Title: The Fragment
Author: Toni Jordan
Genre: General Fiction, Mystery
“The Fragments are here, locked behind steel and glass inside the new State Gallery. The fragments, Irreplaceable, priceless. Here, in Brisbane.”
The Fragments by Toni Jordan is about relationships, passion, and humanity.
Summary:
Caddie Walker had a laid-back quiet life in Brisbane. She spent her days amidst books. This kept her love for Inga Karlson alive.
Inga Karlson was the best-selling author of late 1930s. Her first book was an “All Has an End” was a massive hit in 1935. However, before the release of her second book she died mysteriously in a fire which destroyed the book. “The Days, the Minutes” didn’t see the light of day. What remained of it were fragments.
Caddie was in a queue to see Karlson exhibition showcasing these fragments. That’s when she met this enchanting friendly old woman, talking about the Karlson. But just before she left, she quoted an altered version of Caddie’s favourite lines from the 2nd book. Caddie was astounded to hear those lines. She knew they were different. Her instincts said those lines sounded true.
“And in the end, all we have are the hours and the days, the minutes and the way we bear them.”
“And in the end, all we have are the hours and the days, the minutes and the way we bear them, the second spent on this earth and the number of them that truly mattered.”
Those cryptic lines encouraged Caddie to dig deeper into Inga’s mystery. While solving the mystery, she somewhere uncovered herself.
My take on the book:
It took me many days to write this review. I just couldn’t find the right words to describe the beauty of the book ( and I still don’t think I did my best).
While reading, I skipped the concept of time and space. It carried me to a different dimension. I could visualize everything clearly in both New York and Brisbane.
The book spans over 50 years. The chapters keep shuttling between the 1930s and 1986 (Caddie’s time).
The tome doesn’t have a lot of characters. It has a couple of major characters and the remaining are equally pivotal characters. The 1930s talk about Rachael. The book presents a sharp picture of the society of the 1930s. The people, their problems, the surroundings, general issues of the society. I feel the clarity, crispness is more in this time than the 1980s.
That brings me to the pace of the book. The reader will glide through the book. It’s not just easy writing but each of the chapters points the reader towards a certain direction and the reader just flows with it.
The author did a brilliant job of highlighting the contrasts in both the eras and so with the characters.
Rachael’s father was abusive, whereas Caddie had a loving father.
Rachael’s life was of material hardships, Caddie had a decent life.
The three characters are intertwined through their feelings, their passions. The author used a subtle underlying technique to point out the flaws and the fine points of relationships, society and human tendencies. These concepts are and touch you deep down. The beauty of a relationship is just not the golden days but also the days overcast with doubts, you are angry and you move away only to rush back to your love. The ending twist was surprising and I like how the storyline merges seamlessly.
The Fragments is about women decades apart, yet connected through their passion, their will to stand against the wrong. The book provokes your emotions and asks us to look deeper.
Wow! What a wonderful read.
My rating is 4.5 stars
Thank You NetGalley and Text publishing for giving this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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