Broken light by Joanne Harris

Imagine if you could enter another person’s mind, their mental ‘house,’ and explore the hidden rooms, and even shuffle some memories so that they are not so dominant; basically rearrange the furniture a bit. For Bernie Moon, as a child, it starts as fun, stepping inside, and switching around some experiences. It was a game called House that she played with her best friend Katie. But for the two young girls, pre-menstruation, it led to some disturbing incidents, a school boy expelled, and a teacher dead.

With menopause, later in life, Bernie finds a new surge of power, sparked by the murder of a woman jogging in a park at night. Her rage is fuelled by the social media posts that blame the victim, running alone. She starts to wonder if she can identify the perpetrator by stepping into their thoughts. Thus, she encounters Woody, actually a friend of her husband, planning his drink spiking conquest of a vulnerable young waitress.

Harris’s novel found its naissance in the #MeToo campaign and the Sarah Everard murder in the UK. It is without doubt an angry book; the anger of the menopausal woman’s rage against all the men that have kept her confined over the years, afraid of expressing an opinion, afraid of provoking HIS anger. With menopause, Bernie finds a return to the long suppressed mind-altering powers of her youth, and with the aid of the rescued waitress, sets out to rebalance the world a bit.

This is a really intriguing book, it is never clear whether Bernie’s super mind-altering capabilities are real or not, but the mystery keeps the reader drawn in, especially with the recurring question of what really dwells in the mind of Bernie’s husband. The novel gives expression to all the anger and vengeance of the #MeToo movement; women’s rage against the abuse and oppression they have endured.

I thought the story was leading up to a very predictable ending, but Harris surprises us with a fascinating twist that opens up new suggestions. This is a highly original, compelling novel, with its mix of magic, feminism, modern issues and mystery. It would certainly merit discussion in a book group.

For further insight into Joanne Harris’s motivation for writing Broken light, read her blog post on Tumblr.

Themes: MeToo, Feminism, Rage, Self empowerment, Toxic masculinity, Misogyny, Social media, Gender roles.

Helen Eddy