Broken Country

★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

288 pages

What’s it about?

It is 1968, and Beth is living on a farm in rural England with her husband Frank.  They have weathered the loss of their nine-year-old son Bobby and are slowly making their way back to each other when Beth's first love, Gabriel, and his son, Leo, show up in their yard.  Tensions rise as Beth and Gabriel are drawn back into one another's lives.

What did it make me think about?

Women's lives in 1968.

Should I read it?

This was just a good page-turner.  The characters were each well-written, and the tension builds slowly. The farm itself and the way of life that is depicted in 1968 are an integral part of the story. There are just enough twists and turns to keep you interested.  I have no doubt we will all be watching this on Netflix in a year or two.  I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a thoughtful thriller.  It would make a great vacation read.

A passage I marked

"I know how this village works.  The snooping, the chatter, a whispering undercurrent that blows through the lanes and the churchyard, the school, the shop, filters beneath the doors, behind windows.  I know how the people watch, how they talk and conspire.  Secrets are not safe here.  They are harbored and chewed over until the people decide to release them, splintering lives with perfectly timed, needlepoint precision."