When I read a book like Perfectly Broken, I’m reminded how old I am. (smile) I’m reminded of that nostalgic feeling I get when I watch The Big Chill or Dirty Dancing or even High Fidelity. Â Music and musicians have a way of making you feel all mushy and warm or hot and excited about an era in your life.
That’s what’s so great about Perfectly Broken. Regardless of your defining era (mine was the 80s) you can relate to the characters in this book. Â Remember the time you had to stop wearing your concert T shirts for fear that the sour baby milk smell wouldn’t come out in the laundry? Or what about that time you stayed out too late attending a concert of your favorite band, only to struggle to get up for work the next day? How DID you do that when you were younger? These are the questions that the characters struggle with of a sort, in Perfectly Broken.
Jobs, mortgages, marriages, parenthood, etc, all get in the way when you’re trying to be a famous musician. Rock star even.
His rock star days may be behind him, but stay-at-home dad Grant Kelly’s life is getting more interesting by the day. It’s the beginning of the post 9/11 era, and he and his wife and four-year-old son have traded a New York City apartment for a Catskills farmhouse, where ghosts from the past, worries for the future, and temptations in the present converge to bring about drastic changes in their marriage, their friendships, and their family.
A gorgeously nuanced novel with unforgettable characters, Perfectly Broken is a story of human frailty, the endurance of the heart, and the power and possibility of forgiveness.
While I’m unfamiliar with any 90s music that might be referenced in the book, I can certainly drum up some feels a la Nick Hornby when Trip and Grant reminisce over their younger days.
Adulting can suck sometimes. But music always makes it better. Even when Adulting is super hard and you’re running low on Ambien or Zoloft. Especially when you’re running low on Ambien or Zoloft.
And why can’t you fit into that concert t shirt anymore? Who shrunk it in the wash?
This is The Big Chill or Friends for today. Fun!
I’m proud to be a TLC Tour 
stop!