Broken People, Sam Lansky
Broken People, Sam Lansky
7 Rating(s)
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Broken People
A Novel

Author: Sam Lansky

Narrator: Sam Lansky

Unabridged: 8 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/09/2020


Synopsis

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Vogue, O, The Oprah Magazine, Parade, Library Journal, Harper’s Bazaar and more

“Profound and affecting.”—Chloe Benjamin

“Broken People leads us through the winds of time and memory to offer a riveting portrait of transformation. I am better for having read it.”—Jamie Lee Curtis

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.

About Sam Lansky

Sam Lansky is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir The Gilded Razor and the West Coast editor at Time magazine. He’s written for New York magazine, The Atlantic, Esquire and Out. He lives in Los Angeles, California.samlansky.com


Reviews

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 n......more

Goodreads review by Dennis

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 spi......more

SO much introspection. Mixed with weird elitist name dropping. A project perhaps better worked out in therapy.......more

I don't know why I love this memoir-like novel so much. Will definitely read it for the fourth time next December.......more