Broken for You

July 12, 2004
"The dead,
Margaret thought. They can be so loud
." So muses the protagonist of this dreamy, powerful tale of familial warring, secrets and redemption. When elderly Margaret Hughes discovers that she has a malignant brain tumor, she refuses treatment and decides to take a nice young tenant into her huge, lonely Seattle mansion for company. What she gets is Wanda Schultz, a tough-as-nails stage manager who is secretly seeking the man who left her and prone to inexplicable weeping breakdowns. Wanda, ignorant of Margaret's illness, is intrigued by the museum-like house and its eccentric owner—so when Margaret unexpectedly invites her to a drink-champagne-and-break-the-priceless-antique-china party for two, she's delighted. But a dark history lurks; the houseful of gorgeous antique porcelain comes from Margaret's father's WWII pilfering of European Jewish homes. Meanwhile, Wanda's father, who deserted her years ago, is on the road trying to heal, and Margaret's mother's ghost is haunting the Seattle mansion, lounging about in expensive peignoirs and criticizing her only daughter. Wrestling to keep the dead and the ghosts of their pasts at bay, the two women slowly build an extraordinary friendship, and when Wanda discovers a talent for mosaics, the past begins to quiet. Though it takes a while to get started, this haunting and memorable debut is reminiscent of early Atwood, peopled by lovably imperfect and eccentric characters. Agent, Simon Lipskar at Writer's House.

Starred review from August 15, 2004
Seventy-five-year-old Margaret Hughes lives alone in a mansion filled with valuable antiques, intrusive memories of her dead mother and young son, and a newly diagnosed brain tumor. Determined to change her staid, lonely life, she places an ad soliciting boarders and attracts Wanda Schultz, a young theatrical stage manager who has come to Seattle on a desperate mission to find the oafish boyfriend who left her. Both women have broken hearts, spirits, and bodies, but this is ultimately a work of repair and redemption. Margaret and Wanda not only set out to banish the ill-gotten antiques and their painful pasts but also to build relationships with each other and with Margaret's other boarders--a registered nurse, a gay chef from Alabama, a yoga instructor/hotel valet boyfriend for Margaret, and a cowboyish technical assistant trying to win Wanda's fragile heart. Actress, teacher, and first-time novelist Kallos has given us a compelling, richly layered story reminiscent of works by John Irving and Anne Tyler in its bittersweet humor and well-drawn characters; Carol Shields also comes to mind for the sharp attention to domestic detail and insight into the tenuous relationships of contemporary life. Fans of character-driven novels should be able to forgive any implausible plot developments. Recommended for all fiction collections.--Jenn B. Stidham, Harris Cty. P.L., Houston, TX

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2004
Well-crafted plotting and crackling wit make this debut novel by Seattle author Kallos a delight to read and a memory to savor. The compelling story highlights the losses and disjointedness of life and the many paths back to healing for those who seek the way. Margaret Hughes lives alone in a Seattle mansion, divorced from her husband after the death of their son. She talks to her father's priceless antique porcelain collection and spends her days dusting. Wanda Schultz, abandoned as a child by her parents, cannot accept the rejection of her lover, Peter, whose solitary postcard brings her across the country in search of him. When cancer sends Margaret a wake-up call, she opens her home and her heart: first to Wanda and then to a flood of other new "family" members as she learns to interact with people and eventually to atone for a past crime she only gradually understands. But the clever plot and luminous characters are not all that place this novel at the head of the class. Ghostly characters only Margaret sees and heaps of broken porcelain provide powerful metaphors for the sins of the past and the need for personal sacrifice. Book groups will enjoy discussing the layers of meaning, the stylistic nuances, and the powerful message of hope secreted in these pages.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)