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Half Broken Things
A dark, richly told story about love, the damage done when we go too long without it, and what people are driven to do in its name. Jean, Michael and Steph are three reluctant loners. Damaged and fearful of life, they cannot survive alone for much longer. A mixture of deceit, good luck and misfortune draw them together to Walden Manor, a secluded country house that promises sanctuary and freedom from destitution. Out of an invented past they shape a beautiful present. Does it really matter if their sense of safety is built on delusion? When the idyll is threatened, they discover that because their lives are now worth living, they are also worth preserving, although at an appalling cost.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
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November 11, 2024
I was pleasantly surprised to discover the many talents of author Morag Joss. This novel of gothic suspense is absorbing and hard to put down - a perfect book to read during the winter months.
Joss was able to create the perfect atmosphere of suspense that had me turning the pages.
The novel begins with professional house sitter Jean age 64 years old and an extremely inhibited spinster as she begins her new job at the beautiful English, Walden Manor where she will be in residence for 9 months to a year.
Jean gets off to a bad start though as her boss Sandy rather brusquely tells Jean that this is her last job in the most insensitive manner possible by telling Jean she's getting too old and needs to retire.
Jean has been a model employee for years and she's not ready to retire just yet but Sandy pounces on a small mistake Jean has made as proof that Jean is becoming forgetful and needs to retire.
As Jean surveys her new surroundings, already in a bad mood, she is doubly offended that the owners of the house have limited her space of habitation to just the kitchen and a small bedroom with a TV.
The timid Jean decides to build a nice fire in the drawing room and relax while eating dinner.
Jean has been meticulous in dusting and other household chores when she accidently breaks a valuable figurine while at work in the kitchen. The keys to all the rooms in the house spill out on the floor as the figurine breaks and Jean can't help but investigate all the locked rooms, another small act of rebellion for the usually timid and compliant Jean.
While investigating the lady of Walden Manor's clothes closet she decides to try on a beautiful dress. Each act of rebellion by Jean leads to more and more liberties she begins to take.
Not only wearing all of the gorgeous clothes she next decides to start sleeping in the extremely comfortable bed as well as taking over the whole bedroom and adjoining bathroom.
She soaks in the owner's expensive bath salts and wear a negligee for the first time in her life.
The novel then introduces the characters of Steph, a pregnant 19 year old and Michael, a thief. Telling their backstory it becomes apparent that both of them aren't coping well with their lives, are financially destitute and barely able to exist as they have no family support.
By chance they meet up with lonely Jean, who brings them to the manor to live until they are able to get back on their feet. Suddenly 3 lonely, half-broken things begin to heal while taking care of the manor and support each other through difficulties.
Michael is put in charge of mowing the huge lawn as Jean and Steph begin a spring garden.
Jean raids the freezer and starts cooking gourmet meals so that pregnant Steph has a nutritious diet.
But soon Jean's salary is not enough to support all of them and Jean tearfully tells Michael to take care of things now that they are broke and out of food.
Michael, the habitual thief has no difficulty hacking into accounts and doubling Jean's salary as he continues to step into his role as son to Jean and husband of Steph - even though he isn't the father of her child.
Their wonderful idyll will soon end with the return of the master of the manor and Jean begins writing a long explanation as to what happened to all their belongings as well as all the food in the freezer.
Through out the novel we see glimpses of Jean's prior history as unloved daughter to a cruel, narcissistic mother. Jean spent years taking care of her invalid mother until she finally snaps and can take no more.
Now Jean is faced with a dilemma,
Jean has a difficult choice to make but will she make the right choice? You'll be burning the midnight oil as you become completely engrossed while living in the world Jean and her 2 friends create.
Joss was able to create the perfect atmosphere of suspense that had me turning the pages.
The novel begins with professional house sitter Jean age 64 years old and an extremely inhibited spinster as she begins her new job at the beautiful English, Walden Manor where she will be in residence for 9 months to a year.
Jean gets off to a bad start though as her boss Sandy rather brusquely tells Jean that this is her last job in the most insensitive manner possible by telling Jean she's getting too old and needs to retire.
Jean has been a model employee for years and she's not ready to retire just yet but Sandy pounces on a small mistake Jean has made as proof that Jean is becoming forgetful and needs to retire.
As Jean surveys her new surroundings, already in a bad mood, she is doubly offended that the owners of the house have limited her space of habitation to just the kitchen and a small bedroom with a TV.
The timid Jean decides to build a nice fire in the drawing room and relax while eating dinner.
Jean has been meticulous in dusting and other household chores when she accidently breaks a valuable figurine while at work in the kitchen. The keys to all the rooms in the house spill out on the floor as the figurine breaks and Jean can't help but investigate all the locked rooms, another small act of rebellion for the usually timid and compliant Jean.
While investigating the lady of Walden Manor's clothes closet she decides to try on a beautiful dress. Each act of rebellion by Jean leads to more and more liberties she begins to take.
Not only wearing all of the gorgeous clothes she next decides to start sleeping in the extremely comfortable bed as well as taking over the whole bedroom and adjoining bathroom.
She soaks in the owner's expensive bath salts and wear a negligee for the first time in her life.
The novel then introduces the characters of Steph, a pregnant 19 year old and Michael, a thief. Telling their backstory it becomes apparent that both of them aren't coping well with their lives, are financially destitute and barely able to exist as they have no family support.
By chance they meet up with lonely Jean, who brings them to the manor to live until they are able to get back on their feet. Suddenly 3 lonely, half-broken things begin to heal while taking care of the manor and support each other through difficulties.
Michael is put in charge of mowing the huge lawn as Jean and Steph begin a spring garden.
Jean raids the freezer and starts cooking gourmet meals so that pregnant Steph has a nutritious diet.
But soon Jean's salary is not enough to support all of them and Jean tearfully tells Michael to take care of things now that they are broke and out of food.
Michael, the habitual thief has no difficulty hacking into accounts and doubling Jean's salary as he continues to step into his role as son to Jean and husband of Steph - even though he isn't the father of her child.
Their wonderful idyll will soon end with the return of the master of the manor and Jean begins writing a long explanation as to what happened to all their belongings as well as all the food in the freezer.
Through out the novel we see glimpses of Jean's prior history as unloved daughter to a cruel, narcissistic mother. Jean spent years taking care of her invalid mother until she finally snaps and can take no more.
Now Jean is faced with a dilemma,
Jean has a difficult choice to make but will she make the right choice? You'll be burning the midnight oil as you become completely engrossed while living in the world Jean and her 2 friends create.
June 21, 2020
"Half Broken Things" is a novel of psychological suspense set in an isolated lovely Somerset manor house. Jean is a lonely professional house sitter for a wealthy couple who will be overseas for almost a year. When her supervisor tells Jean that she's reaching retirement age, she feels unappreciated and decides to use the house and its contents as if it were her own. Two other psychologically damaged people join Jean to form the first real family they have ever known. Michael is a small-time thief, and Steph is a pregnant woman escaping an abusive relationship. They empty out the freezer and the wine cellar. Michael hacks into the wealthy couple's accounts. But how long can this fantasy life last?
The story alternates between their year at the English manor house, and Jean's early life as the daughter of a mean, self-centered woman. She has found happiness for the first time in her life with her two "half broken" housemates. Jean's year of house sitting is coming to a close. . . .what should she do? The story increases in suspense as they get more tangled in a web of lies and dark secrets. "Half Broken Things" kept me turning the pages. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
The story alternates between their year at the English manor house, and Jean's early life as the daughter of a mean, self-centered woman. She has found happiness for the first time in her life with her two "half broken" housemates. Jean's year of house sitting is coming to a close. . . .what should she do? The story increases in suspense as they get more tangled in a web of lies and dark secrets. "Half Broken Things" kept me turning the pages. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
May 26, 2010
Half Broken Things by Morag Joss was recommended to me recently by a librarian friend. She said it was in her top 50 books of all-time. The conversation had started when I mentioned how much I had liked the movie Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and how true it stayed to the book. She offered that Half Broken Things was another film adaptation that was excellent. She suggested though, that I read the book first. And I am glad I did.
Right off the bat, the book sounded like it would appeal to me. The jacket blurb lured me in by saying it would be a match for Minette Walters fans. After reading Half Broken Things, I can see why as it has great psychological suspense, secrets; a brooding dark tale that would appeal to Walters' fans. Another good fit might be for fans of Sarah Water's Little Stranger.
It's hard to describe Half Broken Things without giving away too much of the plot. It starts off simply with the narrator Jean, a house-sitter by profession, putting down on paper the sequence of events for all to read, to explain, for us the reader, to understand how she got from one place to here. It's a haunting journey. I felt like all started in black and white and was slowly filled in, in vivid color as the tale was told, finally bursting at it's seams, thought provoking and satisfying in the end. It develops slowly, oh, so slowly, so if you're a fan of fast paced thrillers, this might be a pass.
Joss has a great way of phrasing things. I found myself nodding and saying oh, I like the way she put that. Joss will be added to my list of authors to continue reading. I'm thankful she has other books for me to read.
I'm very curious to see how the movie tells the story. It seems like a hard one to translate into something that would leave me with the same thrill. Hollywood often blows the subtleties of a story such as this, but, I'm going with the recommendation of my friend and giving it a chance.
Right off the bat, the book sounded like it would appeal to me. The jacket blurb lured me in by saying it would be a match for Minette Walters fans. After reading Half Broken Things, I can see why as it has great psychological suspense, secrets; a brooding dark tale that would appeal to Walters' fans. Another good fit might be for fans of Sarah Water's Little Stranger.
It's hard to describe Half Broken Things without giving away too much of the plot. It starts off simply with the narrator Jean, a house-sitter by profession, putting down on paper the sequence of events for all to read, to explain, for us the reader, to understand how she got from one place to here. It's a haunting journey. I felt like all started in black and white and was slowly filled in, in vivid color as the tale was told, finally bursting at it's seams, thought provoking and satisfying in the end. It develops slowly, oh, so slowly, so if you're a fan of fast paced thrillers, this might be a pass.
Joss has a great way of phrasing things. I found myself nodding and saying oh, I like the way she put that. Joss will be added to my list of authors to continue reading. I'm thankful she has other books for me to read.
I'm very curious to see how the movie tells the story. It seems like a hard one to translate into something that would leave me with the same thrill. Hollywood often blows the subtleties of a story such as this, but, I'm going with the recommendation of my friend and giving it a chance.
March 19, 2012
Half Broken Things is a powerful story about what we tell ourselves as truth. It is an unexpected tale that is beautifully written and compelling. Joss pulled me in with her words, ideas and story. It tells the story of a house sitter who has just been told by her agency that she will no longer be placed because of her age. They are forcing her retirement. This story is a combination of her confession and a third-person account of what happens during her nine months at a country house in Bath, England. It is the story of her life and what leads her to this house at this time and why she ends up the way she does. It is fascinating and shocking and won't let you go. I was drawn in completely and could not help shaking my head at the story as it unfolded.
This book is truly about the power of story--what we tell ourselves as we move through life. It is about understanding and acceptance. I will be seeking out more of Morag Joss' books. She is an excellent author.
Mom has it.
This book is truly about the power of story--what we tell ourselves as we move through life. It is about understanding and acceptance. I will be seeking out more of Morag Joss' books. She is an excellent author.
Mom has it.
April 28, 2010
Walden Manor, a large country home, is the setting for Half Broken Things. Jean works for an agency and is about at the end of her working life as she becomes a house sitter for the summer while the owners are away.
At first she is alone and one of the first things that happens is she accidentally breaks a valuable old teapot. In fact, most of the items in the house are valuable and of quality but have chips or tears or cracks in them, which also makes the house almost another entity in the story.
The people, including Jean, are broken, chipped or torn from their life experiences much as the inanimate objects in the house. It isn't long before Steph, who is pregnant, and Michael, who is a thief, join Jean in her house sitting project.
All have had disappointing experiences with love and all are chipped or torn by their experiences. But, for one idyllic summer, the three create a family filled with love and caring for each other as they care for the house and grounds.
When a man from Michael's past appears, things begin to unravel and you know the contentment each has found will be short-lived. While the man's appearance is a bit contrived, the literary device can be overlooked and believable in the story.
How things fall apart is dramatic.
How vital and necessary love is to the human spirit is the driving force for all the characters., and the lengths they will go to preserve that love determines the outcome.
Quote: "Only after I (Jean) had begun to make myself comfortable (in every sense) did I find myself inclined - qualified, you might say - to care for anybody else."
At first she is alone and one of the first things that happens is she accidentally breaks a valuable old teapot. In fact, most of the items in the house are valuable and of quality but have chips or tears or cracks in them, which also makes the house almost another entity in the story.
The people, including Jean, are broken, chipped or torn from their life experiences much as the inanimate objects in the house. It isn't long before Steph, who is pregnant, and Michael, who is a thief, join Jean in her house sitting project.
All have had disappointing experiences with love and all are chipped or torn by their experiences. But, for one idyllic summer, the three create a family filled with love and caring for each other as they care for the house and grounds.
When a man from Michael's past appears, things begin to unravel and you know the contentment each has found will be short-lived. While the man's appearance is a bit contrived, the literary device can be overlooked and believable in the story.
How things fall apart is dramatic.
How vital and necessary love is to the human spirit is the driving force for all the characters., and the lengths they will go to preserve that love determines the outcome.
Quote: "Only after I (Jean) had begun to make myself comfortable (in every sense) did I find myself inclined - qualified, you might say - to care for anybody else."
February 24, 2020
What a strange and exceptional book this is, and one I almost gave up on.
I have an odd rule, engage me by the end of Chapter One or I'm gone. I have a lot of books I want to read, and at my age, a possibly limited amount of time to do it in. So, after a chapter, or about 100 pages, if it's boring me, or I fall asleep and the books slides to the floor - which has happened to me more than once - I move to the next book in my TBR pile. Almost did it with this one...
There are four important characters here: Jean, 64 years old, never married, a 'house-sitter' by trade, who's just been told the house she's in, a gorgeous country manor, will be her 'last job.' Time to retire, she's told and having lived a long and lonely life, she's resigned...
There there's Michael, a sort of failed con man, who struggles to just get through every day by hook or by crook. Living in a crummy apartment, always at odds with the law - his specialty is conning people out of their valuables, then selling them - he's a lost soul.
Add in Stephanie, pregnant with an abusive boyfriend who abandons her at a garage, she hasn't got much going for her either. No one wants her, including her grandmother. Damn these three are sad sacks to the nth degree. And by page 100 or so I was thinking, okay am I supposed to root for these three losers? What the heck...
One more character makes four: Charlie, a little boy, a baby, who becomes part of all this, too.
What happens is that Jean places an add, claiming she 'gave away' a baby boy some forty years ago, and complete with made-up details and fake description of said event, is looking to find 'her son,' wanting to meet him and make up for lost time, if she can.
Enter Michael, who has connected with Stephanie - two sorry souls - and he hatches a plan. Go and pretend to be Jean's missing son, and take advantage of the situation.
This could easily be a situation for a sit-com, but it's anything but. How these four come together and create a family, with strong bonds among them in a myriad of ways, was a rare treat to read. If I'd been told I'd be rooting for these four - from a brief description, that is, I've had said NO WAY. But way it was. I loved the writing, the way the writer carried this through, both the sad and happy moments and though I usually don't read many books like this, I'm glad I stuck with it.
Five stars.
I have an odd rule, engage me by the end of Chapter One or I'm gone. I have a lot of books I want to read, and at my age, a possibly limited amount of time to do it in. So, after a chapter, or about 100 pages, if it's boring me, or I fall asleep and the books slides to the floor - which has happened to me more than once - I move to the next book in my TBR pile. Almost did it with this one...
There are four important characters here: Jean, 64 years old, never married, a 'house-sitter' by trade, who's just been told the house she's in, a gorgeous country manor, will be her 'last job.' Time to retire, she's told and having lived a long and lonely life, she's resigned...
There there's Michael, a sort of failed con man, who struggles to just get through every day by hook or by crook. Living in a crummy apartment, always at odds with the law - his specialty is conning people out of their valuables, then selling them - he's a lost soul.
Add in Stephanie, pregnant with an abusive boyfriend who abandons her at a garage, she hasn't got much going for her either. No one wants her, including her grandmother. Damn these three are sad sacks to the nth degree. And by page 100 or so I was thinking, okay am I supposed to root for these three losers? What the heck...
One more character makes four: Charlie, a little boy, a baby, who becomes part of all this, too.
What happens is that Jean places an add, claiming she 'gave away' a baby boy some forty years ago, and complete with made-up details and fake description of said event, is looking to find 'her son,' wanting to meet him and make up for lost time, if she can.
Enter Michael, who has connected with Stephanie - two sorry souls - and he hatches a plan. Go and pretend to be Jean's missing son, and take advantage of the situation.
This could easily be a situation for a sit-com, but it's anything but. How these four come together and create a family, with strong bonds among them in a myriad of ways, was a rare treat to read. If I'd been told I'd be rooting for these four - from a brief description, that is, I've had said NO WAY. But way it was. I loved the writing, the way the writer carried this through, both the sad and happy moments and though I usually don't read many books like this, I'm glad I stuck with it.
Five stars.
August 6, 2010
Compulsively readable and character-driven. Others have compared it to The Little Stranger, and I think that's an accurate comparison, as they both develop a spiraling storyline with a plot that gradually develops momentum, ending on oblivion, of course. The book store shelves this in mystery, but I found it at the library in general fiction. It's a hard call, since it contains elements of mystery -- murder, intrigue, small moments of criminal ugliness, but it is also a domestic drama, with thoughtful meditations on motherhood, falling in love, providing for one's family. Whatever it is, I kept turning the pages, though I had surmised the ending was inevitable, but I was pleased with the satisfaction I felt by the final page.
December 27, 2009
The cover claims that this is a suspense novel but after reading 270 pages of the 300 page book, something tension-wrought btu not very suspenseful finally happens. I didn't like the characters and I didn't like what they did and found the whole book rather disturbing but not in a thought-provoking manner. As another reviewer put it-it was just creepy.
April 2, 2017
Although I'm personally a very optimistic person, I'm drawn to dark books. All I have to see are the words "damaged, difficult characters," and I'm hitting the Amazon BUY button. So this book was a natural for me--three people with terrible childhoods and desperate financial need take shelter together in a grand house that the eldest woman is house-sitting. They soon form a happy family there. But of course, real life intervenes and they're driven to do terrible things. Good set-up, right?
Sadly, this book didn't rock my world. The pace is quite leisurely. There's a lot of backstory for each character, and not enough creepy foreshadowing to make the book suspenseful. Furthermore, while the characters' bad choices are plausible and understandable, their GOOD behavior is rather puzzling and contradictory. For example, Jean, whose mother was a horrible cook and who spent her entire life living with her mom or alone, with no friends, turns out to be a fabulous cook once they are at the house. Where did she learn? Steph, who was herself neglected and failed to recognize her own child's illness, becomes Super Nanny.
I saw the end coming (an occupational hazard for a writer), and while it was creepy and disturbing, it certainly wasn't dramatic. However, you'll never consider hiring a house-sitter after you've read this book!
Sadly, this book didn't rock my world. The pace is quite leisurely. There's a lot of backstory for each character, and not enough creepy foreshadowing to make the book suspenseful. Furthermore, while the characters' bad choices are plausible and understandable, their GOOD behavior is rather puzzling and contradictory. For example, Jean, whose mother was a horrible cook and who spent her entire life living with her mom or alone, with no friends, turns out to be a fabulous cook once they are at the house. Where did she learn? Steph, who was herself neglected and failed to recognize her own child's illness, becomes Super Nanny.
I saw the end coming (an occupational hazard for a writer), and while it was creepy and disturbing, it certainly wasn't dramatic. However, you'll never consider hiring a house-sitter after you've read this book!
December 16, 2011
Wow, I have no idea how this book could be described as a "gripping tale of psychological suspense." It wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't what I was expecting. This confluence of three dead-end lives lived in quiet desperation makes for interesting reading, but I expected a Silver Dagger Award winner to have a bit more grit to it. This novel wanders through dusky shadows wrapped in gauze.
August 24, 2010
Well written and complex. You see the train wreck coming and yet...
March 20, 2015
Faulty Towers
An unlikely exposition eventually grinds into gear and once settled in, the remaining two-thirds of this Murphy's-Law fable are increasingly engrossing.
Morag Joss has read her Rendell, her Highsmith, and also her Poe; what we have here is a tale of grotesques, enlarged & protean creatures that are forced into smaller and smaller corners by their own actions. The alternating senses of pressure and release, panic and calm are the dynamic of the plot. (Unfortunately, the Stephen King parallels are there, too, and not necessary; this has way too much going for it in its solemn core to have to get close to that line...)
Perhaps the nearest near-relative is Shirley Jackson in her Everyday-Gothic best; while the days pass with a regularity (let's make jam ! let's see if there's champagne in the cellar !) and calm incompatible with the circumstances, our happy grotesques are never able to diverge from the disastrous inevitable, and that's the ongoing suspense here.
Author Joss gets her ducks in a row by the halfway point of the book and manages an effective, deluxe coup de théâtre with the return of the grandfather. Arriving late in the second act, this stroke propels the rest of the novel to it's impending appointment with ... what's coming.
Looking forward to the next in Morag Joss' catalog; there is much here that is already the mark of a very accomplished plot and atmosphere writer. The prose itself is exquisite, by turns rapturous, enchanted, and then convincingly raw. What's left is character, and that's the quibble. Her lovely grotesques are by no means regular characters, and that's fine, they're meant to be maniacs. But not plausible or predictable from one scene to the next --(near-suicidal, hyperdepressive, shy Michael masquerading as a posh lord of the estate to fool the authorities ? ..) --tears a little, even at the fable level.
My hope is that she either takes it to the limit, drawing even more outlandish lunatics and madmen or, better, tightens the reins a bit more and brings her maniacs more intimately into the fabric of the everyday mania we live in. The Rendellian split-screen narative requires a strict (even, especially, if mad--) coherence, and a deft interweave. And I think that's where Joss is headed, but we shall see...
An unlikely exposition eventually grinds into gear and once settled in, the remaining two-thirds of this Murphy's-Law fable are increasingly engrossing.
Morag Joss has read her Rendell, her Highsmith, and also her Poe; what we have here is a tale of grotesques, enlarged & protean creatures that are forced into smaller and smaller corners by their own actions. The alternating senses of pressure and release, panic and calm are the dynamic of the plot. (Unfortunately, the Stephen King parallels are there, too, and not necessary; this has way too much going for it in its solemn core to have to get close to that line...)
Perhaps the nearest near-relative is Shirley Jackson in her Everyday-Gothic best; while the days pass with a regularity (let's make jam ! let's see if there's champagne in the cellar !) and calm incompatible with the circumstances, our happy grotesques are never able to diverge from the disastrous inevitable, and that's the ongoing suspense here.
Author Joss gets her ducks in a row by the halfway point of the book and manages an effective, deluxe coup de théâtre with the return of the grandfather. Arriving late in the second act, this stroke propels the rest of the novel to it's impending appointment with ... what's coming.
Looking forward to the next in Morag Joss' catalog; there is much here that is already the mark of a very accomplished plot and atmosphere writer. The prose itself is exquisite, by turns rapturous, enchanted, and then convincingly raw. What's left is character, and that's the quibble. Her lovely grotesques are by no means regular characters, and that's fine, they're meant to be maniacs. But not plausible or predictable from one scene to the next --(near-suicidal, hyperdepressive, shy Michael masquerading as a posh lord of the estate to fool the authorities ? ..) --tears a little, even at the fable level.
My hope is that she either takes it to the limit, drawing even more outlandish lunatics and madmen or, better, tightens the reins a bit more and brings her maniacs more intimately into the fabric of the everyday mania we live in. The Rendellian split-screen narative requires a strict (even, especially, if mad--) coherence, and a deft interweave. And I think that's where Joss is headed, but we shall see...
November 14, 2010
Half Broken Things is a novel of just that -- things and people who are at best half-broken. Jean is an older woman with no family, no friends, who house-sits to escape having to live at the local retirement home. Michael is a petty thief, a man tormented by his debts, but seeing no way to come clear of them. Steph, a young girl, barely out of her teens, is knocked around by the father of her baby, and has no future, no money, nothing other than the baby in her belly.
These three people, so broken at the start of the novel, come together in the most amazing, caring family. The love they share really lets them blossom and, as Michael puts it, physically take up more space in the world. But this idyllic life would never last, partly due to Michael's past catching up to him, and partly because soon the owners of the home in which they're living will return, leaving Jean, Michael, and Steph nowhere else to go.
I really love the way in which Joss can turn a phrase. I would read a sentence, and then read it once again, marveling at how vividly she can evoke an image. My one complaint about the book is a formatting issue. While I feel that the use of the first-person is quite effective to explain Jean's side of things throughout the novel, I didn't enjoy the change in font style between her sections and the sections told from the third-person. I realize that's a very picky complaint to make, but it was a bit too jarring on my eyes.
This is not a crime thriller. This isn't a story with action on every page. In fact, the criminal element doesn't really occur until two-thirds of the way through the book, if not later. But it's an engaging read, nevertheless, and I kept wanting to come back to the novel to find out what was going to happen next.
The end really got me. Very creepy, indeed, and I wanted to shout out to Jean not to go through with it. Thank goodness it's just a novel.
These three people, so broken at the start of the novel, come together in the most amazing, caring family. The love they share really lets them blossom and, as Michael puts it, physically take up more space in the world. But this idyllic life would never last, partly due to Michael's past catching up to him, and partly because soon the owners of the home in which they're living will return, leaving Jean, Michael, and Steph nowhere else to go.
I really love the way in which Joss can turn a phrase. I would read a sentence, and then read it once again, marveling at how vividly she can evoke an image. My one complaint about the book is a formatting issue. While I feel that the use of the first-person is quite effective to explain Jean's side of things throughout the novel, I didn't enjoy the change in font style between her sections and the sections told from the third-person. I realize that's a very picky complaint to make, but it was a bit too jarring on my eyes.
This is not a crime thriller. This isn't a story with action on every page. In fact, the criminal element doesn't really occur until two-thirds of the way through the book, if not later. But it's an engaging read, nevertheless, and I kept wanting to come back to the novel to find out what was going to happen next.
The end really got me. Very creepy, indeed, and I wanted to shout out to Jean not to go through with it. Thank goodness it's just a novel.
May 20, 2014
The cover of this novel describes it as a "book of suspense." I saw it a bit differently. It did have a rather slow buildup that picked up its suspense cred about 3/4 of the way through, but it was more a novel about lonely people desperately looking for love and a family of sorts. The lead character and sometimes narrator is a 60-ish woman who never married or had children who basically lives in a fantasy world of her own making. She is a professional house sitter who is presently house sitting a beautiful old house outside of Bath, England. Not giving too much away, but let it be said that as time passes she feels more and more ownership of her surroundings, owners be damned. With the arrival of Michael and Steph, a 40ish man and 20ish pregnant woman, they form a family of sorts and take ownership of the premises. Events from the past are slowly revealed, and life becomes more and more complicated as the story goes on. It's not a page turner, but the reader gets to know these complex characters well, and the author writes well on the sometimes thin line between good and evil. If he were still alive, I would want to send a copy of this novel to Claude Chabrol, for I think that it fits very well into the types of films he used to make.
September 18, 2020
What a shame more people haven't read this book! Another library sale purchase that was quirky and thought provoking. From the beginning the main characters were headed for a train wreck in slow motion and I was along for the sometimes excruciating ride with an extremely warped woman who lays claim to the home she is house sitting along with all of its belongings. Her rationales are sometimes insightful, but always twisted to meet the need of her inferior life. It was wonderfully written and so absorbing I read in a day.
In describing "her" house..."The house when I came was full of old things.Many of them were not in mint condition, and I like them like that. I liked the way they sat about the house in little settlements, as if they had sought one another out and were sticking together, little colonies of thing. All the things seemed content in their imperfections; they were not shouting out to be mended the way new things are. If objects could give contented sighs, that's what these would have done. I wanted to be like that." Half Broken Things...an excellent find and perfect for my sometimes dark and weird reading style. (FYI: Some violence and not pretty scenes.)
In describing "her" house..."The house when I came was full of old things.Many of them were not in mint condition, and I like them like that. I liked the way they sat about the house in little settlements, as if they had sought one another out and were sticking together, little colonies of thing. All the things seemed content in their imperfections; they were not shouting out to be mended the way new things are. If objects could give contented sighs, that's what these would have done. I wanted to be like that." Half Broken Things...an excellent find and perfect for my sometimes dark and weird reading style. (FYI: Some violence and not pretty scenes.)
May 24, 2016
4.5, psychological suspense. Winner of a Silver Dagger Award. Written in beautiful, quiet prose. Story begins with Jean, who's had a spirit-crushing childhood and a dull, unappreciated adult life. At 64, she's a house sitter in Bath, England, who has just begun a nine-month assignment in a beautiful, isolated estate; her agency calls to tell her it will be her last gig for them, she must retire because of age. So what to do - she decides to make the most of things! She manages to whip up a 'son' (who's also a thief) and his formerly-abused pregnant girlfriend. They're having a lovely posh time on the estate, manufacturing a life they love. This is when you want to tell them "quit digging the hole you nuts, pretty soon you won't be able to get out"! Oh, but the tale progresses. And yes, soon, you just wonder how the author will let extricate them from the pit.
Will read more of Morag Joss' works. Amused my dysfunctional imagination. Recommend if you can tolerate characters who don't fit the mold they should.
Will read more of Morag Joss' works. Amused my dysfunctional imagination. Recommend if you can tolerate characters who don't fit the mold they should.
September 21, 2018
I don't remember what year I read this but it was on a cross country flight from New York to Phoenix and I read it in one sitting....it was riveting. It still comes to my mind to this day when anyone says "psychological suspense".
October 11, 2019
Beautifully written book where you want to know how it will end, how might it end, how can it possibly end.
Three sad and lonely people end up living together in a beautiful home -- an older housesitting woman who has been fired by her company once this gig is done, a younger man who'd been adopted, and an abused pregnant young woman abandoned by her boyfriend at a gas station.
The baby is born, the young woman lands a childminding gig and ends up bringing the child back to the mansion during the day -- well the plot expands and twists and develops. And the owners of the mansion are due home.
As another reader put it: "Morag Joss has read her Rendell, her Highsmith, and also her Poe." Rendell-ish.
Three sad and lonely people end up living together in a beautiful home -- an older housesitting woman who has been fired by her company once this gig is done, a younger man who'd been adopted, and an abused pregnant young woman abandoned by her boyfriend at a gas station.
The baby is born, the young woman lands a childminding gig and ends up bringing the child back to the mansion during the day -- well the plot expands and twists and develops. And the owners of the mansion are due home.
As another reader put it: "Morag Joss has read her Rendell, her Highsmith, and also her Poe." Rendell-ish.
July 4, 2018
This was a difficult book to rate. Because it was a difficult book to read. The author writes exceedingly well but oh my goodness this book was completely unpleasant. It was *uncomfortable* reading, causing me to squirm continuously. But it was well told. So do I rate it on how much I liked it (not much)? Or do I rate it on how well the author writes (obviously excellent — the creepiness really got to me). I decided to give it four stars since it was brilliantly done. This was my pick for our book club — no one liked it and only one other finished it. It kind of cracks me up how successful the author was in disturbing folks.
November 8, 2018
This is a novel of suspense and mystery. I am not usually interested in this genre, but this particular novel focuses on the inner motivations of the three lonely desperate people involved in multi-level family dramas. The author does a good job of describing the feelings that lead such people to connect and then lead them to do anything to stay connected. The book helps show how their actions feel justified by their experiences.
November 19, 2017
Different. Still thinking about this one. I've only just finished it and I'm mulling it over. I suppose that must mean that it's thought provoking. Definitely different.
June 14, 2023
Three troubled characters come together in a house sitting gig and things get a little crazytown. I enjoyed the set up immensely and there were a few surprises. Clever and a fun read.
May 28, 2023
I really did love that book, this is an understatement!
Three people from different backgrounds, Jean, a lady on the brink of retirement who has just taken on a last job as a house sitter, Steph, a young pregnant woman trying to keep a bully of a boyfriend away and Michael, a failure of a petty thief, meet by chance in a swanky mansion in the countryside (under Jean's stewardship, precisely) .
They soon realize they should come together under the posh temporary roof, by dint of their individual need to put back together the shattered pieces of their impaired lives. Each finds comfort in having the other two around. The impromptu gathering continues into the summer as the arrangement makes up for what life has denied them so far and they are taking to one another.
But can you really put the past behind you and wipe the slate clean for good? Set up a pretense of a family with two total strangers without the pitfalls of deception?
What shall they do when the landlord comes back from holiday? When the expected baby is born? When reality finally catches up and the end of summer is likely to mean also the end of the enchanting break?
The book is not only a well crafted thriller. There is a psychological depiction about it that I found most interesting as I so often ponder upon my own life and I keep wondering what other self I might have grown into, had I been born to a different family altogether and met different people at a time when making life better did not seem such a wild fantasy.
I have so many half broken things I just can't fix on my own that I too hope for an unexpected knock at my door...
Three people from different backgrounds, Jean, a lady on the brink of retirement who has just taken on a last job as a house sitter, Steph, a young pregnant woman trying to keep a bully of a boyfriend away and Michael, a failure of a petty thief, meet by chance in a swanky mansion in the countryside (under Jean's stewardship, precisely) .
They soon realize they should come together under the posh temporary roof, by dint of their individual need to put back together the shattered pieces of their impaired lives. Each finds comfort in having the other two around. The impromptu gathering continues into the summer as the arrangement makes up for what life has denied them so far and they are taking to one another.
But can you really put the past behind you and wipe the slate clean for good? Set up a pretense of a family with two total strangers without the pitfalls of deception?
What shall they do when the landlord comes back from holiday? When the expected baby is born? When reality finally catches up and the end of summer is likely to mean also the end of the enchanting break?
The book is not only a well crafted thriller. There is a psychological depiction about it that I found most interesting as I so often ponder upon my own life and I keep wondering what other self I might have grown into, had I been born to a different family altogether and met different people at a time when making life better did not seem such a wild fantasy.
I have so many half broken things I just can't fix on my own that I too hope for an unexpected knock at my door...
Read
November 20, 2014This is the second Morag Joss novel I've read, the first being The Night Following which I adored. This is every bit as good, although quite different. The writing is a little more laid back and the pace is quite gentle. At the outset Jean is a housesitter, living all on her own in other people's houses, putting down no roots and with virtually no human contact. She prefers it that way. Fate brings her to Walden Manor, a beautiful, perfect family home. It also brings Michael and Steph into her life and we see the wonderful blossoming of Jean in the presence of their love. It's quite heartwarming and although each of them have their faults, I loved seeing three unhappy people find happiness and a sense of belonging.
At the same I had the awful knowledge at the back of my mind that it was all built on sand. This was not, after all, their house; it belonged to someone else. That idyllic summer could not last forever. When real life beings to intrude, they must find ways of protecting their fragile family.
Morag Joss has once again created fractured, flawed characters that I rooted for and forgave anything. My rational mind understood that the things they did were wrong, but my heart bled for them and hoped against hope that they could have their happily ever after. In the end I was torn between disgust and empathy, which I'm sure was what Joss wanted. I think she got it exactly right and I continue to be a huge fan.
At the same I had the awful knowledge at the back of my mind that it was all built on sand. This was not, after all, their house; it belonged to someone else. That idyllic summer could not last forever. When real life beings to intrude, they must find ways of protecting their fragile family.
Morag Joss has once again created fractured, flawed characters that I rooted for and forgave anything. My rational mind understood that the things they did were wrong, but my heart bled for them and hoped against hope that they could have their happily ever after. In the end I was torn between disgust and empathy, which I'm sure was what Joss wanted. I think she got it exactly right and I continue to be a huge fan.
December 23, 2020
The Scottish author won a Silver Dagger Award by the Crime Writers' Association for this wonderfully dark psychological thriller.
Jean is an elderly house-sitter, just asked to leave her job. But not before she finishes her last assignment of taking care of a secluded country home.
One fine day, Michael (a petty thief) and Steph (a pregnant runaway) tumble into her world and a set of coincidences set the wheel of doom rolling, and none of them can stop it.
The end is explosive. Silently explosive.
The language is beautiful, her use of similes is delightful. The whole time you are reading this book, you want to disbelieve every word in it, yet you are drawn further and further into the book; you want to spit at the characters in disgust because of their fraudulent ways, yet you are drawn to cry for them in pity.
Absolutely wonderful.
Jean is an elderly house-sitter, just asked to leave her job. But not before she finishes her last assignment of taking care of a secluded country home.
One fine day, Michael (a petty thief) and Steph (a pregnant runaway) tumble into her world and a set of coincidences set the wheel of doom rolling, and none of them can stop it.
The end is explosive. Silently explosive.
The language is beautiful, her use of similes is delightful. The whole time you are reading this book, you want to disbelieve every word in it, yet you are drawn further and further into the book; you want to spit at the characters in disgust because of their fraudulent ways, yet you are drawn to cry for them in pity.
Absolutely wonderful.
March 19, 2025
After reading Among the Missing, I am afraid my expectations were too high. Half Broken Things is the story of lonely, traumatized people whose paths have crossed. The pages are laced with a feeling of inevitable horror, but the pace is slow, and just because characters are lonely, traumatized and for the most part up to no good, doesn't make them interesting. I was able to finish the book out of a mild curiosity about the outcome and an appreciation for the skill of Joss's writing. However, had I not had such high expectations from Among the Missing, a better crafted novel with a more driven narrative, I am not sure I would have finished this book. I will give other books by Joss a chance, but with lower expectations.
July 16, 2014
I should have given this more than three stars but I'm trying to be a more discerning reader like the members of my book club (which I've been to twice). But the book was built up a sincerely creepy fashion and involved so much bizarre, yet somewhat sympathetic behavior, that I knew the end was going to be really creepy and I was right. That's all I'm going to say. Overall it was very well-written as well. It just moved at a snail's pace.
January 28, 2012
Although this book by Morag Joss (very well written by the way) doesn't seem, on the surface, to be a "suspense" novel, the suspense does grow, gradually and surely as the book progresses. I liked the idea of the book immensely, and I don't think the end was, in any way, a let down. An excellent writer, Morag Joss will certainly be an author I will try to read more of.
August 1, 2014
This book really creeps up on you. Very suspenseful, as promised. Morag Joss clearly knows her way around a psycho-thriller. Not a genre I normally gravitate to, but the characters in this surprising book are some of the most memorable I've encountered. Just don't read it if you're planning on hiring a house sitter.
February 28, 2008
Good suspense book. Kind of disturbing how bizarre the characters can act at moment. I kept turning the pages to see what weird thing they would do next. There is a graphic scene in the middle of the book that can totally be skipped.
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