Broken Country

I’ve heard so much about this book but somehow the title was a deterrent. My advice to anyone who thinks the same - don’t. It’s a beautiful book filled with raw emotion.

When I first read the blurb, it thought it was just another love story - loss, love, relationships and grief. Honestly, it didn't grab me. But thank God I gave it a chance, because this book will stay with me for a very long time. It's one of those rare stories that made me angry with the good characters and sympathise with the flawed ones. This kind of love story you don't come across easy, trust me. The story revolves around three main characters Beth, Gabriel and Frank. Beth and Gabriel the classic childhood sweethearts destined for heartbreak. And then Frank the steady knight who swoops in to save the girl already broken once. Years later Frank and Beth have built a quiet happy life with their son Bobby, until tragedy strikes. The grief of such a loss never really goes away, but they continue to try. Enter Gabriel(celebrity author) returning to his hometown along with his son Leo. Beth, Gabriel, Frank and Leo's lives get entangled into a roller coaster they cannot seem to switch off. Temptation, sacrifice, love, parenthood, relationships all swirled into one big pot. Beth still loves Gabriel, but she also loves Frank. It sounds that simple, right? The way Hall weaves this tale, is nothing short of masterful. Imagine a John Grisham tension blended with a Liane Moriarty's emotional depth It is a must read-I cannot say it enough.

The beauty of the book is the well-developed characters - the star crossed lovers, the interfering mother, the sacrificing husband. It’s a story about class, parenthood, guilt, and deep family ties. There is a nice twist towards the end, and all the loose ends neatly tie up together. By the end of the book, it will feel like a Bollywood movie plot though. It’s a pleasant read; enough to make you shed a few tears and sigh, if that’s your thing.

Clare has woven the plot in a very wholesome manner providing all answers to a tale with many twists and turns.

Wonderful read.

Beth has a quiet, weather-beaten existence with Frank, her kind, earthy husband, on a Dorset sheep farm. They circle one another with the sort of gentleness that may only be created by shared tragedy—something unspoken, yet ever there. Into this tenuous quiet enters Gabriel, Beth's first love, now returned with his son and the burden of his own loss. As soon as he re-enters her world, past and present start to bleed together. What held me wasn't just the story—it was the structure. Clare does not present the story in linear fashion. Rather, she allows it to come together in pieces, memory by memory. The circularity of time reflecting the operation of trauma—never linear, never actually left behind—is a powerful echo throughout. Each flashback, each minutiae—a barking dog's noise, a lost photograph, a held glance too long—accumulates quiet significance, until they finally cohere with jolting clarity in a late twist that actually surprised me. I didn't anticipate it—and I wanted to reread the entire novel all over again with fresh eyes. Nitisha echoes my thoughts that this isn't a straightforward second-chance romance. It has multitudes—grief, loyalty, longing, the tension between duty and need. There's a courtroom drama, certainly, but its tension lies in not legalities—but in emotion, in person, in who we trust and why. The sibling connection adds complexity without mawkishness, rooting the characters above romance. And then, of course, there is Frank. Solid, kind, and quietly heartbreaking. He's not the dramatic pick, but he's the heart of this book.Was wearing the full depth of his love by the end of it—that hug scene is branded on our hearts! It's not a hug. It's all the unspoken things, all the suffering.

I was disappointed as primarily the book turned out into a Mills and Boon type narrative. The author does not go into the depth of the main characters. Beth the protagonist seamlessly moves from her first relationship and love with Gabriel to Frank an honest hard working reliable and steady farmer. As soon as Gabriel reappears in her life that too after 11 years she goes back into a passionate relationship with him with no compunctions or feelings of guilt. Implausible at least to me. Can a woman be like that - women would know better. And Frank he quietly accepts it with no hatred towards Beth. Strange. He is even civil and polite with Gabriel. Even more strange. I found this rather unreal. Granted a writers liberty but this could have been handled in greater depth and exploration in the minds of the characters. The countryside and life on a farm is very well described. I liked the supporting characters of Jimmy - Frank's brother and his girlfriend Nina. Also very implausible the denoument of the murder - shot by an eleven year old boy! Unreal! The Trial did not grip you! If I were the author Frank would have shot Gabriel,got away with it and asked Beth to leave him and go ahead and seek a new lover! What would you have done?

It’s a pirated copy…. I was surprised when I saw hardcover for cheaper price than paperback but yeah got my answer…

Loved this beautiful story and the end was quite the surpise. Great writing and I look forward to another book from this author

I enjoyed this book. I did figure out the murder pretty early in but that is just me. It’s what I do. But the book was very engaging. I enjoyed the author’s writing style. I would recommend.

Good

Enjoyed this book ! Characters had real depth & I got really lost in the story. Thoroughly enjoyed this book !

Didn't want to pay 9.99 for a book so waited for a while but price didn't change, the sample was so good was desperate to read it. Paid the price and it was worth every penny. The writing was so good, each character and situation properly explored and it just flowed. Was disappointed to finish it, had sympathy for them all, but glad the ending was so good and not rushed as some books tend to be. This is a fantastic writer, have already bought another of her books and look forward to more..