The Breaks
A Novel
Ellen Barker
- A
- contemporary
- literary
- novel
- about
- an
- unlikely
- friendship
- between
- two
- very
- different
- women,
- The
- Breaks
- will
- appeal
- to
- fans
- of
- Eleanor
- Oliphant
- Is
- Completely
- Fine.Waking
- up
- in
- the
- emergency
- room
- with
- a
- broken
- arm
- is
- not
- one
- of
- the
- ways
- Marianne
- imagined
- her
- first
- date
- with
- Carl,
- if
- it
- is
- a
- date,
- ending
- up.
- Nor
- was
- driving
- up
- to
- the
- entrance
- of
- a
- women’s
- prison
- a
- few
- weeks
- later
- anywhere
- on
- her
- radar.
- But
- here
- she
- is.
- At
- least
- I’m
- on
- this
- side
- of
- the
- gate.
- She
- picks
- up
- newly
- released
- Stephanie,
- as
- a
- favor
- to
- a
- nun
- she
- barely
- knows,
- returns
- to
- her
- East
- of
- Troost
- home,
- and
- finds
- herself
- immersed
- in
- a
- whole
- new
- drama.East
- of
- Troost
- is
- Marianne’s
- childhood
- neighborhood,
- downtrodden
- by
- decades
- of
- redlining
- and
- a
- wide
- swath
- of
- destruction
- to
- make
- way
- for
- an
- expressway.
- Marianne
- moves
- back
- after
- a
- reversal
- of
- fortune
- limits
- her
- options.
- She
- repairs
- the
- house
- and
- deals
- with
- a
- couple
- of
- “incidents”—hence
- her
- acquaintance
- with
- Officer
- Carl.Meanwhile,
- Sister
- Colette
- bought
- the
- house
- behind
- her
- and
- is
- taking
- in
- women
- who,
- in
- her
- words,
- need
- to
- learn
- to
- “just
- live.”
- As
- Stephanie
- helps
- Marianne
- cope
- with
- her
- broken
- arm,
- she
- gradually
- comes
- out
- of
- her
- shell
- and
- teaches
- Marianne
- a
- thing
- or
- two
- about
- just living.
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