Product Description

You thought your neighbours were bad? Wait till you meet the Oswalds. They're crass, cruel and seemingly untouchable. Until, that is, they go one step too far -- and the results begin to tear an entire community apart. Skunk Cunningham is an eleven-year-old girl in a coma. She has a loving dad, an absent mother and a brother who plays more X-Box than is good for him. She also has the neighbours from hell: the five Oswald girls and their thuggish father Bob, vicious bullies all of them, whose reign of terror extends unchallenged over their otherwise quiet suburban street. And yet terrifying though they undoubtedly are, the stiletto-wearing, cider-swilling Oswald girls are also sexy -- so when Saskia asks shy, virginal Rick Buckley for a ride in his new car, he can't believe his luck. Too bad that Saskia can't keep her big mouth shut. When, after a quick fumble, she broadcasts Rick's deficiencies to anyone who will listen, it puts ideas into her younger sister's silly head -- ideas that will see Rick dragged off to prison, humiliated, and ultimately, in his father's words, 'broken' by the experience.From her hospital bed, Skunk guides us through the events that follow, as Saskia's small act of thoughtlessness slowly spreads through the neighbourhood in a web of increasing violence. Skunk watches as her shabby, hardworking father finds love, only for her courageous, idealistic teacher to lose it; as poor 'Broken' Buckley descends into madness, while across the street her brother Jed makes his first adolescent forays into sex; and as her own gentle romance with soft-hearted, tough-talking Dillon struggles to survive against a backdrop that seamlessly combines the sublime and the ridiculous. As we inch ever closer to the mystery behind her coma, Skunk's innocence becomes a beacon by which we navigate a world as comic as it is tragic, and as effortlessly engaging as it is ultimately uplifting, in this brilliant and utterly original debut novel.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #277309 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Amazon.co.uk

About the Author ~ Daniel Clay
Daniel Clay is thirty seven years old and married with no children. He lives in Hampshire in the UK.

Exclusive Amazon.co.uk Interview with Daniel Clay

What is Broken. A Novel about?

Part narrated by Skunk Cunningham, an eleven-year-old girl in a coma, Broken. A Novel tells the intertwining stories of three families who live in a suburban square in the south of England. The Oswalds – Bob and his five daughters – are the neighbors from hell. They lie, steal, cheat, bully and intimidate anyone unlucky enough to be anywhere near them, including Rick Buckley, a geeky but harmless nineteen-year-old boy who lives with his mum and dad on the other side of the square. Humiliated publicly by the Oswalds in the early stages of the novel, Rick descends into madness and becomes the Broken of the title. Skunk, her brother Jed and their new friend Dillon become fascinated with what’s happened to Broken which, in turn, leads to Skunk ending up in the coma from which she narrates the story.

What inspired you to write it?

My starting point were the family structures in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird and how much society has changed in the eighty or so years since the events depicted in that novel took place. Once I had that starting point, I wanted to write about life as I saw it at the time I was writing – mad and cruel and random, yet always capable of surprising you, and always somehow worthwhile.

Who are your literary influences?

As a teenager, James Herbert and Stephen King were huge influences because they created characters I believed in and cared about. Since then, I’ve tended to love individual novels rather than particular authors. Orwell’s 1984, Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time, and Kem Nunn’s Tapping The Source are all novels I’ve now read several times (and wish I had written).

If you could recommend just one "must-read book" to anyone, what would it be and why?

Clive Barker’s Weaveworld. The same as the Harry Potter series, it has that knack of layering the fantastical over everyday life, but it’s darker and sexier and tinged with more horror as well. A magical read.

What top tips do you have for anyone looking to write their first book?

Write for the thrill of it and write for yourself. Try to surprise yourself. Try to shock yourself. Never try to write something that doesn’t excite you right from the outset. Never try to write what you think an editor or agent wants you to write. Think about how you can grab a reader’s attention and then not let them put your work down. Look at the writers who do this to you and compare their style to your style. Try to understand why they’re different. Try to do something about it. Read as widely as you can. Polish as hard as you can. And, most of all, have fun, enjoy yourself, challenge yourself, and never let the rejections stop you from writing.

Reviews for Broken. A Novel

We are not the only ones to love this book. Check out a selection of reviews below. As you can see a lot of the reviews have been written by our own Amazon customers. These are reviewers from our Amazon Vine programme. Scroll down to the customer review section to see all of the reviews submitted.

Bold, prescient, engaging, and oddly touching. Guardian

A stunning first book … I’d be amazed if it doesn't get short-listed at awards time. Murray, Amazon Vine top reviewer

Daniel Clay has managed to weave a tale that simultaneously highlights some of the more disturbing aspects of contemporary British society whilst capturing some of the sweet innocence of a child’s mind... gripping. H. Pierce, Amazon Vine top reviewer

Reminiscent of Angela's Ashes set in the present day – there is humour and warmth, and a surprisingly upbeat, satisfying ending. I think this is probably the best new fiction I have read in the last year. P. M. Fernandez, Amazon Vine top reviewer

This book grabbed me and I could not put it down… It will make you laugh, cry and gasp with horror. Kehs, Amazon Vine top reviewer

Beautifully written … I couldn't put the book down. It contains humour and is incredibly touching. I will certainly be looking out for Daniel Clay’s next book. Recommended to all. SM, Amazon Vine top reviewer

Review
'Bold, prescient, engaging, and oddly touching' Laura Wilson, Guardian 'It's funny and sad and moving ! and ultimately very engaging.' Francesca Segal, Observer 'A seething indignation propels the narrative to its violent conclusion' Arena Praise from 'Amazon Vine' reviewers: 'A very good novel, well-written and compulsively readable.' 'This book grabbed me and I could not put it down!This book is shouting out to be read. It will make you laugh, cry and gasp with horror.' 'This is fantastic. Very disturbing, but so good.' 'Daniel Clay's first novel "Broken" may be set to achieve the same impact as [Iain] Banks's debut ["The Wasp Factory"] 25 years ago! I look forward to his next book.' 'I almost couldn't read the last 6-10 pages I was crying so much! ! I was totally hooked.' 'I just couldn't put it down! Having read "The Lovely Bones", I can see where comparisons can be drawn, but enjoyed this book more.' 'A surprisingly humorous, compassionate and empathic story!reminiscent of "Angela's Ashes" set in the present day!there is humour and warmth, and a surprisingly upbeat, satisfying ending.'

About the Author
Daniel Clay is thirty seven years old and married with no children. He lives in Hampshire in the UK.

Customer Reviews

Compelling
I loved this boook. I never write reviews and felt I had to for this novel. Certainly, it's the best new novel I've read in a while. This book really draws you into the characters and the story runs along at quite a pace. At times it is depressing - the very harsh and realistic picture it paints of the Oswald family makes you realise just how close to the truth these characters are in today's society - but then it also has a lot of humour. You'll laugh and cry (or I nearly did, but I was on the tube so held it togther) and you'll be genuinley horrified at times. A brilliant first novel, certainly hooked me.

Astounding New Talent
This is definitely the best book I have read so far this year, I know it's going to be up there in my top ten books of all time - a keeper for me.

I'd call this a modern-day 'To Kill A Mockingbird' - and I'm sure that Daniel Clay has based his story on Harper Lee's original novel. Set in a street in modern day Southampton and narrated by Skunk who is laying in a coma and lives with her brother Jed and lawyer single father Archie - the 'Broken' of the title is nineteen year old Rick Buckley who plunges into a spiral of madness after being falsely accused by one of the Oswald sisters. The Oswald family are brilliantly depicted - five tearaway girls with an oafish, beer swilling, dope smoking Father who lets them run riot but will defend them to the end.

As the Oswald family become more and more uncontrollable, the consequences of their actions spread throughout the whole street. The novel shows how one disfunctional family can affected a whole community. We watch Broken slowly descend deeper and deeper into madness - we see how this affects his Mother and Father and how the system sadly fails him. We watch the effect the Oswald girls have on the other youngsters in the area - some of the bullying scence are horrific and very violent, but so emotional, you can feel the fear.

Skunk is such a real and likeable heroine - at the start of the book she is laying in a coma and narrates her story from there. The story is told in a very real and intelligent way, yet so easy to read and be drawn in by. It is often painful to read as you see the inevitable happening, yet cant do anything to stop it but you have to read on. There are very touching moments and also some laugh out load funny moments.

Each character is perfectly formed and rounded. I really found it hard to put this book down once I'd picked it up and hope that Daniel Clay will write more, and very soon.

Anyone who enjoyed Mark Haddon's 'A Spot of Bother' will love this book

Poignant, gripping and a little terrifying
This book was absolutely unputdownable, from the moment I got sucked into Skunk's world to the bitter ending. It is an utterly gripping read, with a cast of colourful, woefully realistic characters that provoke a number of reactions in the reader, from warmth to recoiling in disgust.

Ultimately, this is a story about love, but not like any other love story you'll have read lately. It's dark, macabre in places, and yet the well-meaningness of the various acts perpetrated shines through and you cannot quite hate anyone (with the exception perhaps of the Oswald girls) no matter what happens. With a sharp, vicious commentary shining through on the downsides of our legal system and the sheer horror people go through after being falsely accused, the book is absolutely eye-opening desipte its sad and poignant story.

Amazing modern fiction, chilling and heartwarming, well worth a read.