The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend

by Katarina Bivald

A debut novel to charm all readers, that shows beyond all doubt that it's books, along with love, that make the world go round.
     It all began with a correspondence between two quite different women: 28-year-old Sara from Haninge, Sweden, and 65-year-old Amy from the small town of Broken Wheel, Iowa. After years of exchanging books, letters and thoughts on the meaning of literature and life, Sara, mousy, disheveled, who has never been anywhere in her life--has really lived only for her work in a beloved bookshop, which has just closed its doors for the last time--bravely decides to accept her unknown friend's invitation to visit. But when she arrives, she finds her house empty, the funeral guests just heading home. . .
     Sara finds herself alone. And what choice do the inhabitants of Broken Wheel have but to take care of their bewildered tourist? And what choice does Sara have, faced with a town where nobody reads and her desire to honour her friend, but to set up the perfect bookshop with all the books she and Amy shared--from Yann Martel's Life of Pi to Iris Murdoch and Jo Nesbo, to Bridget Jones and Doug Coupland's All Families Are Psychotic to Little House on the Prairie? And then watch as the townsfolk are, one by one, transformed in unexpected ways. . .
     In the glorious tradition of 84 Charing Cross Road, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, Will Schwalbe's The End of Your Life Book Club, Jane Austen, and movies such as You've Got Mail and Love Actually, The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a big-hearted, witty book about books, friendship, love--and always being open to the unexpected.

• ISBN10: 0385683596
• ISBN13: 9780385683593
• Publish Date: 25 August 2015 (first published 18 June 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: CA
• Publisher: Doubleday Canada
• Imprint: Bond Street Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9780385683593

Reviews

[Chelsea]

LOVED this book. It was cute yet serious at the same time. The town had a sort of Stars Hollow feel to it which I think we need to see more of in books. I thought it was adorable how everyone loved the little book store even though they weren't readers. I think this is a book that all bookworms will enjoy. It has a lot of feel good moments.

[Joséphine]

Initial thoughts: This was such a charming audiobook to listen to. I thought it a rather mellow book about books — perfect company for longer commutes and time spent on errands. It didn't require tons of concentration but still held sufficient complexity to make up for the lack of major twists. If you're looking for a solid but slow-paced audiobook, The Reader of Broken Whee Recommend is definitely worth it.

[MurderByDeath]

I have a lot of thoughts about this book, all swirling around in my head avoiding cohesiveness.     

This is not a gripping or exciting book and it isn't a faced-paced one either.  This is a slow moving book and I suspect it's appeal is going to be limited to those readers who have more than a little bit of the characters inside themselves.    

I'm one of those readers; as much as my RL friends would say I'm outspoken and intolerant of crap, a lot of me shares a lot with the Broken Wheel characters, or I have at some point in my life.  So while I can't say this book emotionally moved me or cause me to think Profound Thoughts, I did connect with it and enjoy the story.   

3 things that nagged at me:   
1.  As lovely as the idea of sharing/selling Amy's books might be, all I could think about was "who inherited those books, and are they ok with you liquidating the estate?!?"  I'm assuming it's Tom, since no other relatives are ever mentioned, but never once is it brought up.  What's the Swedish word for probate?   
2.  They misspelled Jane Austen's Sanditon (Sandition).   
3.  I forgot the third thing, dammit.  Obviously something huge.   

On a side note, my copy is a UK edition, so the translation from the original Swedish used UK words and idioms, which I thought was kind of funny for a story set in the middle of corn-field Iowa.     

All in all, a book I enjoyed.

[Beth C.]

Travelling from Sweden to visit a bookish pen-pal she's never met, Sara arrives in Broken Wheel, Iowa only to find that said pen-pal is...well...dead. However, the people of the small and semi-abandoned town have already decided what's best for Sara, and that is to stay as planned in Amy's house (even though Amy is no longer around to consent) and to have her vacation. Come hell or high water, they are determined that they will take care of Sara as Amy would have. But along the way, something funny happens...as Sara opens a bookstore with all of the books Amy left behind, the town starts to feel as if maybe Sara is helping them as well.

Some books are like a roller-coaster ride, constantly in motion. Others are like a country amble, where things just move at their own pace and are much more relaxed. 'The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend' is in the second category. It's a lovely tribute to all things books, but also to love, friendship, and the power of change.

This would be a perfect book for a rainy day, snuggled under a blanket with a cup of tea, and maybe even a fire in the fireplace. Nothing forced or rushed, but simply a lovely story to enjoy while relaxing away from other cares. It's the kind of story that can find a home with just about any book lover, regardless of their preferred genre. Well worth the read!

[Lianne]

I won an ARC of this book via the GoodReads First Reads programme. This review in its entirety was originally posted at eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2015/09/01/review-the-readers-of-broken-wheel-recommend

From the all-things-books vantage point, this book was a delight. You can almost play a little game with all of the titles that the book mentions–which ones you’ve read, which ones you recognise–not to mention some terrific new recommendations to check out (I’ve never been interested in picking up Henry David Thoreau’s Walden until now). And we book readers & lovers can definitely relate with some of Sara and Amy’s sentiments about books and reading and everything about it (love that Sara has a suitcase of books and carries a book with her everywhere and can sit for hours just reading–we all know this). Their penpal friendship, spanning oceans, and their bond over books is such a terrific highlight, and having Amy’s letters interject between chapters is a wonderful way of bringing the character to the fold even though she is no longer present amongst the other characters.

The story itself was interesting enough, especially when focusing on Sara’s journey in discovering Broken Wheel and making her way through it and the quirky collection of inhabitants that live in the small town. However, the subplots concerning some of their romances didn’t quite interest me as much as Sara’s story; so much so that I think if some of their stories had been trimmed or not touched on at all, the overall novel might’ve been tighter :3

Speaking of romances, I’m not sure what to make of Sara and Tom’s odd relationship. It has all of the makings of a romance that I’d enjoy–opposites attract/surprise to find them falling for the other, obvious obstacles along the way, the town trying to play matchmaker and the two aren’t so game, etc–and yet it felt like something was missing. Tom’s quite the foil against Sara’s character: he’s definitely not a reader, he’s very serious and doesn’t seem to relax much, he was actually quite the Mr. Darcy when Sara first met him with a extra shot or two of Mr. Knightley’s grumpiness. I think it has to do with the way the scenes play out; there’s just not enough moments between them to convey a softer edge to Tom’s personality–or more to his personality at all–to convince me that maybe their relationship will work or for me to root for them entirely.

Overall, I enjoyed The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommends. From the perspective of everything books, it was a delightful read that other book lovers will sure to understand and relate to. The rest of the story was all right, namely from Sara’s story, but I didn’t quite connect with the other inhabitants enough to quite as enjoy their respective subplots. The overall story does take a turn for Green Card but otherwise it was still an enjoyable read.

Final rating: 3.5/5

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald is a delightful read. I was reminded of many of the romantic comedy movies from my college year’s as I strolled through the streets of Broken Wheel with the main character, Sara.

Sara was my favorite part of The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend. She reminded me of myself. A young woman waiting for life to sweep her off her feet, taking comfort in her books and trying desperately to overcome her introvert ways to connect with others.

Sara was also a bookworm so the book is swimming with quotes about reading and books. I wished that the eARC was not a PDF so I could have more easily highlighted my favorites and referenced them later.

Sara creates a bit of a revolution in the small town of Broken Wheel. The fallout of her arrival is somewhat predictable, but enjoyable. There’s an easy way with Bivald’s writing that allows you to be carried along with the story—smiling, laughing and frowning—along with the characters. There’s a little bit of everyone in the characters that populate Broken Wheel. And taking a break from my heavier reads is welcome adventure a couple times a year.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend will appeal to a wide range of readers. This could qualify as a summer beach read. Bookworms will appreciate Amy’s and Sara’s love of books and their reverence for the written word. Lovers of romance will enjoy Sara’s journey and Caroline’s adventures. I suspect most readers will want to find Broken Wheel and spend a few hours in Amy’s Bookstore talking with Sara, Tom and George. I know that I do.


This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews