The Break

Product Information

The women in this woven story are so wonderful. Vulnerable and wary, curious and funny, loving and strong. But not that cliched type of strong that's so prevalent and often forced in fiction today. They aren't ~strong female characters~ because they were put through the wringer and made battered and broken for the reader's sake and that's why you're supposed to love them. No, they're strong because that's how they were raised and because of the strong bonds they have with each other. I fell in love with the women of this book. In fact, I think this is the book that has made me feel the most while reading it.

The Breaks — Julietta Singh The Breaks — Julietta Singh

But I'm feeling a misery in the same way I felt it after reading Birdie. We can argue that the women in this book are strong and resilient, but I'm so sorry that they're put to the test at all, and I don't know what I can possibly do to help them, or share the wealth of fortune that's allowed me to land in a life very different from theirs. Ron Rash is renowned for his writing about Appalachia, but his latest book, The Caretaker, begins ... Katherena Vermette ist selbst eine Red River Métis und in Winnipeg geboren. In ihrem Roman gibt sie den Lesenden viel Wissen über die indigene Bevölkerung Kanadas weiter. Sie berichtet von offenem Rassismus und solchem in Form von Mikroaggressionen innerhalb von Beziehungen zwischen weißen und indigenen Personen, von der Polizei, die auf die Indigenen herabschaut und ihre Probleme nicht ernst nimmt, sie als lästig empfindet und von der ständigen Sexualisierung und dem Missbrauch indigener Kanadierinnen. Gerade letzteres macht auch auf die verschwundenen indigenen Frauen Kanadas aufmerksam und ist gerade mit diesem Hintergrund besonders erschütternd.

Contact Us

The Break is a harrowing yet lucidly written intergenerational family saga that examines the repercussions of a horrific act of violence. It’s unrelenting and it’s horrific and it was hard to put down. Even the “bad guys” aren’t all bad when you know how they got here. Katherena Vermette’s novel, is in a word, bleak. In saying that, it’s not an attempt to dissuade potential readers, just know that I found it tough to get through. On a positive note, while the subject matter is trying, many of the characters act as beacons of hope for a culture and crises that are often overlooked. I cannot fathom the feelings and thoughts that come with this kind of trauma, this book helped me with a small realization of that and I appreciate this book for making topics such as these open. It takes a few moments for her words to sink in. Then, to my great surprise, something stirs in me, something hopeful that, after the last five horrible days, feels like the sweetest relief. In a small recess of my soul a tiny pilot light sparks into life.

The Break: British Book Awards Author of the Year 2022

The Break is a place between two rows of houses. In the winter it is bleak and cold. A young woman named Stella lives on the Break with her husband and two young children. There she witnesses something horrible and extremely violent. No one believes her. Not the police or her husband. If numbers are able to provide any sort of comfort, numbers like four, seven, 28 certainly do for me. It's both a cultural and a personal comfort. It's based on teachings I've received, and those teachings provide me with great comfort. In the overwhelmingness of writing a novel, these numbers were a useful kind of goal. It kind of made the big scary novel more manageable." Katherena Vermette's debut novel The Break is a powerful family saga told by three generations of Indigenous women living in Winnipeg's North End. The novel was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for fiction and the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. Jeff gets up, stands behind her at the sink and pulls her into his arms, forcing her into a hug. She waits until he's done so she can ring out the wet cloth. I nod. Hugh’s dad died eight months ago, and Hugh had shut down. ‘I thought that if enough time passed he’d be okay.’The Breaks is amazing—I read the whole thing through in one sitting. It’s got the heft and staying power of Baldwin’s A Letter to My Nephew.’ – Lauren Berlant

The Break by Katherena Vermette | Goodreads The Break by Katherena Vermette | Goodreads

You’re so cruel!’ she says. ‘You try being a little girl’ (she means herself) ‘whose mum is in hospital for months on end with tuberculosis at a time when tuberculosis wasn’t even a thing, when it was years out of date. A little girl who has four younger brothers and sisters, who won’t stop crying, and a big, cold house, which is falling to bits, and a dad who can’t cope. Yes, I have an over-developed sense of responsibility but . . .’ Rowan doesn't remember what happened the day her daughter came into the world. However, she does have flashes of memory of is how she almost her hurt her friend and her daughter's babysitter. As she starts to put the pieces together, things come to light then her friend is found dead, and she was the last one to see her. Is she going crazy or is someone trying to hurt her and her child?? Honestly, it often felt like the author was winging the plot and seeing where it took her versus writing with real intention.Boundaries of belonging: differential fees for overseas students in Britain, c. 1967 - Jodi Burkett This is the story of four generations of Metis women and their families. It explores their love for one another and bond through life’s daily struggles, stresses and horrors. It is a heart-breaking and haunting novel that will stay with me for quite a while. The Break was a power house novel. I will say it does start out a bit slow but it only helped in the build up to what was going on. I don't mind the slow burn as it gives you time to absorb the characters and the plot. The twist was absolutely wild and had my jaw on the ground. As always, Katie Sise, spoke straight to my thriller loving heart and gave me exactly what I had wanted.... A Five Star read.

The Break: A gripping psychological thriller with a nerve The Break: A gripping psychological thriller with a nerve

She seems surprised. ‘If your husband is “on a break” from your marriage’ – she does the quotation marks with her fingers – ‘then aren’t you’ – more quotation marks – ‘“on a break” too?’ It's a powerful book and one I'm very glad to have read. My lone peeve, though, was the incessant use of the F-word.🤬 I'm sure the author wanted the dialogue to be a true TOO MANY CHARACTERS - I'm a big fan of the multi-character perspective and I understand that writing from the POV of 10 characters is a tremendous challenge and sadly, one I feel that Vermette fell slightly short of. (Though it would be remiss of me not to mention I highly admire Vermette for the incredible amount of respect and empathy she has for all her characters.)

Reviews

The themes of pain, abuse, trauma and the stories & fear that we are forced to carry as women and people of colour were very well explored and the language (despite the constant repetition of the word 'gross' which bugged me slightly) was beautiful, simple and poetic.