Broken

A long line of people wait quietly and patiently at her door. All kinds of people, rich, poor, young, old, some desperate, one for sure. She sees them every day, year in and year out. They will never leave her alone. She is a writer, the ones in line are characters waiting for their story to be told. It seems, she is growing tired of them. She is getting older, she takes pills. She sleeps, but her slumber is broken by a man in her room. He's cut in line, done the unthinkable and come in uninvited. He is the desperate one. He wants, no needs, his story to be told. He needs a name, a reason to exist and she decides to tell his story. She names him Alvar and so it begins. She makes him forty-two, gives him a job at an art gallery. His parents have passed away, he's never had a girlfriend, he lives alone, he is predictable. But he is good at his job, instinctively knowing what paintings will suit which customer and though apparently not well liked, he is not unliked either. He is just sort of there. Then his life starts to spin out of control. On occasion he visits his creator, wanting to know why she's written him the way she has, but she tells him, that once started the story takes on a life of it's own all because he did a good deed which turned out to be not such a good thing for Alvar. This story is more a character study than a mystery. It was not a bit like I'd expected it to be, but that's not a bad thing. I found myself reading it in small bits, then I'd put it down and think about it. I found this story both haunting and emotional. It's been over a month since I've read it and I'm still thinking about it on occasion. That is the mark of a very good story.

In Karin Fossum's "Broken," there are no serial killers, world-weary detectives, or abducted children. Instead, the "queen of Norwegian crime" has crafted a clever and involving story about a fifty-one year old novelist who feels compelled to write about the individuals who populate her imagination. One of them is a forty-two year old loner who cuts ahead of the others in line. He visits the author, begging her to tell his story, giving her suggestions about how she should proceed, hounding her to stop procrastinating, and generally making a nuisance of himself. The man, Alvar Eide, is solitary, neat, and obsessive. He is stooped, has thinning hair, and cannot connect emotionally with either men or women. "He had never distinguished himself, never caused a stir." Alvar works at an art gallery where he is a successful salesman, but in his private life, he is nervous and insecure. Alvar's limited composure is shaken when an emaciated and needy young heroin addict enters his life and starts making demands. How will he free himself from the strange hold that this pretty but pathetic girl has over him? On the other hand, can this unsettling relationship be just what he needs to shake him out of his lethargy? Complicating matters further, one day Eide's boss brings a powerful yet disturbing painting into the gallery that depicts an unfinished bridge reaching "halfway across the void, as if the project had been halted" or the structure had been severed. Alvar thinks, "It speaks to me in all its gloomy silence." He is mesmerized, since the broken bridge expresses just how he feels about his amputated life. He is tempted to purchase this expensive work, even though it would mean depleting his savings. "Broken" is a compelling look at the toll that the creative process can take on an artist who is driven by the need to write. The unnamed author drinks, smokes, and takes pills for anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Producing works of fiction is "a passion and a lifelong obsession" that gives her no peace. Her equanimity is disturbed by Alvar's visits, during which he stubbornly insists on expressing his opinions. The conversations between the two are hilarious as well as ironic. Where does this unprepossessing man come off challenging his creator's choices? In a strange way, though, the author and Alvar have some traits in common, especially their tendency to live vicariously. She tells Alvar, "You live in a fictitious world of people and landscapes. I live my life through all the characters I invent." This is a thoughtful book about writing and also a touching tale of a man whose spirit was shattered during his childhood. Alvar Eide is a sensitive and decent person who is mired in self-loathing. Will he be able confront and overcome his inner demons? The reader watches and waits, wondering what fate his puppet master has in store for him. The versatile Karin Fossum holds our interest without resorting to the formulaic plot

That's what this story is mainly about. First, because the reviews are very mixed, I want to warn people: Karin Fossum is best known for mysteries starring a police officer named Inspector Sejer. They are excellent books and apparently a lot of people (including me) mistakenly thought this was one of them. This is not part of the series and is not a mystery or action thriller. Some people were disappointed to find this out, and some others don't seem to like it when authors depart from their usual genres. This is a psychological novel involving basically three people: a writer and two fictional characters whom she interact with. The more I read, the better I liked it. The writer seems in control of the story. She creates Alvar, a middle-aged man who seems pretty obsessed with having total control over his life. Everything is neat and orderly. He has no friends or relationships and avoids contact with most people. He follows routines. He could be boring, but then another person enters his life who is his complete opposite. Lindys is a drug addict who admits she lives from hour to hour, does exactly what she wants, and follows no rules. She starts taking control of Alvar's life. Pretty soon you want to see how this ends, what happens to these two extreme personalities. The writer interacts less and less, indicating that she may not have the control over these characters that she thought she did. Don't underestimate Karin Fossum's talent. It's not a long book. The title comes from a painting Alvar thinks he has to have, as well as what happens to the story and the characters. Highly recommended. Note: This story of these two people reminded me of a novel I read a long time ago by Cornell Woolrich called Waltz Into Darkness. The same kind of action between a man and a woman was portrayed, although the author didn't step in. This is the man who wrote the classic Rear Window (I believe). You may want to look for it.

I've been a fan of Karin Fossum for a couple of years now and eagerly await a new book by her being translated to english so I was happy when I noticed this one last month. This book is about an author who literally brings her characters to life as she's writing about them. So the first chapter starts off with the main character, the author, describing in first person what she thinks is a break-in during the night. She is shocked to find that it is, in fact, the main character for a novel she had been planning sometime in the future but the character has jumped ahead in line and broken into her house because he is so desperate to have his story told. The remaining chapters go from the authors first person account of her writing the story, constantly being interrupted by the character, whom she names Alvar and then to second person point of view being told by Alvar. It's a really unusual way to get a feel for what it might be like to be a novelist/writer along with being a very interesting, suspenseful story as well. The book is translated very well, not much of the awkward sentence structure that I sometimes find with translated books...really the only thing you will have to "look up" for a frame of reference is the current exchange rate between Norwegian Krone to US Dollars just so you can understand the significance some of the things that go on. (it's around $1 USD to 6 NOK as of this writing) If you like Scandinavian authors and like mystery/crime as well, you will really enjoy this book and the writing style of this author (who is actually Norwegian, not Swedish as some people claim).

If you're a fan of Fossum's Konrad Sejer detective series, you might feel a bit disappointed that her latest novel `Broken' isn't part of the series but something rather different. You might even, having read the synopsis, imagine that this isn't going to be for you. It sounds a bit odd, doesn't it? One of her characters comes into her bedroom and talks to her. I admit I wasn't sure this was going to work. But I needn't have worried, and you needn't worry either. The mark of a really good writer is that whatever they write, it will be worth reading. And in any case, 'Broken' is not that dissimilar to Fossum's other books. In those there's often a social misfit who, through his inexperience of the world ends up in trouble, unintentionally and without malice. This is a theme Fossum has explored many times and she goes to town on it here. The misfit this time is Alvar Eide, who works at an art gallery, has no friends or family, and is socially inept, to an extreme degree. And yet, he's rather likeable. A bit weird, perhaps, but his weirdness is only an extreme version of what's in a lot of us. It's easy to empathise with Alvar - most of the time anyway. The book is all about him, and focuses very closely on him. We get to know him very well. And from different angles, because he's the character that pops into the author's house from time to time for a chat about how the plot's going. This is an odd device, but strangely, and contrary to my expectation, it works. You could read a lot into why Fossum does this. Is it to reveal something about her creative process, or about herself perhaps? It's hard to know because the 'author' is also a character, presumably. But to what extent? By letting the character talk to the author, and therefore the reader, off stage as it were, it in a way lets the reader into the process more than usual too. It shouldn't work. It's an odd thing to do. I've never come across it before, but I don't wish she hadn't done it. And Alvar's story is as compelling as anything else Fossum has written. There may not be a string of gruesome crimes and a police investigation (though the police are involved at some point...) but `Broken' is full of suspense and tension. I found myself getting quite worked up at times, almost wanting to shout at Alvar. He certainly is impossible at times. If he'd come into my house I would have given him some good advice, that's for sure. As usual, the writing is spare and concise. With the lightest touch Fossum lays the story before you so you see it like a movie running in your head. There's great skill in the writing but you never notice it. So then. A different kind of Karin Fossum novel. I thought I would miss Sejer and Skarre, and that old dog. But I didn't. Not for a second. This is a brilliant novel.