An edgy, affecting, and darkly funny debut novel — narrated by Skunk, an eleven-year-old girl in a coma — that explores innocence and its betrayal as powerfully and unforgettably as do Lullabies for Little Criminals and The Lovely Bones

Skunk Cunningham’s world is a small one, populated by her family; her teachers and schoolmates; and her neighbours, the quiet Buckley family and the five terrifying Oswald girls and their thug of a father, Bob.
When Saskia Oswald, with her stilettos and tight pants, asks shy Rick Buckley for a ride in his new car, he can’t believe his luck. But after a quick fumble, Saskia broadcasts Rick’s deficiencies to anyone who will listen, including her younger sisters. This act of thoughtless cruelty will see Rick dragged off by the police, humiliated, and “broken,” — and, in a tragic chain of events, will leave Skunk hanging on to her young life by a thread.

From her hospital bed, Skunk shows us her hapless father finding love, and her idealistic favourite teacher losing it; “Broken” Buckley spiralling into madness; and the Oswald clan coming apart at the seams. As we inch ever closer to the mystery behind her coma, Skunk’s innocence becomes a beacon by which we navigate a world as comic as it is tragic, and as engaging as it is finally uplifting.

Broken introduces Daniel Clay as a brilliant and utterly original voice in international fiction.

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NOMINEE 2009 - Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book (Eurasia)

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“Powerful…. Broken held my attention to the last page…. Similar to Canadian author Heather O'Neill's Lullabies for Little Criminals, Broken addresses grownup problems from the endearing, simple perspective of a little girl trapped in a world that's spiralling downwards…. Gripping.”
— Edmonton Journal

“Bold, prescient, engaging, and oddly touching.”
— The Guardian

“Funny and sad and moving … and ultimately very engaging.”
— The Observer

“A novel whose plot and vivid, pared-down imagery bravely patrol the terrifying border at which the human blurs into the bestial…. Daniel Clay’s debut novel is remarkably controlled and disciplined as it depicts those who spiral out of control…. Clay's triumph is in exploring the kindness and love that might heal and restore — and what it is to feel fully alive.”
— The Independent

“[A] fine, fine novel … [an] astonishing debut.”
— Herald Sun (Australia)

“It is without a doubt one of the most memorable novels that I have had the pleasure to read…gritty and compelling reading, this is a must buy, once you pick it up I guarantee it will be hard to put down”
— The Chronicle (Australia)

“Initially, Broken reads like a wryly humorous satire of modern English mores, but it quickly devolves into something darker … [a] meditation on the death of innocence, the end of love, and the futility of existence…. Beautifully written.”
— Booklist

“Clay shows a masterful empathy for his characters, while never shying from their frailties and agonies. Broken is surprising, shocking, and cruelly funny at times. It’s an unforgettable book.”
— Scott Heim, author of Mysterious Skin and We Disappear

“Daniel Clay tells the truth about childhood in the modern world, and captures all the elements of a great novel: suspense, desperation, love, and death.”
— Amy Bryant, author of Polly

“Buy it.”
— National Post

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Daniel Clay is thirty-seven years old and married with no children. He lives in Hedge End, on the south coast of England. Broken is his first novel.

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