Book Review: Heartbroken

Heartbroken by Lisa Unger is another fantastic novel by the author. I like her books – I will say here that if you’ve read something by her and disliked it, then you should just move along. Even had I not known she’d written it when I started, I would have figured it out very quickly. She has a characteristic voice and style that, I think, reaches in, grabs your heart, and squeezes it. Also, you don’t get happily ever after. You don’t really even get happy for now. You get resolution and poignancy, certainly, but you also inevitably end up with a bit of heartache for what might have, perhaps should have, been.

Heartbroken introduces you to around 3 generations of women and the dysfunction and heartbreak that have combined to make their lives what they are. There is mystery. There are ghosts. (Not scary ones – more the echoing, longing type.) There are twists and turns and hills and deep, deep valleys. (The last two being more from an emotional standpoint than actually discussing terrain – terrain-wise there’s an island. I only say that on the off chance that you only read books about islands. Then, hey, this one’s for you!)

I don’t feel like I can say much more without either parroting the back cover (which you can go read on Amazon – link in the first line) or giving too much away. But I will say this: it is so incredibly worth reading. Lisa Unger knows how to craft a story.

(I suppose I ought to mention that this is not Christian fiction. It’s mainstream. As such, there are mainstream plot issues. While it’s mostly clean, it’s not devoid of real, sinful, hurting people doing what real, sinful hurting people do when they don’t turn to God for help.)