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A review by jkkenobi
Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard
4.0
4.5 Stars
Beautiful Broken Things is both a debut novel by Sara Barnard, and the first of her books that I read, and I fell instantly in love with her writing style. It is incredibly natural, and very readable, if you understand me. It’s as comfortable as a conversation with your bestie on the couch over a cuppa.
So few books deal purely with platonic relationships: Inevitably, somewhere in the story, romance creeps in. One of the refreshing and captivating aspects of this novel, for me, was that it centred on the tribulations of platonic friendship, and the author paints platonic relationships beautifully.
Rosie presents as a forthright, confident girl, who is honest in the way real friends should be able to be, whilst remaining lovable all the while. Caddy is lovable yet exasperating in equal measure. She is surprisingly self-aware in some ways, yet blind to her own strengths. She has a touching loyalty to her friends and so often knows the ‘right’ thing to do…..but seemed so rarely to do it! Viewed from the side-lines, she is frustratingly relatable throughout!
Suzanne…is beautifully broken. And thus a ‘platonic love triangle’ is born.
As an advocate of breaking the stigma surrounding mental health issues, I was delighted to see a fringe character’s bipolar disorder represented in a matter-of-fact light, while Suzanne’s issues were tackled head-on and sensitively portrayed.
The plot glides on an escalating helter-skelter towards an unknown yet obviously looming disaster, and much like the metaphorical train wreck, I simply could not look away. An enchanting novel to the end.
Beautiful Broken Things is both a debut novel by Sara Barnard, and the first of her books that I read, and I fell instantly in love with her writing style. It is incredibly natural, and very readable, if you understand me. It’s as comfortable as a conversation with your bestie on the couch over a cuppa.
So few books deal purely with platonic relationships: Inevitably, somewhere in the story, romance creeps in. One of the refreshing and captivating aspects of this novel, for me, was that it centred on the tribulations of platonic friendship, and the author paints platonic relationships beautifully.
Rosie presents as a forthright, confident girl, who is honest in the way real friends should be able to be, whilst remaining lovable all the while. Caddy is lovable yet exasperating in equal measure. She is surprisingly self-aware in some ways, yet blind to her own strengths. She has a touching loyalty to her friends and so often knows the ‘right’ thing to do…..but seemed so rarely to do it! Viewed from the side-lines, she is frustratingly relatable throughout!
Suzanne…is beautifully broken. And thus a ‘platonic love triangle’ is born.
As an advocate of breaking the stigma surrounding mental health issues, I was delighted to see a fringe character’s bipolar disorder represented in a matter-of-fact light, while Suzanne’s issues were tackled head-on and sensitively portrayed.
The plot glides on an escalating helter-skelter towards an unknown yet obviously looming disaster, and much like the metaphorical train wreck, I simply could not look away. An enchanting novel to the end.