The House of Broken Bricks
Author: Fiona Williams
Published by: Faber & Faber
Pages: 380
Format: Hardback
My Rating: ★★★★
Published by: Faber & Faber
Pages: 380
Format: Hardback
My Rating: ★★★★
“Ain’t nothing wrong with being broken. Nothing at all. You’re like these houses, not a whole brick in ‘em and look how strong you are.”
As Tess Traces the sunrise over the floodplains, light that paints the house a startling crimson, she yearns for the comforting chaos of life as it once was, for Max and Sonny – her rainbow twins – still tracking dirt through the kitchen. Instead, Tess absorbs the quiet. The night draws in, the soil cools and her husband Richard fights to get his winter crops planted rather than deal with the discussion he cannot bear to have.
Secrets and vines clamber over their home’s broken red bricks, and although its inhabitants seem to be withering, in the damp, crumbling soil – Sonny knows it – something is stirring…
As the seasons change, and the cracks let in more light, the family might just be able to start to heal.
“Ain’t nothing wrong with being broken. Nothing at all. You’re like these houses, not a whole brick in ‘em and look how strong you are.”
As Tess Traces the sunrise over the floodplains, light that paints the house a startling crimson, she yearns for the comforting chaos of life as it once was, for Max and Sonny – her rainbow twins – still tracking dirt through the kitchen. Instead, Tess absorbs the quiet. The night draws in, the soil cools and her husband Richard fights to get his winter crops planted rather than deal with the discussion he cannot bear to have.
Secrets and vines clamber over their home’s broken red bricks, and although its inhabitants seem to be withering, in the damp, crumbling soil – Sonny knows it – something is stirring…
As the seasons change, and the cracks let in more light, the family might just be able to start to heal.
My thoughts:
This novel pulled at my heartstrings. I read this as part of a group readalong where we were asked to read a certain number of pages each day, but as soon as I picked up the book there were many times when it was just too difficult to tear myself away.
Written with overlapping perspectives, the story centres around a mixed-race family who have moved from Brixton, south London, and are now living in rural England. Readers are gifted a window into this family. We dive into the complex trauma of the parents, each of which we get to experience from their own point of view. Readers also get the point of view of their two children, Sonny and Max.
Structurally, the book is well crafted. The story is divided by fours in more ways than one. Each quarter of the book follows one of the four seasons in the English countryside, and each of these seasons reflects ‘a season’ of the family’s journey.
The pacing is fairly slow over the course of the book, but Williams keeps the reader enthralled with her wonderfully descriptive writing. The book focuses on the most difficult year in the life of this family, alongside the changing seasons of their home next to a river. The occupants in the village also bring light and shade and comfort to this fractured family.
The interior heartbreak in each family member draws them steadily away from each other until we slowly see some healing revealed in each individual and in the family as a whole.
The House of Broken Bricks is a fiction debut about a multicultural family reconnecting after a joined grief threatens to split them apart. It is a literary fiction novel with beautiful, lyrical prose and stunning nature writing. A powerful, brave and heart-warming character study centred around family. Beyond dealing with love and heartbreak, this novel also examines themes of loss, nature, and community. Despite at times feeling quite heavy, there is a perfect blend of hope and beauty amongst the sadness in Williams’ writing.
The reveal of the story feels inevitable in the best way possible. There are no cheap twists thrown in. Instead, Williams slowly reveals what has already happened in a way that’s deeply bittersweet and memorable.
Thank you to Tandem Collective and the publisher for inviting me to take part in the readalong and gifting me an early copy to review. It was a pleasure to read this remarkable debut.
Overall reaction:
This novel pulled at my heartstrings. I read this as part of a group readalong where we were asked to read a certain number of pages each day, but as soon as I picked up the book there were many times when it was just too difficult to tear myself away.
Written with overlapping perspectives, the story centres around a mixed-race family who have moved from Brixton, south London, and are now living in rural England. Readers are gifted a window into this family. We dive into the complex trauma of the parents, each of which we get to experience from their own point of view. Readers also get the point of view of their two children, Sonny and Max.
Structurally, the book is well crafted. The story is divided by fours in more ways than one. Each quarter of the book follows one of the four seasons in the English countryside, and each of these seasons reflects ‘a season’ of the family’s journey.
The pacing is fairly slow over the course of the book, but Williams keeps the reader enthralled with her wonderfully descriptive writing. The book focuses on the most difficult year in the life of this family, alongside the changing seasons of their home next to a river. The occupants in the village also bring light and shade and comfort to this fractured family.
The interior heartbreak in each family member draws them steadily away from each other until we slowly see some healing revealed in each individual and in the family as a whole.
The House of Broken Bricks is a fiction debut about a multicultural family reconnecting after a joined grief threatens to split them apart. It is a literary fiction novel with beautiful, lyrical prose and stunning nature writing. A powerful, brave and heart-warming character study centred around family. Beyond dealing with love and heartbreak, this novel also examines themes of loss, nature, and community. Despite at times feeling quite heavy, there is a perfect blend of hope and beauty amongst the sadness in Williams’ writing.
The reveal of the story feels inevitable in the best way possible. There are no cheap twists thrown in. Instead, Williams slowly reveals what has already happened in a way that’s deeply bittersweet and memorable.
Thank you to Tandem Collective and the publisher for inviting me to take part in the readalong and gifting me an early copy to review. It was a pleasure to read this remarkable debut.
Overall reaction: