Broken as Things Are : A Novel

From the day that Morgan-Lee is born, her extraordinarily beautiful and withdrawn older brother, Ginx, is obsessed by her. Inhabiting their own parallel world, the two communicate through a secret language and make-believe stories; when Morgan-Lee begins to explore friendships beyond their closed circle, however, Ginx becomes increasingly disturbed. In luminous prose, Martha Witt explores the intense and private world inhabited by these siblings and the inevitable and necessary pain of their separation.

“A sensitive southern tale of weirdly imaginative children and hapless adults. Ms. Witt has staked out a territory somewhere between Harper Lee and Flannery O'Connor.” —E.L. Doctorow

“Seductive...The reward of this intense read is a sister's thoughtful struggle for a way to love her sibling without losing herself.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Witt's riveting debut is a disturbing, accomplished novel ....Wildly imaginative and intelligent...an often profound, unsettling story of children struggling to understand love, truth, and sacrifice.” —Booklisit

“Everything you come upon seems absolutely new. A real wonder.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Many first novels are stories about coming of age in a dysfunctional family; few are as daring or poised as Hillsborough native Martha Witt's Broken as Things Are, a southern gothic tale of obsession....Morgan-Lee is one of the most complex and intriguing adolescents to grace the pages of a novel in quite some time.” —The Charlotte Observer