Synopses & Reviews
"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 -E. L. DoctorowFrom the day that Morgan Lee is born, her extraordinarily beautiful and withdrawn older brother, Ginx, is obsessed by her. As Aunt Lois recalls: "Ginx thought you belonged to him Morgan Lee. He would sit on our big couch right there in his sailor's suit and hold on to you for dear life . . . He didn't speak normal till he was five, then-bang-one day he's just talking away in complete sentences. But he wouldn't say, 'I.' He said 'we,' meaning you and him."
Inhabiting their own parallel world, the two communicate through a secret language and make-believe stories; when Morgan Lee begins to explore friendships beyond their closed circle, however, Ginx becomes increasingly disturbed. In luminous prose, Martha Witt explores the intense and private world inhabited by these siblings and the inevitable and necessary pain of their separation.
Review
"Witt's first outing...is the story of a North Carolina family, dysfunctional in touching and sometimes very amusing ways....Follows old trails, yet everything you come upon seems absolutely new. A real wonder." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[G]ives a droll twist to the tropes of dysfunction....Arch, slyly humorous and occasionally overblown...this is an unusual, uncompromising debut." Publishers Weekly
Review
"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
Review
"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
Review
"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
Review
"An enviable, soul-affirming novel....I'll never forget the characters, or the dilemma, haunting Witt's particular American South." Haven Kimmel, author of A Girl Named Zippy
Review
"An intriguing heartfelt novel, rendered in a voice that is both precise and emotionally provocative." Oscar Hijuelos, author of A Simple Habana Melody
Synopsis
From the day that Morgan-Lee is born, her extraordinarily beautiful and withdrawn older brother, Ginx, is obsessed by her. Inhabiting their own parallel world, the two communicate through a secret language and make-believe stories; when Morgan-Lee begins to explore friendships beyond their closed circle, however, Ginx becomes increasingly disturbed. In luminous prose, Martha Witt explores the intense and private world inhabited by these siblings and the inevitable and necessary pain of their separation.
About the Author
Martha Witt grew up in Hillsborough, North Carolina. She received her M.A. in creative writing at Johns Hopkins University, and an M.F.A. in fiction writing at New York University, where she was a New York Times Fellow. Currently, she lives in New York City.
Broken As Things Are is her first novel.