OVERVIEW
This is my first book by Clare Leslie Hall and her debut in North America under this name. It was also a Reese Book Club choice for March 2025. Normally, most celebrity book club selections don't work for me, but this was an outlier.
For me, one of the signs of a good book is IF you stay up late to read it, can't put it down, or think about it when you are not reading it. This book hit on all three!
OVERALL REVIEW: 4.5 stars
Writing: 5.0 stars
The writing is excellent. Clare is a descriptive, lyrical, and vivid writer.
Character development: 5.0 stars
The main characters are Beth (a local village girl), Gabriel (an upperclass boy from the "big house"), and Frank (a local farmer).
The secondary characters are Jimmy (Frank's brother), Louisa (Gabriel's friend), plus Leo and Bobby (who are important children in the story).
The tertiary characters are Tessa (Gabriel's mother), Gabriel, Beth, Frank's parents and siblings, as well as the local villagers, Oxford friends, and all the assorted normal characters in a historical novel.
There was strong character development, which I loved. Although I didn't always like some of these characters or their life choices, it was well done.
Storyline: 3.5 stars
This is the weakest part of the novel for me. There were too many timelines to follow and understand, with a "Before"/1955 timeline, a 1968 timeline, a "Trial"/1969 timeline (slight spoiler), and a 1975 timeline.
Bottom line, the story opens with a rambunctious dog killing newborn lambs, which gets shot by a local farmer, setting off an intense chain of events between the timelines.
The main locations were in England, including Dorset, Cambridge, and London.
Memorable/Informative: 4.5 stars
This is a slightly spicy book, which just isn't my thing. I don't need to be in others' bedrooms.
I loved learning about family farms in Dorset, England, during the 1950s and 1960s. It was a hard life, but it all revolved around the family, farm, and local village.
Book cover: 5.0 stars
So pretty, yet forboding.
Book title: 5.0 stars
On point!
Strong recommend
Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow: ebook
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
319 pages
Simon & Schuster
Release date: 3/4/2025
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Clare Leslie Hall
Goodreads review
Storygraph review
Simon and Schuster
Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL)
TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Death, death of an animal, death of a parent, death of a child, gun violence, infidelity, sexual situations, murder, witchcraft, grief, medical content, blood, pregnancy, childbirth, alcohol, alcoholism, classism, and moderate cursing.
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
