good book with interesting original characters but seemed to remember to tie everything into the real life hook of his story too late in the process.
Read
August 8, 2017Gripping Historical Read
This book is extremely well written, blending historical facts with storytelling that brings history alive and makes the reader feel as though they are witnessing the events firsthand.
This book is extremely well written, blending historical facts with storytelling that brings history alive and makes the reader feel as though they are witnessing the events firsthand.
September 5, 2025
I read this for my local irl book club; I was a bit excited to, since I’m interested both in Nebraska history and the phenomenon of 1919’s Red Summer. The Omaha riot has largely been forgotten here within the state, but at the time, it was a nationwide story—and rightly so.
Wheeler’s portrayal is absorbing, if not all-encompassing. He’s very focused on Tom Dennison’s criminal organization, and the Clandish neighborhood. A larger sense of the developments in Omaha at the time—the anti-Greek riot a decade earlier, the tensions at the stockyards, the fact that Omaha had one of the largest Black populations of any western city (second only to Los Angeles)—certainly would have helped place the riot in broader context. But Wheeler’s narrow focus works much better for the narrative, I’m sure, and it does still illuminate quite a bit.
The characters were interesting enough, though none really stuck out. I wanted Jake and Evie’s relationship to really hold up the book, I suppose, but it didn’t quite. There was something a bit too slippery about it. It was ambiguous, as authentic, complex relationships can be in a novel. But this one felt more like the author himself wasn’t really clear on how they felt about each other, so it just never settled into anything as meaningful as it might have been.
Still, the pacing of the book was fine, and if it did need propping up, the history was plenty to sustain my interest. The riot itself, in fact, was the strongest part of the book. I was already familiar with the outlines of what happened, and Wheeler’s narrative struck me as both vivid and accurate.
Wheeler’s portrayal is absorbing, if not all-encompassing. He’s very focused on Tom Dennison’s criminal organization, and the Clandish neighborhood. A larger sense of the developments in Omaha at the time—the anti-Greek riot a decade earlier, the tensions at the stockyards, the fact that Omaha had one of the largest Black populations of any western city (second only to Los Angeles)—certainly would have helped place the riot in broader context. But Wheeler’s narrow focus works much better for the narrative, I’m sure, and it does still illuminate quite a bit.
The characters were interesting enough, though none really stuck out. I wanted Jake and Evie’s relationship to really hold up the book, I suppose, but it didn’t quite. There was something a bit too slippery about it. It was ambiguous, as authentic, complex relationships can be in a novel. But this one felt more like the author himself wasn’t really clear on how they felt about each other, so it just never settled into anything as meaningful as it might have been.
Still, the pacing of the book was fine, and if it did need propping up, the history was plenty to sustain my interest. The riot itself, in fact, was the strongest part of the book. I was already familiar with the outlines of what happened, and Wheeler’s narrative struck me as both vivid and accurate.
July 9, 2017
Towards the end of World War I, three people with different backgrounds find themselves in Omaha, Nebraska. Karel Miihlstein is a young boy who came to the United States from Austria with his father and three sisters. He soon discovers a love for the game of baseball and some talent to go along with it. Jake Strauss flees to Omaha after a violent incident and starts working for some shady people. Evie Chambers loves to sew and make clothes but that's not exactly how she makes a living. This is a fictional account of what led up to the tragic real-life events of the Omaha Race Riot of 1919.
There's a lot going on in this book which is its strength and weakness. There's racial tension, corruption, prostitution, the refugee experience, etc.. All of these are important subjects that give you an idea of what was going on in Omaha during this time period. Learning about what was happening prior to the race riot really adds to the book's dramatic and horrifying conclusion.
As I mentioned before there is almost too much going on in the book. I think if the book would have been slightly condensed it would have flowed better. I wouldn't eliminate any of the main topics of the book but I think the plot with Karel's ill sister didn't add that much to the story.
While the book might seem to drag in parts, I do recommend reading it because it provides a good history lesson. The ending is so tension filled and dramatic that it's horrifying that this was based on a true life event.
There's a lot going on in this book which is its strength and weakness. There's racial tension, corruption, prostitution, the refugee experience, etc.. All of these are important subjects that give you an idea of what was going on in Omaha during this time period. Learning about what was happening prior to the race riot really adds to the book's dramatic and horrifying conclusion.
As I mentioned before there is almost too much going on in the book. I think if the book would have been slightly condensed it would have flowed better. I wouldn't eliminate any of the main topics of the book but I think the plot with Karel's ill sister didn't add that much to the story.
While the book might seem to drag in parts, I do recommend reading it because it provides a good history lesson. The ending is so tension filled and dramatic that it's horrifying that this was based on a true life event.
December 12, 2017
Before:
I don’t remember where I heard about this book. I keep thinking that Simon may have mentioned it on The Readers Podcast. In any event, I’m anxious to read it, especially if Simon was indeed the source. I’m rarely disappointed with his choices.
After:
I like books about immigrants in the early 1900’s and this one was very good. It centers around baseball, which I really don’t like, but the story was still fascinating. It really wasn’t so much about baseball but about all the different ethnic groups coming together to play a game that felt bigger than themselves. The author really pulled me into the story. I really felt like I was there — smelling the smells, hearing the sounds. Unfortunately, this time also included race riots, extreme poverty and, among other things, mob violence. I feel it was a sad but true picture of the time and place. I would definitely recommend this book.
I don’t remember where I heard about this book. I keep thinking that Simon may have mentioned it on The Readers Podcast. In any event, I’m anxious to read it, especially if Simon was indeed the source. I’m rarely disappointed with his choices.
After:
I like books about immigrants in the early 1900’s and this one was very good. It centers around baseball, which I really don’t like, but the story was still fascinating. It really wasn’t so much about baseball but about all the different ethnic groups coming together to play a game that felt bigger than themselves. The author really pulled me into the story. I really felt like I was there — smelling the smells, hearing the sounds. Unfortunately, this time also included race riots, extreme poverty and, among other things, mob violence. I feel it was a sad but true picture of the time and place. I would definitely recommend this book.
August 9, 2017
Insightful look into life in immigrant neighborhoods of Omaha, Nebraska in the years building up to the Omaha Race Riot of 1919.
Wheeler introduces readers to three main characters who are searching to build new lives during a time of political corruption, growing nationalism, and contentious race relations. Their lives intersect in Omaha's River Ward during a time that soldiers are returning home from war and America is welcoming refugees to her land. The result is both heartwarming and frightening.
My grandparents grew up in Nebraska and were teenagers during this time period. I didn't have the chance to talk to them about the Omaha Race Riots but can see bits and pieces of their attitudes toward Europe, war, immigrants, and race in Wheeler's characters. Lyrical descriptions, historic detail, and believable characters make this a book I'll continue to recommend to family and friends.
Wheeler introduces readers to three main characters who are searching to build new lives during a time of political corruption, growing nationalism, and contentious race relations. Their lives intersect in Omaha's River Ward during a time that soldiers are returning home from war and America is welcoming refugees to her land. The result is both heartwarming and frightening.
My grandparents grew up in Nebraska and were teenagers during this time period. I didn't have the chance to talk to them about the Omaha Race Riots but can see bits and pieces of their attitudes toward Europe, war, immigrants, and race in Wheeler's characters. Lyrical descriptions, historic detail, and believable characters make this a book I'll continue to recommend to family and friends.
October 22, 2020
Contains some Omaha history which I found interesting even though it's a fictional book.
October 5, 2017
DNF. I gave it a month but couldn't get traction or lucidity in the storyline.
January 11, 2018
I can only say it was interesting how the story was put together but I can't say that I would tell people they had to read it. I got through it, only because it was written around the history of a riot in 1917 in Omaha, a lynching of a black man helped out by the "machinery" who a corrupt bunch of politicians who had lost the last election. According to this book they helped stir the riot against the mayor who himself had been strung up, but survived. The black man didn't and was put to a terrible death. Did he raped the 18 yr. old white girl? Who knows? He said he didn't. She and her boyfriend the only witnesses and the boyfriend was not a hero. Umm?
January 14, 2024
Just started this historical fiction novel set in Omaha (where I now live) in 1919. It's another book from the local Little Free Library. While this is not the official review as I just started the book, learning about some of the local history and sense of place was the draw to reading this book. Upon finishing the novel I would recommend it to history buffs and lovers of historical novels. This story depicts the lives of Eastern European immigrants in 1918-1919 in the tenements of the city of Omaha, the hard labor of the men, their political machines, the desperate lives of the poor women mostly turning to sex work to survive and many eventually taking their own lives, the ravages of the Spanish Flu and the racial tensions with the African American community of North Omaha leading up to a horrible public execution not untypical of other American cities of the same period. A well plotted novel with believable characters.
July 19, 2017
I chose this as my Amazon prime book of the month because it sounded so interesting. The premise is great, however the book left a lot to be desired for me. So many of the characters fell flat for me. I feel as though the author created some amazing characters, but just was not able to turn them into dynamic and unique characters. The author's halting sentences disrupted the flow of the book for me, it was difficult to read at times due to odd sentence structure. I feel as though this book was trying to be a classic like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, highlighting a specific time and place in history with engaging characters and historical significance. Sadly, it was a struggle to read at times.
August 22, 2017
Quite remarkable
I found the King of Broken Things to be a very satisfying and interesting book. Very authentic in the way it captured the voices of many different protagonists. Full of historic details yet never pedantic. Very thought provoking about perennial issues like race relations, discrimination by new and less recent immigrants against others and what is political integrity. I was thrilled by this first novel and look forward to new works by Theodore Wheeler.
I found the King of Broken Things to be a very satisfying and interesting book. Very authentic in the way it captured the voices of many different protagonists. Full of historic details yet never pedantic. Very thought provoking about perennial issues like race relations, discrimination by new and less recent immigrants against others and what is political integrity. I was thrilled by this first novel and look forward to new works by Theodore Wheeler.
July 31, 2017
Most native Omahans with anything like an inkling of interest in history are aware of the race riots and subsequent lynching of Willie Brown and almost the mayor too. Maybe they've had a teach talk about in class, perused the scant wikipedia article or simply saw that plaque somewhere in South Omaha. Theodore Wheeler takes this horrific scar on the famously, milquetoast cow-town's path and builds up to it like a long slow simmer, examine the social attitudes, political jockeying and ethnic shoulder rubbing that lead to the horrific riot that came at the end of World War I.
Following three main characters, a young boy immigrant, a black woman and a farm boy new in town, Wheeler is able to unwrap all the parts of early 20th century life in the sticky city tied to the riverbank. Saloons, baseball fields and worksites come alive in his vivid descriptions, giving you a sense of the sweltering and sweaty life of urban early 20th Century America.
As with any book that has multiple main characters, you'll find yourself tiring of some and wanting to get back to others. I personally found the story of the young Austrian immigrant Karl and his struggle to define himself against his family of sisters and the rugged ideas of masculinity hoisted on him by his new home, to be the most engaging but there was never any point in the book where I wasn't engaged.
And all the different arching stories tie together in the climactic historic event which is portrayed with all the chaotic grandeur it deserves. The finale is a feat in and of itself but the rest of the book leading up to it is still a fiercely well-written piece of Americana that is perfect for fans of E.L. Doctorow and other authors who have used the past to tell us truths about ourselves.
Following three main characters, a young boy immigrant, a black woman and a farm boy new in town, Wheeler is able to unwrap all the parts of early 20th century life in the sticky city tied to the riverbank. Saloons, baseball fields and worksites come alive in his vivid descriptions, giving you a sense of the sweltering and sweaty life of urban early 20th Century America.
As with any book that has multiple main characters, you'll find yourself tiring of some and wanting to get back to others. I personally found the story of the young Austrian immigrant Karl and his struggle to define himself against his family of sisters and the rugged ideas of masculinity hoisted on him by his new home, to be the most engaging but there was never any point in the book where I wasn't engaged.
And all the different arching stories tie together in the climactic historic event which is portrayed with all the chaotic grandeur it deserves. The finale is a feat in and of itself but the rest of the book leading up to it is still a fiercely well-written piece of Americana that is perfect for fans of E.L. Doctorow and other authors who have used the past to tell us truths about ourselves.
July 10, 2017
Great Book!
What an unexpectedly interesting book. This isn't what I usually choose to read but I wanted to try something different this month. This was a great choice for my Kindle First Pick for July. Although the book is a work of fiction, in the Author's Note Wheeler writes ".... the scenes depicted are a fictional approximation of what life was like in Omaha during the last years of World War 1 and how the Omaha Race Root of 1919 was experienced." I must confess I didn't even know that Omaha had race riots.
This is an amazing accomplishment for the first time novelist, Theodore Wheeler. I was transported to a time and place that was unknown to me. The characters are extremely well written. There wasn't a false word that made me think this isn't real. This is a time of immigration, political corruption, open prostitution and the doughboys coming home from the war to find their jobs are no longer available. Many of them are amputees and many more suffering from PTSD, better known then as "shell shock" and are unable to work. The Spanish Influenza was spreading eventually killing fifty million people. One comment regarding the sickness: "A plague like this never would have spread around the globe if it weren't for the war."
This was not a quick easy read. I took my time with it because it gave me a lot to think about. This is a sweeping epic of a book, well written with lots of background regarding the time and place. If you're willing to take the time to read it, this is a great book. This is my idea of a serious book that deserves five stars.
What an unexpectedly interesting book. This isn't what I usually choose to read but I wanted to try something different this month. This was a great choice for my Kindle First Pick for July. Although the book is a work of fiction, in the Author's Note Wheeler writes ".... the scenes depicted are a fictional approximation of what life was like in Omaha during the last years of World War 1 and how the Omaha Race Root of 1919 was experienced." I must confess I didn't even know that Omaha had race riots.
This is an amazing accomplishment for the first time novelist, Theodore Wheeler. I was transported to a time and place that was unknown to me. The characters are extremely well written. There wasn't a false word that made me think this isn't real. This is a time of immigration, political corruption, open prostitution and the doughboys coming home from the war to find their jobs are no longer available. Many of them are amputees and many more suffering from PTSD, better known then as "shell shock" and are unable to work. The Spanish Influenza was spreading eventually killing fifty million people. One comment regarding the sickness: "A plague like this never would have spread around the globe if it weren't for the war."
This was not a quick easy read. I took my time with it because it gave me a lot to think about. This is a sweeping epic of a book, well written with lots of background regarding the time and place. If you're willing to take the time to read it, this is a great book. This is my idea of a serious book that deserves five stars.
November 4, 2017
I wanted to like this book, but the more I think about my reading experience with it, the Goodreads "it was ok" 2 star treatment feels appropriate.
The book is historical fiction, placed in Omaha, Nebraska during WWI years, leading up to an infamous race riot that occurred there in 1919. The writing was solid, and it was an easy book to read. My problems was that the book just didn't feel connected. There was no one, real primary character to attach to when reading, making the book have more of an "ensemble" character feel. Such can work if the plot device connects all the characters. Here, I presume that everything should be pointing to the race riot. Yet, if you hadn't read that about the book in its summary or ad, you would have no idea what everything was driving toward. Due to this, the characters and their experiences, while at times interesting and maybe even compelling, just aren't connected very well to each other; but more problematic, for me, is that they are not connected to the narrative, so the race riot doesn't really feel like the climactic point of the book, but just an event that signals the end.
The book is historical fiction, placed in Omaha, Nebraska during WWI years, leading up to an infamous race riot that occurred there in 1919. The writing was solid, and it was an easy book to read. My problems was that the book just didn't feel connected. There was no one, real primary character to attach to when reading, making the book have more of an "ensemble" character feel. Such can work if the plot device connects all the characters. Here, I presume that everything should be pointing to the race riot. Yet, if you hadn't read that about the book in its summary or ad, you would have no idea what everything was driving toward. Due to this, the characters and their experiences, while at times interesting and maybe even compelling, just aren't connected very well to each other; but more problematic, for me, is that they are not connected to the narrative, so the race riot doesn't really feel like the climactic point of the book, but just an event that signals the end.
February 21, 2018
I enjoy a book that pushes me to research the events that provide the backdrop, and that this book did do. The year is 1919. The location Omaha, Nebraska. The culture of the city is a mixing pot of immigrants of old, new immigrants, blacks who have migrated north for the available jobs and mob/machinery politics. Wheeler pulls the reader into the story with the prologue. However, it takes most of the rest of the book to understand how the characters of the story fit into the prologue; that is what kept me reading anyway. Wheeler does a great job using the whites versus blacks annual baseball game to help the reader understand the tension of race relations in Omaha at that time and how the Omaha riot of 1919 could have happened. The tension of the baseball game fuels the reader forward and lays the groundwork for the face paced action of the riot. Wheeler's book is well researched according to the follow-up reading that I did on the Omaha Race Riot of 1919. I am just not sure I get or agree with how Wheeler ended the book...and that will keep me thinking.
July 17, 2017
Fascinating historical novel
The author brings to life the city of Omaha in 1918, through the skillful portrayal of its three main characters: a young boy recently immigrated from Germany, a light-skinned African-American woman stuck in prostitution and passing as white, and a young Nebraskan man over his head in the corrupt political machine. Woven through the story are glimpses of socialism, anarchists, baseball players, a child in poor health,and Prohibition. There is romance, and troubled family dynamics, gentleness, and violence. I had never heard that there was a race riot in Omaha in 1919, and even though very familiar with our country's troubled racial past, I was blown away by the intensity of the hatred and evil that existed at this time and in this place. It was a good reminder of how easy it is to be influenced by rumor, false reports, and the actions of the majority, and to be propelled into a situation we would never enter as an individual.
The author brings to life the city of Omaha in 1918, through the skillful portrayal of its three main characters: a young boy recently immigrated from Germany, a light-skinned African-American woman stuck in prostitution and passing as white, and a young Nebraskan man over his head in the corrupt political machine. Woven through the story are glimpses of socialism, anarchists, baseball players, a child in poor health,and Prohibition. There is romance, and troubled family dynamics, gentleness, and violence. I had never heard that there was a race riot in Omaha in 1919, and even though very familiar with our country's troubled racial past, I was blown away by the intensity of the hatred and evil that existed at this time and in this place. It was a good reminder of how easy it is to be influenced by rumor, false reports, and the actions of the majority, and to be propelled into a situation we would never enter as an individual.
October 4, 2020
Kings of Broken Things is an expansive story which constructs 1910's Omaha with great care. It explodes with moments of action and probes readers with questions of justice. There's so much going on in this story, and that is probably its greatest flaw. There are a few too many characters and plotlines with no apparent purpose.
I enjoyed how Wheeler took the events of Will Brown's lynching in 1919 and crafted a story about the city. I appreciate stories where a place becomes a character. Wheeler definitely pulls that off with this story. This is a story about Jake and Karel and Evie... it's a story about a lynching and injustice and corruption... but more than anything else, it's a story about the environment that brewed such a terrible storm.
I enjoyed how Wheeler took the events of Will Brown's lynching in 1919 and crafted a story about the city. I appreciate stories where a place becomes a character. Wheeler definitely pulls that off with this story. This is a story about Jake and Karel and Evie... it's a story about a lynching and injustice and corruption... but more than anything else, it's a story about the environment that brewed such a terrible storm.
July 18, 2017
Surprisingly interesting
As a free book, I didn't expect much. But the story held my attention. I thought it was well written, despite the ugliness of the circumstances. It is historical fiction, and it explores an incident not familiar to me, never having lived in Omaha. I think it describes attitudes that were present in the whole country at the time. Fast paced and easy to read.
As a free book, I didn't expect much. But the story held my attention. I thought it was well written, despite the ugliness of the circumstances. It is historical fiction, and it explores an incident not familiar to me, never having lived in Omaha. I think it describes attitudes that were present in the whole country at the time. Fast paced and easy to read.
July 22, 2017
Great historical novel set right after WWI in Omaha, NE. What is significant in this time period is the hanging of a black man in front of the court house. Events leading up to this terrible act tell us about the ethnic make-up of the city, their jobs, homes and politics. Party boss, Tom Dennison was in power and most of the problems were attributed to him. It is not a boring read. Very interesting!
September 11, 2017
The Author's Got Some Imagination!
This book, at times gripping, often led my concentration astray with overly detailed descriptions of settings and actions. I mean, that's usually good with a novel and why we read books in the first place, but I thought there were too many times where it went too far. That said, I did appreciate the depiction of Omaha in 1919 and at book's end, I did have renewed interest in further research on Omaha's race riots of this period.
This book, at times gripping, often led my concentration astray with overly detailed descriptions of settings and actions. I mean, that's usually good with a novel and why we read books in the first place, but I thought there were too many times where it went too far. That said, I did appreciate the depiction of Omaha in 1919 and at book's end, I did have renewed interest in further research on Omaha's race riots of this period.
July 9, 2017
I enjoyed the historical information in this book set in Omaha, Nebraska in 1918-1919. I learned about the corrupt political machine that controlled the city, how new immigrants were part of the city's culture-and not, and about the horrible race riot of 1919. However, I did not enjoy Wheeler's writing. Like my writing here, it doesn't flow well.
July 18, 2017
A good book that takes place in a time period that I have happened to never read much about. There's a lot going on in the book so you get to see a lot of what things were like in Omaha around World War I from different perspectives. It may have helped to focus on just a few of these many things but the book is written in such a way that it isn't hard to keep track of the many plot points.
July 25, 2017
A wonderful tale of immigrants, race relations, politics, and baseball in early 19th century Omaha, Nebraska. Theodore Wheeler's first novel is a glimpse into the workings of a small city and the harshness that comes of living without much work and much booze during the Prohibition.
I enjoyed this book thoroughly.
I enjoyed this book thoroughly.
August 22, 2019
Well written but difficult subject matter. Scary how much history continues to repeat itself.
September 26, 2019
I timed the reading of Wheeler's novel to fall this week as Omaha observes the centennial of the lynching of Will Brown, the event that climaxes this story.
Wheeler's writing has influences of DeLillo, as he follows a handful of teenagers and young adults, mostly immigrants, in World War I era Omaha.
Wheeler's writing has influences of DeLillo, as he follows a handful of teenagers and young adults, mostly immigrants, in World War I era Omaha.
July 14, 2017
What a grim book. A few moments of sunlight but on the whole very, very dark. The last third of it, especially. I had never heard about the riots in Omaha and it horrified me to read about what happened.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 165 reviews