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Broken for You

By: Stephanie Kallos
Narrated by: Anna Fields
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Publisher's summary

When we meet septuagenarian Margaret Hughes, she is living alone in a mansion in Seattle with only a massive collection of valuable antiques for company. Enter Wanda Schultz, a young woman with a broken heart who has come to Seattle to search for her wayward boyfriend. Both women are guarding dark secrets and have spent many years building up protective armor against the outside world. But as the two begin their tentative dance of friendship, the armor begins to fall away, and Margaret opens her house to the younger woman.

This launches a series of remarkable and unanticipated events, leading Margaret to discover a way to redeem her cursed past and Wanda to learn the true purpose of her cross-country journey.

Exuberant, heartbreaking, and alive with a potpourri of eccentric and irresistible characters, Broken for You is a testament to the saving graces of surrogate families and shows how far the tiniest repair jobs can go in righting the world's wrongs.

©2004 Stephanie Kallos (P)2004 Blackstone Audiobooks
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Critic reviews

"Well-crafted plotting and crackling wit make this debut novel by Seattle author Kallos a delight to read and a memory to savor." (Booklist)
"[A] dreamy, powerful tale of familial warring, secrets, and redemption....This haunting, memorable debut is reminiscent of early Atwood, peopled by lovably imperfect and eccentric characters." (Publishers Weekly)
"A dazzling mosaic of intersecting lives and fates...[A] multi-layered rhapsody....Kallos has a rare, deft way with whimsy, dream sequences and hallucinations. Comparisons to John Irving and Tennesse Williams would not be amiss in this show-stopping debut." (Kirkus Reviews)

What listeners say about Broken for You

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Bravo!! Amazing performance for a beautiful story!

Loved listening to this stunning voice and performance. Bitter with the sweet, laughter and sadness - this story has it all.

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The best book I’ve listened to this year!

Stephanie Kallos’ writing is evocative and powerful. The story broke my heart and made me laugh out loud in equal measure and kept me listening as the plot unfolded. I couldn’t wait to get to the next chapter. Anna Fields’ performance brings her characters to life in such a way that I could see them as I listened to her. She is equally proficient at male or female, young or old, and a multitude of nationalities/accents. She even has a wonderful singing voice. This pairing of storyteller and story performer was a match made in heaven!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Couldn’t get past the narrator’s voice

Honestly I don’t know if the story is good or not. From the two hours I listened, it wasn’t I terry enough to overcome the annoying voice of the narrator.

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Fantastic!

I truly enjoyed the story and beautiful writing. The themes and complexity of characters were engaging. The narrator handled it all with grace.
Highly recommend!

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FABULOUS!

This magnificent story of people's broken lives made whole takes on many unexpected journeys, with marvelous narration. There's mystery, suspense, history, beauty, passion, pathos, love, humor, discovery and redemption artistically arranged into a very satisfying listen.

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surprisingly good

While the characters were so unusual they were delightful and I enjoyed the plot development

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Wonderful book! Not pop fiction but literature

I love this book. It took me a bit to get into it, which I often find to be the case with books that are tremendously well written and stories that are complex. This book is exactly that, the characters are well-developed, and the development happen slowly, as you get to know them. Further, the plot is fantastic—it is seamless, intriguing, and compelling. This is the story with several themes, one is that family can be created, not just born into. Another is that aging, and even dying, do not have to be the end but but rather could be a beginning. This is absolutely the best book that I have read in quite some time. “We are better when we are broken.”

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Loved it!

Delightful, Outstanding, Simply Wonderful story & narration! The character depths & mystery style plot intrigues & inspires, well worth the time!

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I oved this story and the reader's voice!

I listened to this story and hated when I had to pause it. Great characters and unexpected twists. I am so glad to have found this little treasure. I will listen to it again at some point!

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Wonderful!!

Multi layered. Great character development. A great overall experience. I wanted to live with all of them!

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