Reviews with content warning for Child death - Ligne brisée

When Stella wakes up in the middle of the night to care for her crying child, she doesn't expect to witness a crime in the empty field across from her house. Shaken at the unspeakable violence she has witnessed, Stella tries to deal with the guilt she feels for not doing more. On the other side of town, another family of Métis women, come together when one of their own - the most precious and innocent - is injured.

This book is phenomenal for a debut novel - the combination of pain, violence and neglect as well as the love, kindness and care between all the characters is amazing. I was really hooked into this story and all the women we are following as they try and piece their lives together after a terrible violent act.

This book focuses on the lives of Métis women living in Winnipeg in Canada, and looks at the danger and intergenerational trauma lived by so many young girls and women in such societies where they are looked down upon, are abused and assaulted on regular basis and let down by any type of government authority that should be caring for them. I feel like Phoenix's story reflects this the most - the anger, and confusion she feels throughout the novel, despite at times presenting as a young, scared child who just wants to be cared for. And in parts we learn what her mother Elsie went through as a teenager and piece together what Phoenix's life must have been like because of this.

And Cheryl, Lou, Emily and Paul - along with Rita and Ziggy - are in such a community of love and kindness with one another, it feels like another world but that doesn't mean these women weren't hurt from abusive husbands to heartbreak, to witnessing terrible things and knowing at all times the danger they are in as women in their world.

But while this book is centered around a horrible act of sexual violence, the deeper story in it is about the love and hope between all these women, and how they hold on to each other throughout it all and never let anyone fade away.

Content Warnings

schaarzy's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

amvera's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

parasolcrafter's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

kkbray's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

annemaries_shelves's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I’ve been meaning to read The Break since it released and I’m so glad I did. The themes covered can be hard to read (see the trigger warnings in this review and in the cover page of the book itself) and I couldn’t handle more than a few chapters per sitting because of where I was mentally at the time. However, Vermette did a great job exploring these topics and how they impact the family and surrounding characters. We have multiple POVs, many from the same matriarchal family (including mothers, aunties, grandmothers, and teen girls), along with the POV of a homeless teenager running away from the Centre, and a young Indigenous police offer (side note: he was the only male POV and the chapter where he talks with his mother about growing up mixed was a perfect encapsulation of how identity impacts lives and relationships).

I really felt like I got to know all of the characters (even those without a POV, like Hannah – Scott’s well-meaning but ignorant white girlfriend) because all of the characters were so fully human in their interactions, rationale for behaviours, and personalities (especially interactions among the Traverse family). I've seen other reviews saying that the large cast was confusing and hard to connect with but that wasn't my personal experience - the family tree was useful but my takeaway was that specific relationship titles were less important that the support and familial bonds they shared.

Spoiler for discussing some character actions.

Even though Phoenix was the perpetrator of Emily’s rape (alongside her friends), we learn about how difficult her life is and (at least I did) feel sympathy for how lonely and hardened she’s become. It doesn’t excuse her actions (and some of the characters don’t care to know her backstory because it doesn’t change what she did) but Vermette’s choices makes the reader better understand how some people do horrible things when they don’t have support in life. As another character says, “people who get messed up, mess up others.” Also – the fact that she was pregnant the whole time was extra heartbreaking, though it’s not explicitly revealed until the end. Stella is another interesting character – she’s Emily’s aunt (the victim), and actually witnesses the attack, but is paralyzed and terrified by what she sees and doesn’t stop it or check on the person (not knowing who it was) afterwards. She’s a sympathetic character because of her backstory and her family treats her with kid gloves – as if it’s expected that she wouldn’t be able to help Emily or anyone else out. However, other characters criticize her behaviour, which I think helps show how differently people can be perceived by others and how families can enable/support people beyond what they may ‘truly’ need.

I also appreciated the double meaning of the Break – it’s both the name of the land where the assault happens, and a representation of a break in the timeline/reality for Emily and her family – the Before and After because of this event. People break away from others, break away from their bad habits (or fail to), and break hearts.

I think my favourite thing I take away from this novel is how well the women in this family support each other. Despite hardships and traumas they’ve faced in their pasts, and various difficulties they have with each other, they love and support their family.

One question I do have is why all the POVs are limited third person except for Lou (the aunt and social worker), who’s in first person. I’m not sure why Vermette made that choice. It didn’t detract from the novel as a whole but, in my limited view, I don’t know what it added.

The writing is also fairly straightforward - it's easy to read (in contrast to the subject matter) but Vermette knows how to make an impact with some powerful statements throughout the text. For those who prefer more flowery or overly descriptive language, this won't be the writing style for you.

Overall, I thought The Break was a fantastic novel and I can’t wait to read the companion follow-up, The Strangers.

Trigger/Content warnings: on-page rape/sexual assault with an object, physical assault, vicarious trauma, slurs and outdated language used on Indigenous people. Domestic violence, alcoholism, child death, drug addictions, and references to gangs are also mentioned in the text. However, there’s also lots of wonderful healing discussions and reliance on family and traditions to support each other through these events. As the book says, it’s about recovering and healing from violence and trauma.

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