Broken as Things Are

"Many first novels are stories about coming of age in a dysfunctional family; few are as daring or poised as Hillsborough-native Martha Witt's Broken as Things Are, a Southern gothic tale of obsession . . . Morgan-Lee is one of the most complex and intriguing adolescents to grace the pages of a novel in quite some time."—Ruth Ann Grissom, The Charlotte Observer

"A love letter to the world . . . Reading Broken as Things Are is [like reading] Emily Dickinson's poems, strange, but wonderfully wonderful. The only other reading experience I can compare this book with is Housekeeping by Marilyn Robinson, a contemporary classic that has been kept in print for twenty years by word-of-mouth praises."—The Pilot (North Carolina)

"Seductive . . . The reward of this intense read is a sister's thoughtful struggle for a way to love her sibling without losing herself."—Entertainment Weekly

"A sensitive Southern tale of weirdly imaginative children and hapless adults. Ms. Witt has staked out a territory somewhere between Harper Lee and Flannery O'Connor."—E. L. Doctorow

"Broken as Things Are is an enviable, soul-affirming novel. I'll never forget the characters, or the dilemma, haunting Martha Witt's particular American South."—Haven Kimmel, author of A Girl Named Zippy and Something Rising

"Witt's Broken as Things Are is an impressive debut indeed: a strong and beguiling new voice in the tough-Southern-gothic vein of Carson McCullers and Flannery O'Connor."—John Barth, author of The Sot-Weed Factor

"Broken as Things Are is an intriguing, heartfelt novel, rendered in a voice that is both precise and emotionally provocative; readers should enjoy its insights into family life and the revealed nature of those relationships."—Oscar Hijuelos, author of A Simple Habana Melody

"Broken as Things Are is that book you have been looking for: an unjaded tale of childhood told fondly and masterfully. Nothing less than the firefly of girlhood captured in the jar of Witt's marvelous prose."—Andrew Sean Greer, author of The Confessions of Max Tivoli

"A comedy of sorrows—written with a poet's precision, a compelling story of young love that effortlessly crosses the border between reality and mystery, gathering into itself insights and revelations available only to a highly singular and deeply human imagination"—Joseph Caldwell, author of Bread for the Baker's Child

"Witt's riveting debut is a disturbing, accomplished novel . . . Wildly imaginative and intelligent . . . An often profound, unsetting story of children struggling to understand love, truth, and sacrifice."—Booklist

"Everything you come upon seems absolutely new. A real wonder."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)