Broken People
Published June 9th 2020 by Hanover Square Press, Hardcover 304 pages
A groundbreaking, incandescent debut novel about coming to grips with the past and ourselves, for fans of Sally Rooney, Hanya Yanagihara and Garth Greenwell
“He fixes everything that’s wrong with you in three days.”
This is what hooks Sam when he first overhears it at a fancy dinner party in the Hollywood hills: the story of a globe-trotting shaman who claims to perform “open-soul surgery” on emotionally damaged people. For neurotic, depressed Sam, new to Los Angeles after his life in New York imploded, the possibility of total transformation is utterly tantalizing. He’s desperate for something to believe in, and the shaman—who promises ancient rituals, plant medicine and encounters with the divine—seems convincing, enough for Sam to sign up for a weekend under his care.
But are the great spirits the shaman says he’s summoning real at all? Or are the ghosts in Sam’s memory more powerful than any magic?
At turns tender and acid, funny and wise, Broken People is a journey into the nature of truth and fiction—a story of discovering hope amid cynicism, intimacy within chaos and peace in our own skin.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
What does it take to “fix” our problems? Is such a fix even possible? These questions are at the core of
Broken People , Sam Lansky's debut novel.
Sam is a writer in Los Angeles. He wrote a memoir about his struggles with addiction in his teens and how difficult it is to stay sober. It sold modestly but it didn’t make him a household name.
Now 28, he can’t remember the last time he was happy. His ideas for a second book don’t work, he’s worried he might lose his magazine job, he can’t find a relationship, and he’s so unhappy with his body he’s convinced the entire gay community will reject him because he’s fat. His unhappiness is practically debilitating.
"Maybe some people are just born self-hating and self-destructive and we die that way. And so we go to therapy and twelve-step groups and we take antidepressants and anxiety meds and we journal and go to yoga and exercise and take baths and drink pressed juices and repeat affirmations to ourselves in the mirror and listen to Brené Brown podcasts. But we're just swimming against the tide, because the darkness always comes back. All we ever do is learn to manage the symptoms."
At a dinner party one night, he hears about a shaman who supposedly can fix people’s problems over the course of a weekend. It certainly seems too good to be true, but signs keep pointing him toward taking a chance.
He and an acquaintance spend the weekend with the shaman, and Sam hopes this will be the answer to his problems. But is the key to happiness reopening old wounds, prodding insecurities, and confronting hidden trauma, or is the shaman really summoning his power?
This was a thought-provoking, emotional book that raised some interesting questions. I honestly was expecting there to be much more trauma revealed than there was, and I don’t know that I bought the whole concept of “fixing.”
It’s a well-written book but I never quite connected with it as much as I would’ve liked. Still, it’s another intriguing book for Pride Reads!!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html.
Check out my list of the best books of the decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
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Rating: really liked it
This is Sam Lanksy’s debut novel after his memoir came out a few years ago. And I can honestly say that it is an arresting and raw voice. The story follows a man on a desperate journey to find self-acceptance—and the honest, gutting way Sam writes about it is truly exceptional.
Rating: really liked it
Broken People is saturated in psychological disorders—several psychological disorders. The title should be called Broken Person as trouble abounds throughout the complicated, main character’s life; not the others. The premise had promise and was thought provoking yet the author failed to execute a narrative that was interesting and worth remembering. This book is all about thoughts and feelings. I’m ok with that; hence the 3 stars, but feel it’s catered toward a smaller audience.
Standout Quotes:
“What a thing, he thought—to be well liked by everyone but yourself.”
“You know, you think your pain is so monumental, but it’s actually pretty mundane. This is just normal stuff, not some great human theater. It’s what people go through. It’s just a part of life.”
Rating: really liked it
This book is just “middle of the road” for me.
Broken People deals with some heavy topics, such as shame, depression, sexuality and HIV, and acceptance. The story is centered around an author, Sam, who attends a wealthy older man, Buck’s dinner party and gets introduced to a “shaman” who has spiritual healing powers. Buck and Sam venture off to meet this shaman, but what Sam doesn’t expect is the amount of pain he eventually opens up and tries to settle once and for all.
Overall, I felt that the pacing of the book was relatively slow and for the most part, not really the type of book that I’d usually enjoy. However, when Sam gets through some deep-seeded issues with the shaman, the book gets really, really intense. I can see comparisons to A Little Life, but in my opinion, that I only fair to compare on a superficial capacity.
Broken People only touches the surface of Sam’s issues, leaving readers (or maybe just me) confused on how a shaman could possibly heal them so effortlessly. I do believe readers will either “take it or leave it”, with this book. I’m curious to see where you stand!
Rating: really liked it
DNF, too much angst, plus reads like a therapy session. Not interested enough to continue
Rating: really liked it
Superspeed readers like me can read 150 - 200+ pages/hour, so yes, I have read the book … and many more today. LOL
I received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley, the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review.
From the publisher, as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews, I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸.
He fixes everything that’s wrong with you in three days.”
This is what hooks Sam when he first overhears it at a fancy dinner party in the Hollywood hills: the story of a globe-trotting shaman who claims to perform “open-soul surgery” on emotionally damaged people. For neurotic, depressed Sam, new to Los Angeles after his life in New York imploded, the possibility of total transformation is utterly tantalizing. He’s desperate for something to believe in, and the shaman—who promises ancient rituals, plant medicine and encounters with the divine—seems convincing, enough for Sam to sign up for a weekend under his care.
But are the great spirits the shaman says he’s summoning real at all? Or are the ghosts in Sam’s memory more powerful than any magic?
At turns tender and acid, funny and wise, Broken People is a journey into the nature of truth and fiction—a story of discovering hope amid cynicism, intimacy within chaos and peace in our own skin.
This is a really weird book - but that is okay. It was well written but I am not sure if I liked it - it was just okay. Open soul surgery? No. Healed in three days? No. Maybe it is for you, but this librarian and mega-reader just found it kind of ... meh. (Sorry, I did say that I could be honest)!
Rating: really liked it
SO much introspection. Mixed with weird elitist name dropping. A project perhaps better worked out in therapy.
Rating: really liked it
This sounds really trippy... in hopefully a good way
Rating: really liked it
In many ways, this book felt a lot like sitting in on someone's therapy sessions and given how many biographical details the main character shares with the author, I couldn't help but wonder if it was written for therapeutic purposes. I know that's going to be a turn-off for many readers, but I found myself really drawn into the journey.
Rating: really liked it
This was an intense look into the mind of someone dealing with a lot of guilt and shame. The premise of the book is that the MC hears about a shaman who can fix what ails you in three days. Sounds easy, but it actually turns out to be a difficult, painful process. The author digs deep here, but much like the character in this book, it can be too much at times.
Rating: really liked it
“The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.”
—Buffy Summers, “The Gift” S5 Ep 22
I may need a shaman myself to help me heal and recover from this meditative metafiction. It was a trip—unlocking my own consciousness. It made me realize the power of memories and the power and hold they have over me. Thank you, Sam, for taking me on this journey that didn’t really go anywhere—but went everywhere and nowhere all at once.
Rating: really liked it
I know this one has mixed reviews, but I really loved it. Beautiful narration, felt very voyeuristic to me.
Rating: really liked it
I... I don’t know. A lot of this book is set in highly privileged, rich, white, gay spaces, in New York and Los Angeles. I was expecting more commentary on the many problematic aspects of those spaces, or maybe a satirical take, à la Less.
The very premise of the book is a white “shaman” claiming that he can fix the main character’s issues in three days. That narrative was central to the book. Yet, the appropriation of Indigenous practices for white profit was barely mentioned (only once, as far as I can tell, in a quick dialogue).
This book reads like it’s mostly autobiographical, and I really don’t want to invalidate the experiences of the author here. It’s only that, by the end of the book, I felt like a lot of privileges remained unchecked. Not to say that he didn’t do this work in real life – but I wish he had expanded on it in the book.
Rating: really liked it
Sam Lansky has written an incredibly aware and vulnerable account of finding one's self at an existential crossroads, having fled multiple past lives and still yearning for something else. Set against the malaise of young people who turn to social media for self-pleasing and self-destructive feedback loops, and of established professionals in Los Angeles and New York who indulge in expensive and equally self-destructive habits to feel better, Lansky explores a tantalizing what-if scenario in the form of a shaman who is said to cure all ailments in the space of a single weekend. What follows is an expansive journey into the pain of memory and the immutability of the past that reaches for a basal desire in us all: a future where nothing hurts.
Rating: really liked it
Sam has a really unique way of articulating what i think a lot of us feel... making it his own, while still keeping it relatable. I find myself, so many times through the book, nodding along because i know exactly what he means. This book definitely spoke to the LA spiritual side of me, and i felt that it was a great follow up to his first book.
