Goodreads, as fantastic as it is, is not something I started making use of until I joined my book club. I knew it existed, but I never bothered to really investigate it or look into it in detail until my friends in my book club strongly recommended using it. I haven’t looked back ever since, and aside from being rather helpful in the context of recording books you’ve read, Goodreads allows users to explore popular books at any given time.
As a result of my book club broadening my preferred reading genres, I often look at books that Goodreads recommends, making recommendations based on other material you have read. One book that continued to make an appearance in the popular section was Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall, and I finally got around to reading it.
This book might be my favourite one I have read so far this year, and I don’t say that without sincerity. I absolutely fucking loved it and would recommend it to any reader because the writing is positively brilliant. This was the first book I’ve read by Leslie Hall, and I have no doubt I’ll be exploring more of her work because she is such a talented storyteller.
Broken Country tells the story of a young woman named Beth who finds herself in a precarious predicament. She is happily married to a sheep farmer named Frank and aids him on the farm. Beth is shocked to learn that her first-ever lover from her teenage years has moved back to their town and is residing in a neighbouring home.
I refuse to spoil anything about this book because it is that spectacular, but allow me to say that this book is so much more than a love story. The ending positively blew my mind, and I have no doubt this text will remain with me for quite a while after reading it. It is, without a doubt, a read.
Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash
